November 16th Benefit Screening in San Francisco, CA

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Stills from 9 Hopes for Haiti

Join  Zaka, Ilona Berger and Jean-Guerly Pétion on November 16th for Fragmentation and Flux in Recent Haitian Film– a fundraiser for Jakmel Ekspresyon at Artist Television Access in San Francisco.

Participating Artists: Maksaens Denis, Guy Regis Jr, Zaka, Romel Jean-Pierre, Alex Art Louis, Jean-Guerly Pétion, Louis Ebby Angel

Audio visual performance following screenings by Jean-Guerly Pétion

Fragmentation and Flux is a program of work by Haitian filmmakers responding to radical shifts  in their physical, political, and social landscapes. These shifts can be characterized as both collisions and collusions, from the disaster capitalism merely accelerated by the earthquake, to the syncretism that has always made up Haitian culture.

Proceeds from the screening will benefit  Jakmel Ekspresyons, a grassroots, volunteer run arts organization that works on a model of solidarity to provide opportunities for training and exhibition in the arts. Jakmel Ekspresyons is welcoming to all and is a vital safe space for  local LGBTQ and disabled artists. They are raising funds to pay their rent, make their building disabled accessible, and build their digital arts lab.

An American volunteer doctor  working in  the sea side town Jacmel, experiences catharsis In “Zaka” Chery Claudel’s genre and gender crossing  9 hopes for Haiti . Romel Jean-Pierre’s Al fé Tet Ou is an experimental requiem created in Port au Prince after the earthquake.Maksaen Denis’s Deville/ Devil  follows a young group of activists in Port au Prince armed with paint, rollers, and tape who take back their city from the relentless branding by the Digicel telecommunications corporation. In Maksaen Denis’s  and  Guy Regis Jr’s M Le President we see a presidential candidate slowly change  from what he appears to be to who he really is. With a hair brush for a mic and a cut out painted bottle  for a camera,  the investigative Teleghetto journalists  roam the streets, tent camps and  and voting booths of Port au Prince.  Zaka’s  La Vie Dwol takes us into  a day in the life of  Sedjo, a load carrier facing challenges from every conceivable  direction. In Ebby Angel Louis’s sly narrative short, Miss Body Plastic, Dezilia who has grand ambitions to win a beauty contest and use the winnings to enact an environmental clean up program much to the consternation of the rest of the town who think she is delusional.   Somewhere in the diaspora, young Anton tries to divine our ecological trajectory with his Russian Tarot Cards In Jean Guerly Pétion’s, A Reading.

• 9 Hopes for Haiti, Zaka, 9.22 min
• Tele Ghetto Kokorat (Street Children) 3.43 min
• Al Fé tét Ou, Romel Jean-Pierre, 10.21 min
• Teleghetto 1 year After 9 min
• M Le President, Maksaens Denis and Guy Regis Jr, 6.00 minutes
• Miss Body Plastik Angel Ebby Louis 19.35 minutes
• Deville/Devil, Maksaens Denis, 6.00 minutes
• Lavie Dwol (A Strange Life), Zaka,  18.28
• A Reading, Jean Guerly Pétion 9.40

A Year in Review: How You Helped Jakmel Ekspresyon

 

The supporters and Administration of Jakmel Ekspresyon have raised $5,800 towards rent. We have $700 to go in order to meet our goal of $6,500 by June 1st. Help us today so that we can continue to provide resources where they are needed.

The past six months have been monumental for Jakmel Ekspresyon. Let’s look back at all of the amazing events that have taken place at or for Jakmel Ekspresyon since December of 2011.

December 2011

• Jakmel Ekspresyon Rented a New Building
• Jakmel Ekspresyon Started an IndieGoGo Campaign and raised $3000 from 44 funders
• Kwochè Ayiti Workshops at Jakmel Ekspresyon
• Caroline Paquita Sold Art to Benefit JE

January 2012

• JE Hosted Knitting Workshops
• JE Finished A Successful IndieGoGo Fundraiser
• Had Classes at JE 6 Days a Week
• Spare Change Theater (Resident Theater Program at JE) Website is Live

February 2012

• Hosted Kaleidoscope at Phyllis’ Musical Inn With Amazing Performances 
• Held Even More Classes Six Days a Week at Jakmel Ekspresyon

March 2012

• Saw the Amazing Film Makers For a Cause Video of JE
• Hosted Classes at JE 7 Days a Week!
• Spare Change Graduated A Class of Actors and Actresses

April 2012 

• Held Ra Ra Yo! A Fundraiser at Martyr’s 
• Got Invited to Verge Art Fair in NYC

May 2012

• Held Our First Concert at JE 
• Exhibited at Verge Art Fair NYC

On June 2nd, Jakmel Ekspresyon along with our neighbors – the dance troupe Explosion, will shut down our block for an epic dance party. We’re happy to be a part of our community and are glad to open our doors to the world!

Verge Art Fair NYC: May 3-6

Verge Art Fair, an annual art fair that takes place in New York City and Miami, has chosen Jakmel Ekspresyon as a beneficiary of their New York show.

Verge has donated booth space for Jakmel Ekspresyon Co-Director Sue Frame to sell prints to benefit our organization.

In addition, Verge is encouraging pre-sale ticket buyers to donate to us while buying a ticket. If you’re in New York City May 3rd through 6th, please stop by to support an arts powerhouse and visit with us at the Jakmel Ekspresyon booth.

VERGE NYC
159 Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village 
May 3 – May 6, 2012

Opening night reception: Thursday, May 3, 6-10pm

General Public Hours:
Noon – 8pm, Fri & Sat
Noon-6pm Sun
$10 day pass / $15 weekend pass
$15 opening night reception

Haiti Communitere – our pals in Port Au Prince

Check out the new website of Haiti Communitere (formerly Grassroots United) of Port Au Prince. This organization has done big work focused on the tent towns of Haiti’s capital. Their Ubuntu Blox project is very inspiring. Partnering with women who live in the Cite Soleil neighborhood, Haiti Communitere hopes to carry out two important goals – constructing homes for those that do not have them and a reuse of commonly discarded materials.

The Ubuntu team are implementing street clean-ups and rubbish collection points to take Styrofoam food containers and film plastic out of the canals and drains around Port-au-Prince to repurpose as building materials. The materials are packed into rice bags and compressed into uniformly sized building blocks using a manual compression machine. The lightweight, flexible nature of the blocks makes them far more earthquake resistant than typical brick or concrete structures. A model Ubuntu home was recently tested for seismic resistance, and passed a simulated 8.2 earthquake with minimal damage.

Film Maker For a Cause

Hi everyone,I’m Alex, development director of Jakmel Ekspresyon. You’ll see me posting updates on our Facebook page, writing blog posts here and generally getting the word out about our organization. I don’t often write post here about my own travels or experiences, but I think that this story illustrates the magic of Jakmel Ekspresyon. In December I travelled to Jacmel with Sue, our Co-Director and my wife, Kristen, who led her second knitting workshop at Jakmel Ekspresyon. While in Jacmel as visitor you sometimes hear about other interesting people who are coming through town and you sometimes hope that the stars align and your paths cross in some way. We’d head about some “film maker guys” that were in town and our friends told us several times that we should meet them.

Sue, Kristen and I had gone to an outdoor dance party set up by a friend of a friend in Jacmel’s main square. This dance party was strictly for teens and kids. Loud bass, funky dancing, heavy beats and about 600 teenagers and their brothers and sisters jumping around and showing off their best dance moves. Our small group attracted other bemused adults and we were finally joined by a few guys we’d never met. As we introduced ourselves over the music, we realized that these were, in fact, Allan and Ian — the film maker guys.

Their organization, Film Maker for a Cause is a  ”not for profit organization that provides free film production, photography, and media services to other NGOs.” Their goal is a noble one. They say,”We believe that through the arts of photography and filmmaking we can help tell the stories of those making a difference in our world. ”

What it boils down to is that Film Maker for  A Cause travel the world making short promotional videos for organizations that need to promote themselves to the larger world. They charge nothing for their services and give the finished product to other not for profit organizations to do with as they please.

As we got to know Ian, Allan and Randall of Film Maker for A Cause I realized that their work is noble and very interesting. They came to Jakmel Ekspresyon for an evening and captured interviews with me, Kristen, Eder (a co-founder of Jakmel Ekspresyon), Aaron (our Administrator) and many others.

I am so grateful to Film Maker for A Cause  for putting together one of their fantastic videos for us. I think that it perfectly captures what it is we’re trying to do with this organization. Take a look:

Let them know what you think of their videos on their Facebook page.

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.

Jakmel Ekspresyon Classes Taking Place 6 Days A Week

Did you know that Jakmel Ekspresyon Art Center has events 6 nights a week? We now have ballroom dancing for kids and adults, film club, painting, poi (fire dance) and Spare Change Theater! Thanks for helping us make these amazing classes a reality!

Indiegogo Video

Want to find out more about Jakmel Ekspresyon and our IndieGogo Campaign? Watch the Jakmel Ekspresyon YouTube video and go to our campaign homepage: http://bitl.ly/jakmelgogo

New Building for 2012 Rented!

We successfully negotiated with the landlord of our preferred building. He has agreed to splitting the rent into 3 payments. We signed a lease and made our first payment today. The members helped to move the furniture in this afternoon and workshops will begin by Thursday. This is very exciting for us because of the amount of projects that are happening right now. Thank you everyone that helped us to reach this point. YEAH!!!!!!!  MES AMIS!!!!!!! Help us reach our next goal at JE by donating. Every dollar will get us closer to the next payment at the end of January. For more info go to:

Spare Change Theater Program is starting round three of workshops.

Spare Change theater was founded by JE’s Administrator, Aaron Funk. In the first two rounds the members learned improv theater, character development, theater lighting and more. In the new round the members hope to continue more of the same. Pictures to come.