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 Manifesto 2008 By Deepi Harish Manifesto! Manifesto! Manifesto! History in the making. This is the festival that undeniably confirms we have an amazing hip hop following in Canada. We breed dope hip hop geniuses. We the urban youth reveal in hip hop culture and style; and we know how to beautify all that talent through a five day festival, held in Toronto. “Manifesto is a non-profit grassroots organization working to unite, energize, and celebrate Toronto’s vibrant and diverse music and arts community. Everything we do is geared towards fulfilling our mandates and the desires identified through community engagement and feedback, using a multi-disciplinary approach including arts and music workshops, professional development programs, art exhibitions, filmmaking, concerts... whatever’s clever.” Early hip hop was characterized by public action, indulging in Manifesto’s series of festive events confirms that this idea still holds true today. This festival which is designed and organized by an eclectic bunch of fresh young people goes far beyond simply exhibiting hip hop talent in Canada. The Manifesto family aims to get young people involved in community projects and keep them off the streets; giving them an outlet to network, to speak their minds and have their voices heard, to become something…someone, extraordinary. Having collaborated with a multitude of likeminded institutions and organizations, Manifesto has been able to not only endure but to blossom the arts, within hip hop culture to a great degree, letting the urban agglomeration recognize hip hop aint dead. I had the honor of sitting in on an Ignite Youth Arts Forum, held in the city. Ignite the Americas brings together a diverse group of passionate young people who support youth arts, and who are even more passionate about flourishing the youth arts sector in Toronto, and in their home countries, with the help of funding bodies, government organizations and themselves. Building alliances with the inter-American Committee on Culture (CIC) of the Organization of American States (OAS), young leaders of Ignite and artists alike, exhaust art and cultural expression as a catalyst for change, in terms of positive youth engagement. Sitting in as a spectator, I respected the collision of individual philosophies that circulated throughout the rap session. I noted symptoms that halt youth arts from aggrandizing simultaneously, jotting down the cures that overlook these dilemmas. I understood that the best form of communication on my part was to listen, listen well. One idea would sprout from the next and what I was witnessing was an exchange of artistic, personal expression that emphasized social and political consciousness, unity, activism, resistance, culture, art and change. This interactive discussion coordinated by Manifesto was powerful, valid and very necessary. From the 17th to the 21st of September, this festival of music and art took flight and soared with dance parties, outdoor concerts, B-boy battles, art manifestations and tons more, which all led up to the main event held at Nathan Phillips square on Sunday the 21st. Hosted by Sol Guy (creator and host of 4real), the main event brought an impressive bill to the stage, more than twenty performers (including Rascals, K-os, K’naan, Famous, Choclair) a 70 foot mural of street art, workshops and food markets. This event authenticated how the dynamic progressive platform of hip hop has amplified in Canada. The revolution of hip hop art and music, in Canada, starts here. |