2009 - The Zeitgeist

Masters at Work featuring Vikter Duplaix: Reality (Osunlade Yoruba Soul Mix)

After finding this one I had to post it as it reminded me of Rha Goddess' speech during the closing ceremonies of the National Performance Network Annual Meeting, which ended with "Fasten your seatbelts...."

Of course, with the current world situation one could also think of Charles Dickens ("It was the best of times, it was the worst of times") as well as the Chinese symbol for crisis, which is also the symbol for opportunity. What has stayed with me during this transition is the thought that many have shared, that being that as things get choppier, we have to focus on maintaining excellence in everything that we do - and my very humble thanks go to my dear friend Willie Anthony Waters for reminding me of that fact.


More from Rajni Shah
This year has started with a very nice note from Rajni Shah, the creator of Dinner with America - "the second in a trilogy of performances addressing the complexities of cultural identity in the 21st century". Alongside a very successful tour of the United Kingdom, Rajni has published Dinner With America: Essays, Films, Images and Conversations, which is available through her website.

"All texts and images are designed to illuminate both the core and outlying ideas explored in the performance installation Dinner with America and gently explore the question 'What does 'America' mean to us today?' " With the nation - and indeed the world - facing huge changes, this is incredibly timely and I encourage all of you to purchase a copy!


2009 Baker Artist Award
In other news, I have recently been nominated for the Baker Artist Award! The Baker Artist Award consists of both the privately juried Mary Sawyers Baker Prize and the voter selected Baltimore's Choice. The process is designed to open the nominations to the broadest possible community participation using the Web. The William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund intends the Baker Artist Awards website to be an ongoing exhibition, archive and definitive statement about Baltimore as a creative richness and vitality as place to live and community that values its individual artists.

To learn more about the Baker Artist Award, please visit their website at www.bakerartistawards.org.

Please take a minute to visit my profile on the Baker Artist Awards web site: http://www.bakerartistawards.org/nomination/view/samuelthompson. As a Baltimore artist, I am eligible to win either the significant Mary Sawyers Baker Prize or the voter-selected Baltimore’s Choice. Either way, please follow the link to cast your vote! Voting ends February 1, 2009.

For the Price of a CD...coming soon...


More from the road,
Sam