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Sights & Sounds Weekly: 3/3/16

Courtesy of the artist/ Resized and cropped
Artist, Favianna Rodriguez

Sights & Sounds is your weekly guide to the Bay Area arts scene through the eyes and ears of local artists. Our guest is Favianna Rodriguez:  visual artist, activist, and cultural organizer. Her work will be featured in the new exhibition Take This Hammer: Art + Media Activism, opening at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in SF on March 11th.

Rodriguez told KALW’s Jen Chien about three cool arts events happening this week around the Bay.
 

Credit Courtesy of Oakstop
The work of artist Ras Amlak

The Astral Echo exhibit is at Oakstop gallery in Oakland until Saturday, 3/05.  Artist, RasAmlak, uses shaped canvas, bright colors and symbolism to examine man’s relationship to the universe as viewed through African Spirituality. 

RODRIGUEZ: I’m a big fan of this body of work because it talks about human potential and the way in which the mind is a very powerful outlet to visualize where you want to go.

Credit Courtesy of Ashkenaz
Nyabinghi Drummers

On Sunday, 3/6, Ashkenaz in Berkeley hosts Nyabinghi Night. This is a monthly gathering of Jamaican Roots music drummers. The chanting and beat playing has a strong connection to Rastafarianism and the drummers count the rhythms as the foundation for reggae in Jamaica. 

RODRIGUEZ: As someone who has studied traditional arts, I always think it’s important to understand the roots and support musicians who are trying to keep the essential spirit of their practice alive.

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Photography by Brittani Sensabaugh

#222Forgotten Cities: the Power of Melanin. This is the photography work of Bittani Sensabaugh who has traveled to communities in her native Oakland, Detroit, Chicago to document the resilience of people in marginalized communities. *This show was slated to be at Betti Ono gallery in Oakland through April 16, 2016, however Betti Ono gallery is facing closure and ended the exhibit early. Sensabaugh’s work is viewable on her website: brittsense.com

RODRIGUEZ: The depictions are so much about dignity and respect.