Sights & Sounds is your weekly guide to the Bay Area arts scene. Self-proclaimed harpist from the hood Destiny Muhammad, who'll be performing at SF Music Day, told KALW’s Jen Chien about three fantastic arts events happening around the Bay this week.
- White Noise/Black Masks at BAMPFA on 9/15 at 6 p.m.
- Black Eyed Peas Festival at Oakland Tech on 9/16 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Magic In The Music at Woodminster Amphitheatre on 9/17 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
White Noise/Black Masks
White Noise/Black Masks is a mix of performance art and poetry reading, curated by Marvin K. White and programmed by Chika Okoye and David Brazil. Local poets James Cagney, Nancy Johnson, and Arisa White will read their work, surrounded by a circle of loudspeakers emitting white noise. The show is a meditation on centering creative black voices in the “white noise” of art institutions and asks "How high must we turn up the volume to be heard over the din of oppression?"
MUHAMMAD: “Marvin is just in the moment innovation. I love his writings on Facebook. Those are a script and a whole delivery in themselves.”
Black Eyed Peas Festival
The 4th Annual Black Eyed Peas Festival is a day-long celebration of African-American food, art, music and culture. This year’s performers include the Jamming Nachos, MJ’s Brass Boppers, and Miss Faye Carol. The festival promises every food vendor will have black eyed peas on their menu. Black artisans will be selling their own handmade goods, like visual art and jewelry, on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
MUHAMMAD: “You’ve got the American Africans who are creating this beautiful eclectic clothing and artwork, and you’ve got some of my folks from the continent that are bringing wonderful vending opportunities as well. It’s just fabulous.”
Sundays In The Redwoods: Magic In The Music
Magic In the Music at Woodminster Outdoor Amphitheatre in Joaquin Miller Park will feature musicians Marsha Ambrosius, Daley, and Dos Four. This is the opening concert of the City of Oakland’s Sundays In The Redwoods concert series, that runs weekly from September 17 through October 8. This Sunday’s performance will be from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
MUHAMMAD: “I only heard a glimpse of [Marsha] with Floetry…I said, ‘Oh my god, that voice is stunning!’ I said, ‘Man, she comes to town, I need to be there.’”
