Mission Statement
Arts For Art, Inc. is a not-for-profit, multi-cultural organization whose purpose is to build awareness and understanding of avantjazz and related expressive movements while encouraging a sense of community amongst artists and their audiences. Our principal activities are the presentation of innovative, creative music, dance, multi-media performances, spoken word, and the exhibition of visual arts. Arts for Art, Inc. is particularly dedicated to the presentation of innovative American music from an Afro-American perspective and traditions. Avantjazz is a direct outgrowth of jazz, historically an African-American music. Yet avantjazz has gone world wide gaining audience and artists from all cultures. Thus our programming is multi-racial, reflecting this development of avantjazz into a multi-cultural music.
Innovative music that is being developed in New York's lower east side, acclaimed and supported worldwide, remains underexposed and without support in its place of origin. Thus our goals are to acknowledge and sustain the legacy of this artform, while insuring its future by establishing a place for its development.
From the beginning Arts for Art and the Vision Festival have carried a message of clear social awareness. The very institution of Arts For Art is a political act of self-determination. AFA holds to the belief that art really moves people and that to move people is a powerful political act.
Avant-Jazz: a definition
Avantjazz is art that exhibits a disciplined disregard for traditional boundaries. While avantjazz is an outgrowth of African American musical forms, e.g. blues and jazz, it has made a break from these traditional forms. Avantjazz is free to draw from any tradition in creating structures and frameworks for improvisation. It is also free to disregard all conventions. The avantjazz musician has the creative freedom to incorporate music of asian, african, native american, and european cultures, or possibly doing away with conventional song forms or rhythmic structures. That is their freedom. It is not a freedom from melody or composition or rhythm. It is the freedom to choose any tradition or vocabulary as part of their palette when either composing or improvising. This aesthetic extends to the presentation of all art forms, as they inspire and help evolve art and thinking.
ABOUT RUCMA:
- In spring 2007, New York experienced a spate of high profile live music venue closings. In August 2007, AFA held a Town Hall meeting, where a collective group of innovative musicians and their supporters came together to discuss current issues affecting them and how these might best be addressed. This group was organized into a committee system and was officially named Rise Up Creative Music and Arts (RUCMA). As a grassroots coalition of musicians and music lovers united to address their creative, political, and practical concerns through advocacy and action, RUCMA aims to change the role of artists in modern society by changing the role that art plays in the life of the average citizen. To accomplish this, the conversation surrounding the arts must be altered. Rather than claiming the arts need the support of the community, RUCMA's contention is that the community needs the support of the arts. AFA's goal is to establish an ongoing presence for creative music in lower Manhattan. Toward this end, AFA's Vision Club Series was expanded and renamed the RUCMA Music Series in January 2008 to convey the importance of creative arts in the heart of our community. This Series presents weekly concerts. The series has just found a new home at The Local 269 at 269 East Houston Street. These presentations are conceived by RUCMA artists and members with administrative support from AFA's production staff.
To read more about RUCMA visit: www.rucma.org