Leeway Foundation Grantee Showcase

Sunday, November 13, 2pm – multi-disciplinary showcase
Leeway Foundation Grantee Showcase
Featuring:
Sandra Andino, Deborah Rudman, Gavin Outlaw
& Cassendre Xavier

Sandra Andino (ACG’05, ACG’09) will display a photo-documentary project that explores the Afro-Latino concept, experience, and artistic/cultural expression of Latinos in North Philadelphia. She selected a group of Latino visual artists, performers, and cultural workers from youth to seniors and created a series of portraits that represent them and how they define the Afro-Latino concept. Each piece is accompanied with text extracted from conversations with each of the artists regarding this topic. Her goal is to create social awareness and a collective conscience that Latinos and Latinas have a connection to Africa and African culture(s) in the Diaspora.

Gavin Outlaw (ACG’09) will compose a book of poetry and art related to his life as a transgender artist, including everything from love to politics. Raising consciousness by utilizing artistic prose as a form of empowerment to the trans community, he will challenge transphobia and question mainstream beliefs about the abilities of trans artists. He hopes to inspire unity among his transgender community that is beyond race and class through poetry and books.

Deborah Rudman (ACG’09), in collaboration with Termite TV Collective,  has produced a documentary called Yo! Taxi about the struggles of Philadelphia area Taxi drivers who have been marginalized. Through conversations, testimonials and activities with the Unified Taxi Workers Alliance, the experiences of this highly visible yet silenced population come to life. Creating this unique portraiture brings into focus taxi drivers’ rights, safety conditions, access to healthcare and issues of economic justice. This documentary reveals the human face and voice of a community of workers that is so often forgotten.

Cassendre Xavier is a recipient of the Leeway Transformation Award (2005). She is a Haitian & Chinese-American multi-media artist who works mostly as a singer-songwriter, guitarist, recording artist, and writer. Cassendre has also contributed to Philadelphia’s community cultural arts by founding and directing both the Women’s Writing & Spoken Word Series (Est. 2002 at Moonstone/Robin’s) and the Black Women’s Arts Festival (Est. 2003 at The Rotunda). Visit http://cassEndrExavier.com.