Art
REVIEW: Ishmael Reed’s Play “The Slave Who Loved Caviar,” Comments on Black Artists and White Sponsors
[Haitian-Puerto Rican American artist, Jean-Michel] Basquiat rose to fame in the neo-expressionist art movement in the 1980s and [Andy] Warhol, one of his mentors, had gained renown for Pop Art and drug use in the 1960s. They died within a year of each other, Warhol at age 59 in 1987 and Basquiat died of an overdose at age 27 in 1988.

By Wanda Sabir
Ishmael Reed’s current play, directed by Carla Blank, “The Slave Who Loved Caviar,” at Theater for the New City until January 9, explores Black culture and white exploitation in the relationship between the Haitian-Puerto Rican American artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol.
Basquiat rose to fame in the neo-expressionist art movement in the 1980s and Warhol, one of his mentors, had gained renown for Pop Art and drug use in the 1960s. They died within a year of each other, Warhol at age 59 in 1987 and Basquiat died of an overdose at age 27 in 1988.
There are so many analogous parallels, both fictional or mythic and actual that it is amazing that the play only has one intermission.
In his play, Reed postulates that the older, white artist presented himself as a benevolent father figure. While under the influence of drugs, a willing Basquiat allows Warhol to install him in a basement where Basquiat churns out art like an assembly worker.
Reed’s premise here is that Warhol had gotten away with a crime.
The cold case is reopened by two forensic scientists, Grace and Raksha, (Monisha Shiva and understudy Kenya Wilson) who want to bring the perpetrators to justice. As the contemporary team investigates, time shifts back and forth as what happened to Basquiat had perpetuated with other captives.
Slave owners used cocaine — which Basquiat used excessively — to increase productivity among the captives, Reed says. Just as slavery was once legal, the Warhol machine also had legal protection, money and power.
Reed’s writing is crisp and sharp as are the actors who deliver and deliver and deliver some more. Carla Blank’s direction is also on point as the diction and storylines unfold clearly in nuanced layers.
I love the scene in Act 2 where the ghost of Richard Pryor — appearing as a shadow puppet danced by actor, Kenya Wilson — tries to prevent Basquiat from going up in chemical flames like the late comedian had.
Pryor’s ghost speaks to the art of selling out to Hollywood, another type of killing field for Black art and artists. We sense Pryor’s regret that he didn’t stay with people who loved him. It’s hard to tell friend from foe when engulfed in f(l)ame(s).
Reed’s characters also convey the prevailing attitudes by police that allow the wealthy and famous to get away with everything from theft to murder, a very real problem on and off the page.
Roz Fox’s Detective Mary van Helsing is a cool sleuth who goes looking for the missing appetizer, “Jennifer Blue” (actor Kenya Wilson) despite legal disinterest. She is our hero. Don’t worry, this is a spoiler, but there is so much going on here, you will probably forget I told you.
In “Slave” we see too often how historians are propagandists who lie to keep the empire solvent.
Remember Orwell’s Ministry of Truth in “1984”? I am reminded also of Jimi Hendrix (1970) and his demise—yes to a drug overdose. . . Fuquan Johnson (2021), Shock G (2021), Juice WRLD (2020), Billie Holiday (1959), Whitney Houston (2012), The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (2006), Michael Jackson (2009).
Since it is Ishmael Reed, we can actually have a happy ending.
The late bell hooks wrote in “Outlaw Culture: ‘Altars of Sacrifice: “Re-membering Basquiat’,” that the young, yet masterful artist “journeyed into the heart of whiteness.
White territory he named as a savage and brutal place. The journey is embarked upon with no certainty of return. Nor is there any way to know what you will find or who you will be at journey’s end. . . . Basquiat understood that he was risking his life—that this journey was all about sacrifice [. . .]” (36). this and his refusal to allow the dominant culture to tell our story, the 99%, the percentage who matter.
How difficult it must have been for the artist to have his say as he dangled from a purveyor’s noose. Herein lies Black genius. Herein lies the tragedy. Ishmael Reed’s ability to cultivate success for the past 60 or so years stems from his artistic eReed’s research is impeccable—I lose track of some of the names, like the artist who boycotts with other Black artists a museum that sets out to exploit them.
Reed is certainly prescient as is the Theater for The New City’s Artistic Director Crystal Field. As confederate monuments are toppled throughout the nation and reparations are a very real possibility, “The Slave Who Loved Caviar” certainly sets a precedent. “Slave” is a challenge and a wakeup call to those who have not been paying attention to the right thing. “Slave” says, change the channel. What did the Last Poets say about the Revolution?
The play is streaming through Jan. 9, 2022, at Theater for the New City. Streaming tickets are just $10+ small fee. For in person ($15.00) and virtual tickets visit https://ci.ovationtix.com/35441/production/1091241
You can learn more about Reed on my radio or podcast interview here.
We had a conversation with many members of the cast January 5, 2022 on Wanda’s Picks Radio Show podcast. Tune in (subscribe): http://tobtr.com/12046944
Activism
Griot Theater Company Presents August Wilson’s Work at Annual Oratorical Featuring Black Authors
The performance explores the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson whose 10-play Century Cycle chronicles the African American experience across the 20th century, with each play set in a different decade. “Half a Century” journeys through the final five plays of this monumental cycle, bringing Wilson’s richly woven stories to life in a way that celebrates history, resilience, and the human spirit.
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By Godfrey Lee
Griot Theater Company will present their Fifth Annual Oratorical with August Wilson’s “Half a Century,” at the Belrose on 1415 Fifth Ave., in San Rafael near the San Rafael Public Library.
The performance explores the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson whose 10-play Century Cycle chronicles the African American experience across the 20th century, with each play set in a different decade. “Half a Century” journeys through the final five plays of this monumental cycle, bringing Wilson’s richly woven stories to life in a way that celebrates history, resilience, and the human spirit.
Previous performance highlighting essential Black American authors included Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Lorraine Hansberry with Langston Hughes.
The play will be performed at 3:00. p.m. on Feb. 20, 21, 22, 27, and 28 at 7:00 p.m., and on Feb. 23 at 3:00 p.m.
For more information, go to griottheatercompany.squarespace.com/productions-v2
Activism
Oakland Community Art Center is Helping Immigrants Heal from Trauma
The programs are catered to youth and adults with programs called “Arts in Schools” and “Arts and Wellness.” Students are encouraged to participate in music, crafts, and dancing. In contrast, adults can join support groups to connect with others and receive mental health resources to alleviate trauma they may have previously experienced.

By Magaly Muñoz
A local community art center ARTogether is creating a safe place for immigrants and refugees one craft at a time.
After Donald Trump’s first presidential term started in 2017, Leva Zand saw firsthand the impact of discrimination towards immigrants. She wanted to give this community a space to heal through a creative outlet, which prompted her to start ARTogether.
“Folks can come together and do art activities, celebrate their culture, and basically be in a judgmental free environment, no matter what is their immigration status or how well they speak English, when they came to this country, what generation they are,” Zand explained. “The idea was how to use arts and culture for community building and connection between refugees, immigrants themselves and with the broader community.”
Located in downtown Oakland, the space is dedicated partly for galleries and art shows featuring local immigrant artists. The remaining area is a communal studio where ARTogether hosts its regular activities.
Art is used as a therapeutic medium that allows participants to process and express their emotions and experiences and build community with others in the studio, Zand said.
The programs are catered to youth and adults with programs called “Arts in Schools” and “Arts and Wellness.” Students are encouraged to participate in music, crafts, and dancing. In contrast, adults can join support groups to connect with others and receive mental health resources to alleviate trauma they may have previously experienced.
Zand told the Post that a lot of the issues participants come into the program with are related to feeling a lack of support or community after newly arriving to the area from their home countries. While many come from areas where traditional therapy is considered taboo, art lets people of all backgrounds express themselves in a creative form that makes sense to them.
The center can also provide referrals and direct contacts to traditional mental and physical health professionals and legal and social programs for those who need more extensive assistance.
Because of how the organization started, ARTogether has a strong “Stop the Hate” messaging built into its mission. They began promoting advocacy against anti-immigrant and anti-refugee hate across several demographics during the pandemic, even before “Stop the Hate” became officially established.
“We really want to activate this space for the community to get together, to share, to strategize, to see how they can advocate at the local, state and even national level for their rights,” Zand shared.
Anticipating an influx in stress and trauma for residents after the presidential inauguration in January, ARTogether is hosting a community gathering at the end of the month in order to give people the space to express their feelings through crafts.
These gatherings, or “Gather In’s”, will be held monthly, or for as long as funding can sustain them, which Zand said might not be for long.
The organization recently lost one of its grants from the city of Oakland during the major budget cuts earlier this month that slashed funding for arts and culture programs. They were meant to receive a $20,000 grant through the city’s initial contingency budget plan but the money is now gone until Oakland can get their revenue up again.
Zand shared she worries about the state of the country come the new year and where her organization may end up as well if budget restraints continue at the local and state level.
“We are really facing uncertainty. We don’t know what is happening…We don’t know how bad it’s going to be,” she said.
This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop theHate program. The program is supported by partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to https://www.cavshate.org/
Activism
‘Let’s Glow SF,’ ‘Paints’ Holiday-Themed Light Shows on Landmark Buildings in Downtown San Francisco
The ‘canvases’ for Let’s Glow SF, which began on Dec. 6 and continues through Dec. 13, include 101 California St., Annie Alley, the Crossings at East Cut, the Ferry Building, One Bush Plaza, Pacific Coast Stock Exchange, Salesforce Tower, and the PG&E Substation.
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By Anka Lee, Post Intern
San Francisco has outdone itself again with the return of Let’s Glow SF, an abstract digital art projected brilliantly on various landmark buildings downtown for the holiday season.
Produced by the partnership of Downtown SF Partnership and A3 Visual, SF Glow began in 2021 with the intent to bring life back to downtown after the COVID-19 outbreak left its streets desolate.
Accompanied by different genres of music, the largest holiday projection arts festival in the U.S. is described on its web site as “a stunning journey of light” and “a striking marriage of art and technology …that elevates the city’s art scene.”
The ‘canvases’ for Let’s Glow SF, which began on Dec. 6 and continues through Dec. 13, include 101 California St., Annie Alley, the Crossings at East Cut, the Ferry Building, One Bush Plaza, Pacific Coast Stock Exchange, Salesforce Tower, and the PG&E Substation.
‘Painting’ the light installations onto buildings starts at 5:30 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m.
At the Ferry Building on Dec. 7, the animated light display was by featuring art by Spectre Lab, Maxin10sity, and Ryan Uzilevsky of Light Harvest Studio. Across from the Embarcadero, plastic chairs were put out for front-row seating to the upcoming projection.
Families dressed in matching sweaters chatted animatedly among themselves, couples cuddled up against the bitter wind, and the ringing of the trolley’s distant approach all served to brighten the street. Holiday-special drinks like hot chocolate and themed cocktails were sold and participating eateries like Avotoasty, Barcha Restaurant came together to bring to San Francisco America’s largest annual Christmas projection event.
The eight-day event will close on Dec. 13, with “Glow on Front: A Neon Block Party” from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at 240 Front St.
Ervin, one of the Block by Block Downtown SF Partnership safety workers for the event, said he’s “looking at a record amount this year,” nearing around half a million attendees in total. But that evening, a lively community evolved from the original trickle of people waiting for the art show to start.
Vendors set up displays and sold jewelry, notebooks, and handmade hairbands. Seats filled up as the day’s light faded, the chill of the air increasing with the flow of people. The excitement among the crowd was palpable and contagious. It was a welcome feeling, electrifying the ever-growing holiday cheer.
Chatter quieted and adventurous music blasted from speakers that were behind the seating area. A projection by Spectre Lab shone directly at the Ferry Building, the abstract graphics of candlelight, lanterns, and disco balls ‘dancing’ to the beat of the music that transformed the clock tower into something alive. The illusory animation spun and stretched the tower with enthusiasm—this writer was in awe.
A newcomer to Let’s Glow SF thought it was really cool how it “utilizes space that we have and…adds something new…for us to enjoy.”
One family only learned about the lights show on their way home after arriving by ferry, and “[they’d] seen it on the billboard with all the artists…. It’s a very positive thing for San Francisco after everything that’s gone on [with COVID].”
Attend the Let’s Glow SF projection event today through Dec.13 for free, at any of their eight locations: 101 California St., Annie Alley, the Crossings at East Cut, the Ferry Building, One Bush Plaza, Pacific Coast Stock Exchange, Salesforce Tower, and PG&E Substation. Food and drink are sold at different participating businesses respective to each projection location. For more information, visit downtownsf.org.
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