Dissident Arts Festival benefits families of political prisoners, celebrates free expression

NEW YORK—The thirteenth annual Dissident Arts Festival, a showcase of revolutionary creativity, will occur on stages in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Manhattan’s East Village on two forthcoming Saturday nights, September 8 and 15, respectively. The Festival will raise funds for three organizations relevant to the movement for social justice and feature clear, outspoken statements against repression in a reactionary time.

The September 8th evening, Cabaret of Dissent, takes place at 17 Frost Theatre and Gallery, a premier performance space in Williamsburg. It will benefit the Rosenberg Fund for Children, a non-profit public foundation that aids children of targeted, progressive activists. The event, inspired by Weimar Berlin, New York’s Café Society and Downtown Arts, includes speaker Jenn Meeropol, granddaughter of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and director of the Rosenberg Fund, esteemed jazz singer Judi Silvano, who adds voice to the experimentalist Beyond Group, pianist Chris Forbes presenting “Harmolodic Weill,” liberation jazz and spoken word by the Red Microphone, celebrated bassist/poet Larry Roland debuting his new all-star band They Come With Gold, and noted poetry duo Raymond Nat Turner and Zigi Lowenberg. The closing act is rising star singer/songwriter Lindsey Wilson & the Human Hearts. Throughout the evening the politically charged paintings of Brooklyn visual artist Sophia Dawson will be projected over the stage. The show run from 7-11 pm at 17 Frost Theatre and Gallery, 17 Frost Street, Brooklyn. Admission is $15.

On September 15th the action moves to the 5C Café and Cultural Center, longstanding home of avant-jazz and bold performance, where funds will be raised for the Alliance of Families for Justice and the NYC Jericho Movement. Both organizations advocate for the unjustly incarcerated and call for urgent prison reform. The evening opens with a solo performance by renowned drummer William Hooker and includes 5C’s own pianist/composer Trudy Silver, Ras Moshe’s Music Now! and the Flames of Discontent duo of Festival director John Pietaro and Laurie Towers. The closing act is international songwriter Martina Fiserova. The show runs from 7-11 pm at 5C Café & Cultural Center, E. 5th St./Ave. C, Manhattan. Admission is $15.

For more information and a complete festival schedule see www.DissidentArts.com