After receiving more than 600 applications, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation announced on March 9 the selection of local and nationally renowned hip-hop artist and activist Jasiri X, along with three other artists and two artist collectives, as its 2015 Artist as Activist fellowship recipient. The honor will bestow a total of $400,000 among them.
“It feels good. Anytime, as an artist, that you’re recognized for your work it’s always a great feeling,” Jasiri X said about receiving the honor. “I definitely appreciate—especially with all the people that applied for it—that I was one of the people they chose. It’s cool that I’m known not just as somebody that raps, but (that) I’m somebody that’s known for being active in my own community.”
Jasiri X, co-creator of 1 Hood Media, was selected for his work through the organization’s 1 Hood Media Academy which empowers Black youth, especially young Black males, to have a voice and dispel stereotypes through the positive forum of self-expression and telling of their own stories. The academy was established in 2012.
“Instead of waiting for them (mainstream media) to cover the positive things that happen in our communities, we decided that we’ll tell our own stories,” Jasiri X said. “We’ll get cameras; we’ll teach youth that want to do music, that want to do videography and blog, how to use their voice in a way that’s empowering.”
The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation fosters the legacy, life and philosophy of the late Robert Rauschenberg, an artist and philanthropist, who had a belief that “art can change the world.” It supports initiatives from accomplished independent artists and artist collectives that connect art and social issues.
Executive Director of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Christy MacLear said in a release, “Robert Rauschenberg used his artistic voice to foster conversations around the pressing issues of his time. We are proud to continue that legacy by supporting fearless, forward-thinking artists who are serving as creative problem solvers.”
“This is an exciting time not just for the artists, but for the broader public,” said Rise Wilson, director of Philanthropy of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.
Over the next two-years, Jasiri X and the other recipients will receive various amounts to support their creative practices that are applied to a larger social purpose. This is the first year for the fellowship. According to Wilson, Jasiri X will receive a total of $30,000.
Jasiri X, who applied for the fellowship after receiving several emails from individuals who suggested he apply, said the funding would be used for the continued growth of the Academy.
“We’re able to help raise their (the youth’s) consciousness when they do art,” he said. “We’re changing a narrative that’s around young Black youth, particularly young Black males. We’ve had over the last two days, two other young Black men get killed by the police and we feel a lot of this happens because there’s a stereotype of us.”
Recently, 1 Hood Media, through the efforts of co-creator Paradise Gray, said Jasiri X, took several of its students to see “Selma,” the Oscar nominated movie that recounts a historical event of the Civil Rights Movement. He said they felt it important to have students, especially high school students, see this film.
And just this past weekend Jasiri X attended the 50th Anniversary of the March from Selma to Montgomery where he performed. He said the highlight was meeting several music greats and historical figures, specifically Congressman John Lewis.
“I was able to thank him for the sacrifice he made and what he went through 50 years earlier,” said Jasiri X. “I was honored to perform, but it was even better to just be there and see all the ancestors and feel the spirit. And then to see people from Ferguson there… Fifty years later we’re still fighting a lot of these same battles and struggles. So it was great to see them as well.”
In addition to the six fellowship grants, the Artist as Activist program will also award $50,000 to nine additional artists who will then use it to travel and/or research creative projects with a social purpose, and $200,000 in unrestricted grants to organizations that support artists leveraging art to address social issues.
Other 2015 Artist as Activist fellows are Chemi M. Rasado-Seijo of San Juan, Puerto Rico; Dalit Diva of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Deanna Van Buren of Oakland, Calif.; People’s Climate Arts of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Susan McAllister and Naomi Natale of Albuquerque, NM.
For more information on 1 Hood Media and its Academy, visit www.1hood.org.
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