Rachel Raimist and the impact of B-Girl Be: A Celebration of Women in Hip-Hop

The fabulous Mary Lucia, DJ for MPR's radion station The Current, interviews the equally fabulous Rachel Raimist, filmmaker, scholar, photographer, writer, teacher, activist and all-around wonderful person. She directed the documentary film about women in hip-hop cultureNobody Knows My Name, and is editing a film that she describes as being about "incarcerated intelligence" made in collaboration with prisoners in Stillwater Prison.

You can listen to Rachel talk here about hip-hop as a cultural movement, the work of women and African-American women in film, her clear and sophisticated take on feminisms.

Rachel was an important participant in the group that convened the first B-Girl Be summit at Intermedia Arts in 2005. This summer the third B-Girl Be collaboration convened its third summit in June. The multimedia gallery show will be up until September. I'm going to check it out when my daughter gets back to town. Here's the description:

Welcome to the 3rd Annual B-Girl Be Summit:
A Celebration of Women in Hip-Hop

Building on the last two years’ wildly successful festival, Intermedia Arts is proud to present the third annual B-Girl Be: A Celebration of Women in Hip-Hop, a multimedia festival encompassing the four elements of hip-hop: MCing, DJing, breakdancing, graffiti—and more. The mission of B-Girl Be is to influence and inspire leadership to change the perceptions and roles of women in hip-hop for current and future generations. This annual event is a place to make connections, build confidence, sharpen skills and gain access to the tools to create music, film, poetry, rap, aerosol art and dance.

On June 28, 2007 B-Girl Be kicks off with the B-Girl Be Summit, a multidisciplinary summit that brings international, national and local girls and women in hip-hop together in Minneapolis for dialogues, art-making, screenings, performances, workshops and networking opportunities. This four-day summit (June 28-July 1) showcases women through live performances, fashion, films, videos, workshops and panels.

The summit features national and international guests aerosol artists Lady Pink (NYC), ZORI4 (Puerto Rico); spoken word artist Ursula Rucker (Philadelphia), lyricists Magia Emcee (Cuba), Sistaz in Rhyme (Stacy Epps, Invincible and Bahamadia), main stage host Medusa, (LA); DJ Shortee (LA) and DJ Pam the Funkstress (San Francisco); B-Girls AsiaOne (LA), Rokafella (NYC), Aruna (Holland), and Aiko (CA); keynote speaker Rosa Clemente (NYC); and photojournalist/historian Martha Cooper, who will all perform, present and engage in discussion ciphers and workshops alongside local Twin Cities artists.

The celebration continues throughout July and into August with The Art of T&A: Truth and Activism, an international visual art exhibition and a series of international film screenings. The Art of T&A: Truth and Activism is a multi-disciplinary, cutting edge exhibition that highlights the distinct aesthetics of hip-hop. The exhibit and film series feature the works of women who create new ways to visually represent themselves through hip-hop. These visual artists from all over the world paint on walls, wood, clothing, vinyl, canvas and metal. Female filmmakers direct, produce and edit their visual journeys. Inside Intermedia Arts’ main gallery, viewers can check out aerosol art, clothing, paintings, photographs, sculpture, and illustrations representing hip-hop inspired artwork from women around the world. The Art of T&A: Truth and Activism runs from June 21 ­ September 9, 2007.

Hip-hop scholar was interviewed by the Walker Art Center recently, and spoke of the impact that B-Girl Be has had in the hip-hop world:

Q:You've been praised for highlighting the non-celebrities of hip-hop, local organizers who are pushing for small-scale change in their own neighborhoods. Can you name one in the Twin Cities?

Chang: How can I stop at just one? I think the work of folks at Intermedia Arts and Juxtaposition Arts is amazing–they actually are creating global models. And although I haven’t been to the B-Girl-Be events, believe me I’m feeling the repercussions of their work everywhere I go on tour and the topic of gender and hip-hop cultural production comes up. I think the B-Girl-Be folks are creating a wave of inspiration all around the world, not just among girls and women, who finally get to be centered in the discussions and the cultural production, but among boys and men who now have a space to really express more of themselves.

(Emphasis mine).

I was fortunate enough to collaborate with Rachel on a few projects a couple of years ago, and I have so much respect for her and her accomplishments. I'm glad to see that she had the opportunity to share some of her knowledge on MPR.