Critically Acclaimed Interdisciplinary Playwright and Poet Robert Karimi to be First Artist-in-Residence at Intermedia Arts
Critically Acclaimed Interdisciplinary Playwright and Poet Robert Karimi to be First Artist-in-Residence at Intermedia Arts
Minneapolis, MN—Interdisciplinary playwright and poet Robert Farid Karimiwill be Intermedia Arts’ first artist-in-residence as of February 1, 2011. Karimi will take up residence in Intermedia Arts’ visual arts gallery, creating a workspace/playspace with regular hours and activities for community engagement and interaction. Over the course of his residency, Karimi will be hard at work and play on his new project, Diabetes of Democracy, an interdisciplinary theatrical experience incorporating music, documentary-style video, storytelling, political discussion and humor – as well as live cooking onstage – into a PBS cooking show format. Karimi’s focus for these cooking show “episodes” will be on the epidemic of Type 2 Diabetes in communities of color.
Karimi will be in residence at Intermedia Arts for 18-months, doing test kitchens, community events, and working to create this show in, with, and as a part of the community.
Karimi says of his residency, “As an artist, this will be an amazing opportunity to take risks and test out new ideas before they fully crystallize. I look forward to utilizing my corner gallery space and monthly events to the fullest - responding to the outside world and sharing my perspective on it. I plan to work with local artists and communities to address the current events of our time.”
Intermedia Arts Executive/Artistic Director, Theresa Sweetland says, “Intermedia Arts is very excited to have this opportunity to creatively support an artist for an extended period of time. Robert is, first and foremost, an artist who is community-oriented and community-engaged. He is working to raise awareness of Type II diabetes in communities of color, and, through his work, he is changing the lives and health of people facing diabetes through art.
Intermedia Arts works to support local artists. We want to be part of the change they are making. This new residency program is our way of creating a structure for that, of putting our resources behind an artist who is truly working to make change.”
Intermedia Arts is one of the commissioners of the Diabetes of Democracy, along with Asian Arts Initiative and Kaotic Good Productions with support from the National Performance Network Creation Fund. Diabetes of Democracy will premiere at Intermedia Arts in 2012 in conjunction with a gallery exhibit called Revolution Starts in the Kitchen. The show will then go on to Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Antonio, Houston, and the San Francisco Bay Area as part of its multi-community commissioning.
As part of his residency, Karimi will be offering public events every 4th Wednesday of the month, beginning with a meet-and-greet at 7PM on February 23rd, 2011. Each night will offer some insight into the artists’ process, and offer food and public discussion. The first one will introduce Karimi to the community and the project. Food will be served at all the events.
Intermedia Arts is a catalyst that builds understanding among people through art.
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ABOUT ROBERT KARIMI
Robert Farid Karimi is an interdisciplinary playwright, multimedia humorist, activist, and poet and the artistic director of Kaotic Good Productions. His works include Self (the remix), The Cooking Show con Karimi y Comrades, Shaving time, and the Approximate Value of a Foot Bubbler. Karimi has collaborated with artists such as Guillermo Gomez Peña and Laurie Carlos; performances include the Edge of The World, Reverend of the DiscoChurch, and McMuertos. His awards include a National Poetry Slam Championship, an Alliance of Artists’ Communities Midwestern Voices & Visions Award, an Intermedia Arts VERVE Grant for Spoken Word Artists, NPN Creation Grant, a Kohler Arts/Industry residency. A San Francisco Bay Area native, son of Iranian and Guatemalan parents and a UCLA graduate, Karimi’s work has been featured from Alaska to Australia. A National Poetry Slam Champion, and Def Poetry Jam performer, Karimi’s writings have been published in Callaloo, Latino Literature Today, and Total Chaos: The Art and the Aesthetics of Hip Hop by Jeff Chang. A 2009 Creative Capital grantee, he is currently developing The Cooking Show: Diabetes of Democracy, Farid Mercury, an exploration of Persian politics, masculinity and pop divination, and editing Punto!, a new Latina/o spoken word anthology.
ABOUT THE COOKING SHOW
A live cooking performance for your mind, heart, stomach & funny bone that the Associated Press called
“a globally flavored recipe that packs some punch lines.” Chef Mero Cocinero creates revolutionary recipes LIVE onstage, serving up stories and delicious culinary samples, guaranteeing every audience member their own satisfying taste. The
Cooking Show con Karimi & Comradesis based on the familiar PBS cooking show format—and incorporates music, documentary-style video, storytelling, humor, and live cooking onstage. The audience actively participates in the show: members will help prepare the meal, take a sensory journey, and taste the recipes. Our new episode:
Diabetes of Democracywill be a series of workshops and live performances to engage communities of color in conversations about Type 2 Diabetes – and how cultural cuisines, stories and rituals can be used to combat this epidemic. As one audience member said
:“[The Cooking Show] is on the knife’s edge of food, wisdom and spiritual growth. The measure of community is an essential ingredient. Thanks for reminding us the table and kitchen are the soul of our family and community.”
ABOUT DIABETES OF DEMOCRACY
The Cooking Show Con Karimi & Comrades: Diabetes of Democracy, co-commissioned by Intermedia Arts, is an interactive performance and storytelling project focused on communities who are most at risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes. The CDC names this disease as one of the leading causes of death in communities of color. Much research has been devoted to preventing and reversing it through food & lifestyle changes, but the solutions are neither accessible nor palatable to the people who need help the most. As a performing artist and educator, Karimi will reach the audience through multiple points of access: cooking/storytelling workshops, site-specific happenings, test kitchens and a live cooking show. All will be interactive experiences; Participants will take a sensory journey, help prepare a meal, and taste new recipes. Working within communities, and taking time to hear their struggles, he will use personal stories and recipes to promote community health, and provide accessible tools to help combat the disease.
A multidisciplinary, multicultural arts center, Intermedia Arts builds understanding among people by catalyzing and inspiring artists and audiences to make changes in their lives and communities.
We are a nationally recognized leader in empowering artists and community leaders to use arts-based approaches to solve community issues. From graffiti art to digital technology to performance art to spoken word, we work from the community up to unearth and enliven new and emerging artists and art forms while challenging and exploring the role of art in our lives. By stimulating civic dialogue and giving voice to the issues and experiences of underrepresented communities locally, nationally and internationally, we contribute to a stronger, healthier society.
