I'M DONE by Joe Pollitt

A Discussion with the Ladies of Art in Holland.

RaQuel van Haver

RaQuel van Haver starts by announcing she is DONE!

"Ok I'm done:

We artists do need to pay a lot for our materials, transport , time etc.. a lot..
( most of the time upfront )
Why do people still expect that all we do is all for free..
That it's OK to not pay us all of the sudden or just wait for 5 months..
We do get in trouble , trying to fix things in impossible ways.
So many artist do "suffer "from this.
It's not normal ..
We do need to stand up to this.
I'm done!"

RaQuel van Haver

Then comes the untrained potty mouth POLLITT. 

 Joe Pollitt Declares: Furious, I have been forced to sell my Originals on Ebay. Artists have NO FUCKING PENSION and the RENT IS DUE! Still to pay my water rates, electricity and gas...reason for photo to be so shit...shot under candlelight. http://www.ebay.co.uk/.../International.../401403815148

My mate's dog is fed twice a day, is taken out for three walks by dog walkers, he even has health insurance, sleeps on a sofa next a 40"  TV Screen with the remote, paw-friendly and what do I get...A slap in the face for thinking I was an International Artist. Furious. Absolutely Fucked Off! I blame the FRENCH...but then again, I blame them for everything.

Conny Schoor

Conny types: "Is dat niet het verhaal van iedereen die als zelfstandige ondernemer werkt? In ieder geval de late betalingen......"

Translation: "Isn't that the story of everyone who works as a self-Employed Entrepreneur? At least the late payments......"

Joe Pollitt Replies: "Love your answer Conny but NO.  An Artist is born and those in authority know this. They know that the Artist will Art all their life. This is the true nature of an Artist. The Artist creates regardless and therefore all great Artists are exploited because those in Power know this fact. The one thing an Artist is NOT is an Entrepreneur. They are VERY DIFFERENT BEASTS. Polar opposite in fact. There are MONEY PEOPLE and there are ARTISTS. Damien Hirst is a moneyman and always has been. To think otherwise degrades the value of Art. Hirst has shown the world, with the right determination and forging the right friendships, Art can be manipulated and molded like a lump of clay. Hirst first choice of megalomaniac, Charles Saatchi, could not have been any wiser. An arrogant man with a respectable sense of self-loathing, coupled with vast wealth, influence and power…Perfect."

Cesi Denise Nolten types: "Sad but true.. so don't start before u have them sign a contract and have u pay 50% upfront. And they sign for paying u 50%. In two weeks after delivery. (Algemene voorwaarden) after some hard lessons u will have to do it this way.. if they respect u.. they will agree to sign. Ps --only in holland-- they are this lazy in paying.. with no law to protect us as a freelancer.. we should get together as artists here to see if we can do something about it right? So let me know if ur up to something.. im in!"

Cesi Denise Nolten

Pollitt sends her a backhand to the bassline with:

"Artists should expect not to get paid. They live in chaos, disorder and therefore need "Management", people to write proposals and understand that specific narrative. They need Publishers, PR and the Best Critics and Curators on their side. Language is a form of censorship here in the UK, if you can't understand the process, which is virtually impossible to comprehend unless you've been taught it you are setting yourself up for failure. It is a little like, Social Workers speak, it is only understood by those in the know. So it becomes political, where you went to Art College, which Framer you use, where in the World do you holiday? The importance of where you have drinks and meals out, which Clubs as you a Member of. In the end the Art World is one to avoid. Great Artists hate it, as do I.

What is happening is that the World is turning the Artist into a Tradesman/women. It is all Cobblers. Craft is not Art. The two are different but since the rise of the Hirst and others, Artists are now expected to support a team of 10 to 20 craftsmen and women and build a Production that can then be sold to the Museums, like the making of a Movie. But is it Art? Art has become Advertising, Commercial. A huge adult slide down the side of a building, a giant inflatable butt plug, a tent with all the men's names on display that the artist allowed to fuck her and abuse her? IS THAT A WORLD ANYBODY WANTS TO BELONG TO....."

Cesi Denise Nolten

Then as a final curtain call this:

"Well Raquel, Conny and Cesi; Art Ladies of Holland, you have certainly got me thinking again and writing, which is lovely. What it boils down to is money. The cream does not rise to the top. If the cream is poor it is highly likely it will curdle.  The main questions are: can you stay in the Game long enough so that you don't sink and die? Can you afford to go to the right Colleges, do the right Courses, invest in the right restaurants, Clubs, pubs and what not. This is even before you have put pen to paper. Art has become a Cottage Industry, the making of Factory Art. This is such a juicy subject to tap into but may leave the readers feeling lost and empty. Personally, my escape has always been Africa. To me, Africa means life in all it's glory. There is no word for Art there, everything is Art, so I have spent my time boring people with Africa. Little did they understand that Africa is Art and Art is Africa, because the world is asleep and most are far too busy to think straight. The masses would rather be told. You see Ladies, the majority like to be beaten, herded into pens and be among their familiars, in order to keep on bleating."

CRISIS IN AFRICA by Keilah Wells

Meeting Joseph Kony (2006)
The Great Freedom Fighter and Leader of the Lord's Resistance Army | LRA

*NB This is one of the greatest interviews ever. My respect goes out to Mohammed Vall from Al Jazerra. Please listen to this, all you who are interested in Uganda and Global Politricks.

Interview with Al Jazerra

 

I want to write this out so slowly, quietly because it is means the world to me. We need to look at the systems that have been put into place that are failing the entire international community. When doctors, lawyers and educators become refugees can they enjoy life in a mud hut? What is happening is quite amazing. The camps are turning into settlements soon to become reservations, it is all a matter of semantics and we are watching the development of Africa in a way that is so brutal and cruel. Dictators are using AID to develop their interest and the richer Nations of the UN are being held over a barrel to comply. Who has the right to a swimming pool, a gym and fresh food and water? Who has the right to watch movies in their leisure time and play X-box and eat chips whilst scratching their balls in their off-time? In over 30 years Uganda has had a media blackout. No news has come from this part of the world. The Brits and the Yanks have seen to it that this country of plenty is run by one of the worst Dictators to walk the earth. He has killed, tortured and brutalized his own Nation and the International Community has turned a blind eye to all his antics. The military is just a personal army that murders those that step out of line and ensures the so-called terrorists are dealt with by killing them one by one. This African Leader is shameless, he thinks what he has done was for the benefit of your country. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We have a moral obligation to ensure the rights of all mankind and blah blah blah blah. Let them drink, chilled Champagne! They are worth a million times what is given them...The UN can not skin a deal. Let the businessmen and women in. Let us see this through fairly and justly so all benefit. Bring on the Trumps and the business community to sort out this mess but this is a deal that is going sour. What is at stake is the experiment that is the United Nations. Those that hold serious positions of power in the UN are useless. They can not negotiate, they are fat fools in Savile Row suits unable to work out what to do so they sanction because of their stupidity. They know no better and have a poor privileged up-bringing but there is a deal to be broken here where all can benefit. Welcome to the layer-cake my friends. AID needs to come with partnership of those in Northern Uganda so their land is secured and their benefits realized. No more dealings with Ghost Governments that are a hundred times worse than any Hitler..

Oreo by Wasswa Donald

Walking so ignorantly into the misery business and understanding nothing. Torture and murder will make the news and therefore feed into the AID Industry. Who is pushing who and where does it stop if at all. The parasites of misery and those that suffer are the innocent whilst those in positions of responsibility lick their lips and smile as the common man lies dying. The camps highlight the exterior more than ever and as they grow into mini cities owned by dictators and their friends. Ugly business conducted by the worse of our humanitarian humans making a mockery of all that is humane. BLOOD IS READ so the journalists here tell me..what an utter bunch of c***s they all are..

The journey into the heart of Africa has taught me one thing. The whole fucking world is absolutely rotten. Those in control want to keep it that way because all those in seats of power are bottom feeding parasites that are totally un-human.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/aug/20/is-uganda-the-best-place-to-be-a-refugee

http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Secretary-General%27s%20Report%20for%20WHS%202016%20%28Advance%20Unedited%20Draft%29.pdf

Like a dolphin’s smile but looks can be deceiving.

This mass migration and displacement must be understood with more clarity. To make your life visible those in the regions around the borders of East African countries have no other option but to become refugees otherwise they will stay marginalized, neglected, invisible and completely off the radar. These problems have yet to be fully comprehended, or addressed because to do so will destablize and challenge the entire infrastructure. Those with refugee status are able to become Presidents, to educate and travel abroad. Those on the outskirts are seen as uncivilized savages, bestial creatures without value and this has been designed even manufactured. The issue lies in language, when those in the more affluent parts of the country are told people around the borderlands are no better than squatters, parasitic vermin, insignificant rodents. These are dangerous words that lead to genocide. Man-made famines, war and disease are all that remain for those unregistered masses that live outside the camps, now known as settlements, (like reservations in America) in these regions. What happened this year is set to increase 10 fold in the years to come. The legacy of the continuation of these Colonial Systems are failing the majority and making the indigenous people feel inferior in their own lands.

The Civilization of a Continent via an UN Refugee Program - Every Camp ("Settlement") is designed the same. Just like the Reservations in the United States or Concentration Camps in Europe. Streets A, B, C. Designated Health Facilities, US latrines, primary and secondary schools. A Church and a Mosque. Community Centre. Playing Fields for Sports.

Dr Aggrey Kiyingi discuses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFIejFYZjQ

Hardtalk with Stephen Sakur and President Museveni

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vWAdY0uZvA

Genocide and Murder in Uganda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvGfDWaG8Tk

President Yoweri Museveni will never step down from power because he is responsible for not just one genocide of 2 million Ugandan citizens but two genocides to date. Mass graves in the region of 4 million plus and the displacement of 2 million fellow Ugandans. Recently, I visited the women's prison in Gulu, Northern Uganda and the prison warden told me the majority of the prison was filled with innocent so-called "squatters" similar terminology as "cockroach", used in Rwanda. The source, Gloria, (not her real name) told me that the female prisoners are willing and happy to work the land for their supper. They are farmed out as cheap labour for any greedy willing farmer wanting to exploit this corrupt society. The President is a disgraceful leader, the worst on the Continent of Africa. He should be facing crimes against humanity in the Hague. He is the most heinous dictator ever and makes Hitler and Stalin look like alter boys in comparison. Uganda must see him leave and answer for his multiple crimes. The main problem being is has been supported by the British and funded by the Americans so he is untouchable.

Somebody is paying to be INVISIBLE - http://www.worldnewsradio.today/.../Dear-CNN-Uganda-is...

Great African Civilizations | Zulus of South Africa

The last in the series is about Zulus and South Africa and Ghana in West Africa and to end with Ethiopia and their determination and defiance to never becoming Colonized.

Great Africa Civilizations | Transatlantic Slavery

This is an exceptional part of the series and perhaps the most exciting for those that feel displaced. Part 5 looks at the issue of Transatlantic Slavery | This is a documentary that all of us, world wide should watch. Excellent stuff.

 

 

The Great African Civilization

Managing Blackness | African Identity in 21st Century | Morocco

Managing Blackness: the Politics of Race and the Economics of African Identity in 21st Century Morocco

A lecture by Aomar Boum (UCLA)

Thursday, February 16, 2017
12:15 PM - 1:45 PM
352 Haines Hall
UCLA

Due to global warming and political conflicts, illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan, central and West Africa are settling in Moroccan urban centers, waiting for an opportunity to continue their journey to Europe. This has led to the emergence of new discourses about race and blackness in Moroccan society. The social anxieties about the increasing public presence of black immigrants in Moroccan public spaces have rekindled historical and traditional discourses about blacks. In this context the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), a Moroccan public institution devoted to the protection of human rights, has advocated for a new policy that recognizes the human and legal rights of sub-Saharan immigrants and refugees. In fact, while racist incidents towards sub-Saharan African immigrants are on the rise, King Mohammed VI continues to expand Moroccan ties to its southern African neighbors. Using government records and newspaper reports between 2000 and 2015, and ethnographic interviews with policymakers, I argue that Morocco’s policy of African immigration is part of a political strategy to manage racism towards black immigrants through economic, political and religious outreach into the rest of Africa.

Aomar Boum is Associate Professor of Anthropology at UCLA. He is a socio-cultural anthropologist with a historical bent concerned with the social and cultural representation of and political discourse about religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East and North Africa. He has written on different topics such as Moroccan Jewish historiography, Islamic archives and manuscripts, education, music, youth, and sports among other things. He is currently working on two ethnographic and historically grounded projects: The monarchy, Jews and Holocaust politics in Morocco, 1930s-Present and Virtual Jews: an Ethnography of Moroccan Jews Online. His publications include his book, Memories of Absence: How Muslims Remember Jews in Morocco, and numerous academic articles.
Cost : Free and open to the public
Johanna  Romero
310-825-1181
romero@international.ucla.edu http://international.ucla.edu/cnes

Sponsor(s): African Studies Center, Center for Near Eastern Studies, Dept. of Anthropology's Culture, Power, Social Change (CPSC) series.

Redefining Zion | Tanzania

Monique Bedasse (left) and Marcus Hunter of the UCLA Department of Sociology (right) at the February 27, 2017 workshop. (Photo: Kevin Sprague/ UCLA.)

Redefining Zion: Rastafarian repatriation to Tanzania

Historian Monique Bedasse recently spoke about Rastafarian repatriation to Tanzania, the emergence of self-governing Caribbean and African nations and transnational pan-African politics.

"[Rastafarians'] desire to return to Africa — which they called Zion — spiritually, intellectually, psychologically and physically signified their resistance to what they believed to be oppressive circumstances in Babylon, [their word for] Jamaica and the White western world, as well as their desire to reclaim their identities."

By Kevin Sprague (UCLA 2018)

UCLA International Institute, March 14, 2017 — On February 27, 2017, Monique Bedasse of Washington University in St. Louis was the third speaker in the “Emancipation and Empire: Africa and the Project of Black Studies” workshop series. The series is organized by the UCLA Department of African American Studies and cosponsored by Professor Melvin L. Rogers, Scott Waugh Chair in the Division of Social Sciences and professor of political science and African American Studies; the UC Consortium for Black Studies in California; the James S. Coleman African Studies Center; and the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African-American Studies .

As part of her presentation, Bedasse discussed her forthcoming book on Rastafarian repatriation to Tanzania, which examines the relationship between that repatriation, the emergence of self-governing Caribbean and African nations and transnational pan-African politics.

Bedasse opened with a brief background on the emergence of the Rastafari religion and pan-Africanism, or political unity and solidarity among Africans, in the 1930s. She explained that among Rastafarians of that era, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie was understood to be the messiah who would help lead the African diaspora home. Their experience in Jamaica — the result of slavery — was perceived as an exile marked by alienation and oppression.

“Their desire to return to Africa — which they called Zion — spiritually, intellectually, psychologically and physically signified their resistance to what they believed to be oppressive circumstances in Babylon, [their word for] Jamaica and the White western world, as well as their desire to reclaim their identities.” said Bedasse. “Repatriation to Africa was not simply migration for Rastafarians.”

Bringing pan-Africanism to the mainstream

Although many interpreted Zion to mean the nation of Ethiopia specifically, other Rastafarians did not interpret repatriation within state boundaries. Repatriation to Tanzania began in 1976, when Rastafarians were drawn to its emergence as a center of pan-African activity under President Julius Nyerere.

Tanzania presented a promising space for Rastafarians, but “decolonization was a protracted process,” said Bedasse. Colonial rule continued at the time in multiple countries, such as Angola and Mozambique, forming a complex geopolitical landscape for newly independent African states. However, the rise of black African leaders allowed the pan-African movement to be incorporated into mainstream politics.

Nyerere was one such leader. He consulted with Rastafarians who had repatriated to Tanzania in hopes of making his vision of African socialism, Ujamaa, a reality. “Rastafarians assisted [Nyerere], because his vision of Ujamaa aligned with their lives and ideals,” said Bedasse.  

Ujamaa comes from the Swahili word for “familyhood” and is a political ideology that promoted “villagization,” or the creation of centralized villages with a few hundred families across the nation. These villages sought to make the distribution of goods and services easier while enabling collective agriculture, which Nyerere saw as necessary for a self-reliant Tanzania. Ultimately, the idea became unpopular and the agricultural yield from these settlements was far lower than expected. Ujaama, in fact, severely crippled banking and industry, leaving Tanzania dependent on foreign aid.

Although Ujamaa under Nyerere was not economically viable, the Rastafarians’ collaboration with Nyerere proved that they had the power to move political actors at the state level. “Rastafarians were only around three percent of the population, but became the face and language of black consciousness in Jamaica,” said Bedasse. “Now this disparity between a small number and a large impact [became] global.”

The impact of Rastafarianism

Rastafarians redefined discussions of pan-Africanism in multiple ways. For example, said the speaker, collaboration between Rastafarians and the Tanzanian government weakened the strict social stratification of African states, which relied on colonial borders and a black elite class.

Bedasse argued that the Rastafarians were also successful in promoting pan-Africanism beyond Tanzania because of the link between Michael Manley, then prime minister of Jamaica, and Julius Nyerere, then president of Tanzania, who were close friends and political allies. Manley was heavily influenced by Rastafarians and ultimately became a pan-Africanist leader in global politics, she noted.

Rastafarians also lessened the importance of imperial boundaries in the discussion of African politics. Most analyses of Nyere’s idea of African socialism (Ujamaa) used the framework of nation states, but Rastafarians forced the discussion of Ujamaa to transcend borders and take on a transnational character. This change in framework meant that idea of reclaiming Africa was seen in terms that went beyond colonial borders and directly addressed global white supremacy, said Bedasse.

Rastafarians further challenged imperialism and the West by rejecting written record keeping, relying instead on oral records through the generations. “They engage in secrecy and are unapologetically selective in whom they trust,” said Bedasse, explaining that written archives have negative colonial and imperial connotations for Rastafarians. Archives thus create the potential for their words to be misconstrued. By using oral history, she continued, Rastafarians seek an autonomous archival space that is wholly their own.

The Rastafarian repatriation movement, concluded Bedasse, was a serious pan-African political force with great impact on post-colonial politics. Rastafari, she said, “is a serious philosophy that has evolved in important ways.”

Published: Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Wade Davis: The Wayfinders - Why Ancient Wisdom Matters In the Modern World

Speech for New Vision | Joe Pollitt

SPEECH MEANT FOR NEW VISION | KAMPALA

Joe Pollitt | Artwork by Hellen Nabukenya

For all those that can not make this historical Art show entitled, “To Live is to Become”, in Kampala by the Artist, Wasswa Donald Augustine, who is the Chairman of Artpunch in Buziga. The Artist has asked if I could write a speech for his Opening on Friday 31st March 2017 at Afriart Gallery – Kenneth Dale Drive, Off Kira Rd, Kamwokya from 6pm to 9pm. I will be wearing a full bodysuit of colourful off-cuts with hat and matching shoes that where created for me by the Artist, Hellen Nabukenya.

Joe Pollitt | Artwork by Hellen Nabukenya

“Good evening ladies and gentle. Some here tonight may know of me, some may have heard of me, most may not but I have flown in from London to be here with you on this very special occasion. This monumental solo show of the new works by Wasswa. My name is Joe Pollitt, that’s right, I am here. Here with you all, here I am, here in the flesh. Tonight, I am introducing Wasswa Donald’s historical show. Together, on this night, we are making history. This show will be recorded, shown to millions around the world. All those with smart-phones, get them out, hold them up and stream this show live to your friends around the world. “To live is to become” is a solo show and the artist is a wealth generator. He has generously paid his whole team and enabled their families to eat. Tonight, this show will be an education. An education into wood found in your glorious forests, here in Uganda. Tonight, with you all, we are naming the National Tree, the Mugavu, the National Tree for Uganda. The Mugavu grows wild here in your glorious forests and the Mugavu has deep roots but few care about this undiscovered tree. I am told by the artist that the Mugavu is almost ignored, sadly overlooked but tonight, here in this gallery Afriart, together we are naming the Mugavu, the National Tree of Uganda discovered by the the Artist, Wasswa Donald.

Joe Pollitt | Artwork by Hellen Nabukenya

The Artist is internationally emerging and tomorrow he flies to Germany, he is rising and with his perfectly framed screw-ups; his dysfunctional, functionals; his King and Queen ebonies, he is rising up to meet his destiny. His worth is extremely important and tonight I am here to announce that his work is International. The Ugandans around the world will see this work and weep at its brilliance. The Ugandans around the world will be so proud of the hard work that has gone into polishing these superior woods of the world that grow so easily, here in Uganda. We are witnessing great changes here in the Capital. The works you are about to see are some of the best I have ever seen anywhere. All of us here tonight are going to be seen. We are going to be recorded and we are going to make history. Together we are writing out a brand new chapter in Ugandan Art. We are making ourselves visible. My dream is to see the first sell-out show here in Kampala. I am not here to talk. I am here to buy. Well-come to the show, “To Live is To Become!”"

Artist | Hellen Nabukenya

To Live is To Become | Wasswa Donald

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.