IZAHViBE

Welcome to IZAHViBE…
IZAHViBE is a weekly artspace cooperative that aims to showcase the non-traditional musical forms that exist in Trinidad. Each week’s Vibe explores the full range of musical and oral literary forms, from Hip-Hop and R&B, to Jazz and Rock, to Dancehall and Reggae — all held together with open-mike contributions from T&T’s most vibrant and dynamic poets, storytellers and stand-up comics.

THE FORMAT:
Each week features performances by two headline bands. These may be from any genre, and in the past we’ve had the pleasure of highlighting such acts as Orange Sky (Ska/Alt/Reggae), jointPop (Alt Rock), The Love Circle (Jamoo), Psykic (Classic Rock), Élan Parlé (Cont Jazz), Jeunes Agapé (Choir), 12 (Alt/Folk Rock), Xen (Punk/Metal Rock), Bitter Black (Reggae/Dancehall) and Caution (Soca) — to name a few. A long list of distinguished poets have also graced the stage, including Raymond Ramcharitar, Paula Obe, Shani, Toni Asanté Lightfoot and Lisa Allen-Agostini (who, coincidentally, is a foundation member of Grasworx).
Admission is free, as Grasworx is dedicated to building a strong art support community.
Performances are every Sunday evening, from 7.30 p.m. till midnight.

THE SCENE:
Bands, poets, singers, rappers, writers, musicians, DJs, comedians and you — the audience. IZAHViBE is not strictly a variety showcase either. There is a serious element of networking and "old talk" that goes on in the audience, and Grasworx encourages this interaction as much as what happens stageside, as this is what forms the curious affiliations that colour our lives in the long run.

THE ORGANISATION:
Grasworx Freepress is a 6-year-old art support organisation. We publish the underground literary art magazine TOPSOiL (www.topsoil.org), and are in the process of forming Razahgras Records; an independent label geared towards exposing the full variety of local performance art and music through the release of genre-specific compilation CD albums. Grasworx’ intention to provide a forum for the Caribbean artist began with the publication of TOPSOiL at the end of the Carifesta conference in 1995.

From that first step, we’ve built different avenues, IZAHViBE being the flagship, but also including several one-off visual arts showcases, talk-shops and networking committees. Over the next few years, Grasworx plans to expand IZAHViBE into a live broad/cybercast that will be the nexus of T&T pop culture and performance art. It is hoped that the season-ending IZAHbeachViBE all-day beach concert, which will take place at Maracas on the last Sunday in summer, will evolve into a T&T Sandstock.

THE VENUE:
Izahvibe is at Caribbean Contemporary Arts, in the Fernandes Industrial Centre —- five minutes from downtown Port of Spain. This venue is ideal for our weekly showcase, and will be our home for the season, which lasts until September 1.

 

 

THE CROPPER FOUNDATION THIRD WRITERS' WORKSHOP

Programme in support of Caribbean Writing
Residential Workshop in Short Fiction
August 4 to 24, 2002
Trinidad and Tobago

Moderators: Merle Hodge and Funso Aiyejina

Background
This workshop is sponsored by THE CROPPER FOUNDATION in partnership with The UWI Centre for Creative and Festival Arts, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.

We know that the Caribbean has enormously talented writers who have already achieved world-wide recognition, and others continue to emerge. But we also know that there is boundless latent talent, seeking to find the proper form and mode of expression. Wide-ranging discussions suggest that time and space in which to write, guidance from an experienced writer, and help with publication, are what is needed to foster this development. Two writers' workshops in this programme have already been hosted: the first in 2000 for writers of short fiction; the second in 2001 for writers of young adult literature. Both workshops have been jointly organised with the University of the West Indies Centre for Creative and Festival Arts, and have been moderated by Merle Hodge and Funso Aiyejina. Participants from both years have had their work appear in various publications. Last year, Lelawattee Manoo-Rahming and Lenny Burke, participants in the 2000 workshop, won the Commonwealth Short Story Competition and the Jamaica Observer's Annual Fiction Award respectively.

The Workshop
The three-week residential workshop for 2002 will once again focus on works of short fiction. A maximum of ten participants will be selected.

The moderators will be Merle Hodge and Funso Aiyejina, both lecturers in the UWI Faculty of Humanities and Education. Merle Hodge is the author of Crick Crack Monkey and For the Life of Laetitia; Funso Aiyejina won the 1999 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa) for The Legend of the Rockhills.

During the workshop, opportunities will be provided for extended periods of quiet time in which to write; frequent access to the moderators in group and individual sessions; readings by and discussions with other writers; talks on the business of writing (contracts, agents, finding a publisher; discussions with publishers; public reading. The detailed programme and workshop outline will be developed with reference to the backgrounds, objectives and assessed needs of the selected candidates and will be circulated to them at a later date.

Certification
A certificate of participation will be issued jointly by THE CROPPER FOUNDATION and the UWI Centre for the Creative and Festival Arts.

Eligibility
The workshop is open to persons from the Caribbean, including the Caribbean diaspora, who are writing in English. There is no age restriction.

Selection of participants
Interested writers are invited to submit one piece of fiction, either completed or a work in progress. Selection will be based on the perceived potential of individuals to benefit from the workshop, balanced by a Caribbean-wide representation. Selection of the ten participants (plus alternates) will be conducted by a panel, including the workshop moderators, organised by the UWI Centre for Creative and Festival Arts.

Organisers responsibilities
The organizers will:

Participants' responsibilities
Participants:

Workshop venue and accommodation
The Workshop will be held at the Mt Plaisir Estate, Grande Riviere on the eastern end of Trinidad's north coast. This tiny agricultural and fishing village, home to just about 350 residents, is a famous nesting site for the leatherback marine turtle. The hotel is small and rustic, seeking to disturb neither the simplicity of the village nor the tranquillity of the environment. Participants will be required to share rooms.

Workshop schedule
Short fiction writing, August 4 to 24, 2002

Closing date for applications - March 24
Selection of participants - April 17
Notification of selection - May 1
Deadline for participants to confirm participation - May 23
Participants arrive in Trinidad and Tobago - August 3
Workshop begins - August 4
Public reading - date to be announced
Workshop ends - August 24
Participants depart Trinidad and Tobago - August 25

Notes to applicants:

Send your application to:

 

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[1] Such contributions will be held in reserve by the organisers to be used to periodically offer 'scholarships' (i.e., required air fare) in future workshops to eligible but needy participants