Tap Taps

Reblogged from Ayiti P'ap Peri:

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Tap tap – meaning “quick quick” in Creole - is the name given to privately owned vehicles that have been converted into public transport caravans. The buses run along set routes throughout the day, and though it is not necessary to pay, riders generally fork over five to ten gourdes for their services. Since most Haitians do not own a car…

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Check out an in-depth post about Tap Taps (not the TV show) from the Ayiti Papperi blog.

Tap Tap

One of the things we’re most excited about at Jakmel Ekspresyon is following the work of artists that are affiliated with our art center. These are artists that have taken part in workshops, led classes or given invaluable advice to our organization.

One of these artists is Zaka. Zaka is a prolific film maker and has taken on an ambitious project with the creation of Tap Tap.

Tap Tap is a sitcom about the misadventures of Mercidieu, a Tap Tap, driver, his passengers and crew in Port au Prince. Made by the talented young Haitian director Zaka, Filmmaker/Producer Melanie Reynard and Germain Jn. Luccere as Director of Photography.

Check them out on Facebook: Tap Tap.

Take a look at their fantastic first episode. The dialogue is in Creole with English subtitles.

Benefit Success!

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Thank you everyone for coming out and enjoying all the talented artists last Saturday. It was an amazing night. We raised over $500 which is a months operational costs. If you missed the event and still want to support JE please visit our Donate page.

The last month was a big month for us. The center ran workshops six days a week. The workshops included dance, theater, painting, fire spinning and a film club. The majority of the workshops were run by local established Haitian artists! In the US we met with our new pro-bono lawyer. With one more step to solidify this new relationship we will be on our way to establishing ourselves as a legal non-profit.

So many people have contacted the Administration to find out more about JE and how the can help. Our network just keeps growing. This is an exciting time and filled with opportunities to grow. If anyone is interested in helping by donating time and talents, please contact the Co-Director, Sue Frame, at jakmelekspresyon@gmail.com.

See you tonight!

Kaleidoscope — this Saturday at Phyllis’ Musical Inn

Wow, it’s been an exciting several weeks as we’ve finalized the details for our fundraiser at Phyllis’ Musical Inn this Saturday. We’d like to share with you the fantastic art that will be on display to benefit Jakmel Ekspresyon -

The Megitza Quartet are a fantastic Polish Roma band that plays up beat world beats. Check out their video:

Dolly Varden has played Chicago since 1993. Check out an old song re-released recently:

Honey and Buffalo make songs that take you back to a time you didn’t know you knew. Click here to listen to a few tracks on their Facebook page.

There’s more info after the jump…

Indie Gogo Gifts

Wondering what kind of gifts the donors of our Indiegogo fundraising campaign are taking home? Take a look at this drawing created by Jakmel Ekspresyon Co-Director Sue Frame from a photograph by Alex Polotsky.

The original photograph taken in Jacmel January, 2012.

The drawing. Created February 2012.

Jakmel Ekspresyon in Art Info!

We’ve been lucky enough to be mention in Art Info, an international art magazine and website. One of the co-organizers of our Kaleidoscope event (see below) has written an extensive piece about art and our approach to art in Haiti. Please check it out:

Over the last eight months or so, I’ve been working with a group here in Chicago on a mission to stabilize and fund an art center in Jakmel, Haiti headed up by the Frame Family Foundation and its delegate, local art activist Susan Frame. I was brought into the project by Steve Raden, an old Chicago friend of mine and activist humanitarian in the field who has traveled extensively in third world countries, often exclusively on his own dime, to help provide aid where he could, and there are real, clear egalitarian reasons for working to support such a project. As the stories I’ve heard serve to illustrate, the Jakmel center functions as a safe haven from persecution by others in Haitian society who find hate a productive response to lesbian and gay male lifestyles, or who find those physically handicapped in the wake of the earthquake easy pickings. They also work to imbue its participants with art-making knowledge and skills that give them an export upper-hand in their own localized markets and, at a minimum, a means of realizing a productive living.