National Performance Network and NCCC Grant Funds Boston Poet, Iyeoka to Speak the Word in Hawaii

PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 27, 2008 – The Ong King Cultural Center (Hawaii) will host a one-week residency of Iyeoka Okoawo, a Boston-based, Nigerian-American artist at the forefront of the creation of a new genre which gracefully interweaves spoken word poetry with jazz, Nigerian blues, gospel, and new-soul influenced song. The residency will focus upon the intersection of poetry and song through: a major public performance, workshops for residents and youth and a public/radio
conversation with Hawaiian artists including local stars Tempo Valley and songstress Paula Fuga, experimenting with hybridized "poem/songs" and processes of connecting traditional music with contemporary performance.

Iyeoka comments “I feel incredibly appreciative for this recognition of my work and this unique opportunity to unite with this community and this particular caliber of musicians and poets.  We are hoping to use this program as a template to invite Hawaiian artist to the East coast to collaborate on similar community enriching workshops and initiatives for our youth.  I think the Mayors Office and the City of Boston will welcome the concept of this cross-cultural, cross-coastal exchange program!”

Brian Capobianchi (B.Cap) will be accompanying Iyeoka on the week long artist in residency project in Oahu, Hawaii from July 4th-July14th. B.Cap is a singer/songwriter and front man/vocalist/MC for the rapidly rising hip-hop group The Press Project his voice has been heard from all angles and genres.  In their short 3-year rise, The Press Project has supported and shared the stage with The Roots, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, George Clinton and Soulive.  They joined hip-hop legend Slick Rick for 4 days on tour in 2007 through Virginia and North Carolina and just recently have returned from performing at the Bonnaroo Music Festival, the 4-day music and arts festival host to nearly 100,000 fans and 200 musical acts.  

This program is supported in part by a grant from the National Performance Network and the Network of Cultural Centers of Color's Artist of Color Performance Residency Program. Major contributors of the National Performance Network include the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency),  and the Nathan Cummings Foundation. Major contributors of the Network of Cultural Centers of Color include the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, and S.Savings Bank.

The Network of Cultural Centers of Color is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to serving the needs of community-based organizations and artists of color. The National Performance Network is a group of cultural organizers and artists facilitating the practice and public experience of the performing arts in the United States. NPN serves artists, arts organizers, and a broad range of audiences and communities across the country through commissions, residencies, culture-centered community projects and other artistic activities. For more information about NCCC: www.folk.org/NCCC/membership.htm. For more information about NPN: www.npnweb.org.

For full schedule of Workshops and performances Check Iyeoka’s Calendar on www.IYEOKA.com

7/4/08 : Ong King Arts Centre/184 N.King St: Performance 8pm
7/7/08: Monday Night Live on KTUH (radio show)
7/9/08 The Arts at Marks/1159 Nuuanu: Workshop 4pm                  
Higher Ground Music Café/ 101 North Kam Highway Wahiawa :Performance
7/11/08 Ong King Arts Center: Workshop 6-8pm/Performance 8-10pm
7/12/08 Jazz Minds/ 1661 Kapiolani Blvd: Performance 9pm