Frederick Douglass: Our North Star

Frederick Douglass: Our North Star

Kwame Daniels [https://solab.one/about-us/]is a creative director, DJ, broadcaster and founder of Bounce Culture. He has spent his career using music and creativity to connect people and create opportunities. He is the founder of Solab, connecting artists and producers across Africa and the diaspora through collaboration and innovation. Kwame is the creative force behind North Star, an immersive live music performance inspired by Frederick Douglass' historic 1845 speech in Belfast, bringing history, music, and storytelling together in a powerful new way. North Star [https://irishartscenter.org/event/north-star] Co-commissioned by Irish Arts Center and Lyric Theatre, Belfast Created and directed by Kwame Daniels North Star is a live music and spoken word performance inspired by the speeches of abolitionist Frederick Douglass during his historic visit to Belfast in 1845. Conceived and developed by Kwame Daniels, this collaborative, immersive standing-room show fuses artistic responses to Douglass’s experience by an eclectic range of contemporary artists—including hip-hop, jazz, gospel, electronic, and classical music and poetry—with commissioned writing from young people from Belfast and New York in a groundbreaking collaboration of music and spoken word rooted in Black cultures, and inspired by Douglass’s story, philosophy, and deep connection with Belfast. The music included in this podcast along with the poem read is taken straight from North Star. Naziha Tarannum 5th Grader: Poem entitled "NEW YORK IS HOME, HOME, AND HOME!"   Irish Arts center [https://irishartscenter.org/?_ga=2.29596671.1351827459.1781549536-442229354.1780523628] Founded in 1972 and located in New York City's Hell's Kitchen, Irish Arts Center is a vibrant cultural hub that welcomes artists and audiences from all backgrounds who are interested in the rich and evolving arts and culture of Ireland and the Irish American experience. The Center supports both established and emerging artists by presenting, developing, and celebrating innovative work that inspires and engages audiences. Alongside its artistic programming, Irish Arts Center is committed to community outreach through educational initiatives and accessible arts programs that serve people of all ages and diverse ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds.  The Short Fuse Podcast [https://www.shortfusepodcast.com/]  is hosted by Elizabeth Howard. She talks with artists, writers, musicians, and others whose art reveals our communities through their lens and stirs us to seek change through their art, music, ideas, and performances. James Baldwin reminds us that "artists are here to disturb the peace."  Her articles related to communication and marketing have appeared in European Communications, Investor Relations, Law Firm Marketing & Profit Report, Communication World, The Strategist, and the New York Law Journal, among others.  Her books include Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David Godine, 2015) and Ned O’Gorman:  A Glance Back (Easton Studio Press, 2016).    @elizh24 [https://www.instagram.com/elizh24/] on Instagram Jessica Khan Jessica Khan is a Bronx native and a rising senior at the University of Richmond, where she has a double major in journalism and political science with a minor in leadership studies. As the current music director of one of the university's a cappella groups, Jessica continues to pursue her passion for singing while developing her skills as a journalist. She is driven by a commitment to uncovering the truth and telling stories that often go untold, using storytelling to bridge divides, spark conversation, and bring overlooked voices into the spotlight. Gerald Kent [https://www.geraldkent.com] Gerald Kent is the producer and editor of the Short Fuse. Based in Cape Town, South Africa. Gerald is a talented musician and audio engineer who has been releasing his own music independently since 2021. Alongside his artistry, he’s built up experience working with multiple clients in the podcasting space, from editing through full-scale production.  The Arts Fuse  [https://artsfuse.org/] Bill Marx, is the editor in chief of The Arts Fuse. For over four decades, he has written about arts and culture for print, broadcast, and online. He has regularly reviewed theater for National Public Radio Station WBUR and The Boston Globe.He created and edited WBUR Online Arts, a cultural webzine that in 2004 won an Online Journalism Award for Specialty Journalism. In 2007 he created The Arts Fuse, an online magazine dedicated to covering arts and culture in Boston and throughout New England The Arts Fuse was established in June, 2007 as a curated, independent online arts magazine dedicated to publishing in-depth criticism, along with high quality previews, interviews, and commentaries. The publication’s over 70 freelance critics (many of them with decades of experience) cover dance, film, food, literature, music, television, theater, video games, and visual arts. There is a robust readership for arts coverage that believes that culture matters. The goal of The Arts Fuse is to treat the arts seriously, to write about them in the same way that other publications cover politics, sports, and business — with professionalism, thoughtfulness, and considerable attitude. The magazine’s motto, from Jonathan Swift, sums up our editorial stance: “Use the point of your pen … not the feather.”  The Arts Fuse has published over 10, 000 articles and receives 80,000+ visits a month. This year the magazine is celebrating its 18th birthday - a milestone for a small, independent magazine dedicated to covering the arts. Assist Arts Fuse in its mission:  keep arts and culture hale and hearty through dialogue, and not just marketing.   Serious criticism, by talking about the strengths, weaknesses, and contributions of the arts, plays an indispensable role in the cultural ecology. Smaller, newer organizations need a response. When they are ignored as they are by the mainstream media, they fail to gain an audience. And without an audience, they fold, further weakening the entire ecosystem. SUBSCRIBE [https://substack.com/@williammarx]to the weekly e-newsletter LIKE The Arts Fuse on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/theartsfuse/], FOLLOW  on Twitter [https://twitter.com/theartsfuse] HELP  The Arts Fuse thrive by providing underwriting [https://artsfuse.org/advertising] for the magazine. Even better — make a tax deductible donation.

"Can the arts create a ruckus?"

Can the arts provoke, reflect, and sustain cultural dialogue in a period of disruption? How can the arts continue to provoke, reflect, and sustain cultural dialogue as technology pulls us through a liminal space, defined by disruption and transition?  Moderator:    Elizabeth Howard        The Short Fuse  National Center of Afro-American Artists [https://ncaaa.org/] Akiba Abaka, Interim Executive Director, National Center of Afro-American Artists; arts leader, producer, and educator advancing cultural equity. The Arts Fuse [https://artsfuse.org/] Bill Marx, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Arts Fuse; veteran arts critic across print, broadcast, and digital media. Lux Studio  [https://www.studioluz.net/] Anthony J. Piermarini, AIA, CPHD, Architect, co-founding principal of Studio Luz Architects and BR-A-CE, focused on socially engaged design. Associate professor, Wentworth Institute of Technology SpeakEasy Stage Company [https://speakeasystage.com/] Dawn Simmons, Artistic Director, SpeakEasy Stage Company; Elliott Norton Award–winning director, producer, writer and educator. The Short Fuse Podcast [https://www.shortfusepodcast.com/]  is hosted by Elizabeth Howard. She talks with artists, writers, musicians, and others whose art reveals our communities through their lens and stirs us to seek change through their art, music, ideas, and performances. James Baldwin reminds us that "artists are here to disturb the peace."  Her articles related to communication and marketing have appeared in European Communications, Investor Relations, Law Firm Marketing & Profit Report, Communication World, The Strategist, and the New York Law Journal, among others.  Her books include Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David Godine, 2015) and Ned O’Gorman:  A Glance Back (Easton Studio Press, 2016).    @elizh24 [https://www.instagram.com/elizh24/] on Instagram Jessica Khan Jessica Khan is a Bronx native and a rising senior at the University of Richmond, where she has a double major in journalism and political science with a minor in leadership studies. As the current music director of one of the university's a cappella groups, Jessica continues to pursue her passion for singing while developing her skills as a journalist. She is driven by a commitment to uncovering the truth and telling stories that often go untold, using storytelling to bridge divides, spark conversation, and bring overlooked voices into the spotlight. Gerald Kent [https://www.geraldkent.com] Gerald Kent is the producer and editor of the Short Fuse. Based in Cape Town, South Africa. Gerald is a talented musician and audio engineer who has been releasing his own music independently since 2021. Alongside his artistry, he’s built up experience working with multiple clients in the podcasting space, from editing through full-scale production.  The Arts Fuse  [https://artsfuse.org/] Bill Marx, is the editor in chief of The Arts Fuse. For over four decades, he has written about arts and culture for print, broadcast, and online. He has regularly reviewed theater for National Public Radio Station WBUR and The Boston Globe.He created and edited WBUR Online Arts, a cultural webzine that in 2004 won an Online Journalism Award for Specialty Journalism. In 2007 he created The Arts Fuse, an online magazine dedicated to covering arts and culture in Boston and throughout New England The Arts Fuse was established in June, 2007 as a curated, independent online arts magazine dedicated to publishing in-depth criticism, along with high quality previews, interviews, and commentaries. The publication’s over 70 freelance critics (many of them with decades of experience) cover dance, film, food, literature, music, television, theater, video games, and visual arts. There is a robust readership for arts coverage that believes that culture matters. The goal of The Arts Fuse is to treat the arts seriously, to write about them in the same way that other publications cover politics, sports, and business — with professionalism, thoughtfulness, and considerable attitude. The magazine’s motto, from Jonathan Swift, sums up our editorial stance: “Use the point of your pen … not the feather.”  The Arts Fuse has published over 10, 000 articles and receives 80,000+ visits a month. This year the magazine is celebrating its 18th birthday - a milestone for a small, independent magazine dedicated to covering the arts. Assist Arts Fuse in its mission:  keep arts and culture hale and hearty through dialogue, and not just marketing.   Serious criticism, by talking about the strengths, weaknesses, and contributions of the arts, plays an indispensable role in the cultural ecology. Smaller, newer organizations need a response. When they are ignored as they are by the mainstream media, they fail to gain an audience. And without an audience, they fold, further weakening the entire ecosystem. SUBSCRIBE [https://substack.com/@williammarx]to the weekly e-newsletter LIKE The Arts Fuse on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/theartsfuse/], FOLLOW  on Twitter [https://twitter.com/theartsfuse] HELP  The Arts Fuse thrive by providing underwriting [https://artsfuse.org/advertising] for the magazine. Even better — make a tax deductible donation.

Arvo Part Out of Silence

Peter Bouteneff  [https://www.peterbouteneff.com/] Peter C. Bouteneff (DPhil, University of Oxford) is professor of theology at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York and a conservatory-trained musician. He is the author of numerous books and essays on subjects relating to theology and the arts, including Arvo Pärt: Out of Silence. He is founding director of the Institute of Sacred Arts. Luminous Podcast  [https://www.instituteofsacredarts.com/luminous] Conversations with inspired and inspiring people: artists, scholars, thinkers, of all walks of life and approaches to the sacred.  An Inward Lestening:  Arvo Part's Fur Alina [https://vimeo.com/1163280408] Even if I Lose Everything [https://vimeo.com/1091641128] Avro Part Centre [https://www.arvopart.ee/en/]  Arvo Pärt is one of those composers in the world, whose creative output has significantly changed the way we understand the nature of music. In 1976, he created a unique musical language called tintinnabuli, that has reached a vast audience of various listeners and that has defined his work right up to today. There is no compositional school that follows Pärt, nor does he teach, nevertheless, a large part of the contemporary music has been influenced by his tintinnabuli compositions.   Experiential Orchestra  [https://www.experientialorchestra.com/] Invites audiences to engage with orchestral music through non-traditional presentation styles and educational, interactive, and immersive concert experiences. The Short Fuse Podcast [https://www.shortfusepodcast.com/]  is hosted by Elizabeth Howard. She talks with artists, writers, musicians, and others whose art reveals our communities through their lens and stirs us to seek change through their art, music, ideas, and performances. James Baldwin reminds us that "artists are here to disturb the peace."  Her articles related to communication and marketing have appeared in European Communications, Investor Relations, Law Firm Marketing & Profit Report, Communication World, The Strategist, and the New York Law Journal, among others.  Her books include Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David Godine, 2015) and Ned O’Gorman:  A Glance Back (Easton Studio Press, 2016).    @elizh24 [https://www.instagram.com/elizh24/] on Instagram Gerald Kent [https://www.geraldkent.com] Gerald Kent is the producer and editor of the Short Fuse. Based in Cape Town, South Africa. Gerald is a talented musician and audio engineer who has been releasing his own music independently since 2021. Alongside his artistry, he’s built up experience working with multiple clients in the podcasting space, from editing through full-scale production.    The Arts Fuse  [https://artsfuse.org/] Bill Marx, is the editor in chief of The Arts Fuse. For over four decades, he has written about arts and culture for print, broadcast, and online. He has regularly reviewed theater for National Public Radio Station WBUR and The Boston Globe.He created and edited WBUR Online Arts, a cultural webzine that in 2004 won an Online Journalism Award for Specialty Journalism. In 2007 he created The Arts Fuse, an online magazine dedicated to covering arts and culture in Boston and throughout New England The Arts Fuse was established in June, 2007 as a curated, independent online arts magazine dedicated to publishing in-depth criticism, along with high quality previews, interviews, and commentaries. The publication’s over 70 freelance critics (many of them with decades of experience) cover dance, film, food, literature, music, television, theater, video games, and visual arts. There is a robust readership for arts coverage that believes that culture matters. The goal of The Arts Fuse is to treat the arts seriously, to write about them in the same way that other publications cover politics, sports, and business — with professionalism, thoughtfulness, and considerable attitude. The magazine’s motto, from Jonathan Swift, sums up our editorial stance: “Use the point of your pen … not the feather.”  The Arts Fuse has published over 10, 000 articles and receives 80,000+ visits a month. This year the magazine is celebrating its 18th birthday - a milestone for a small, independent magazine dedicated to covering the arts. Assist Arts Fuse in its mission:  keep arts and culture hale and hearty through dialogue, and not just marketing.   Serious criticism, by talking about the strengths, weaknesses, and contributions of the arts, plays an indispensable role in the cultural ecology. Smaller, newer organizations need a response. When they are ignored as they are by the mainstream media, they fail to gain an audience. And without an audience, they fold, further weakening the entire ecosystem. SUBSCRIBE [https://substack.com/@williammarx]to the weekly e-newsletter LIKE The Arts Fuse on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/theartsfuse/], FOLLOW  on Twitter [https://twitter.com/theartsfuse] HELP  The Arts Fuse thrive by providing underwriting [https://artsfuse.org/advertising] for the magazine. Even better — make a tax deductible donation.

A Library on Death Row

EPISODE NOTES Big House Books [https://bighousebooksms.org/].  Big House Books is a non-profit, volunteer organization that sends free books by request to prisoners in Mississippi correctional facilities in order to promote literacy and be a vehicle of change for prison reform. Big House Books would appreciate your paperback books - westerns, fantasy novels  and science fiction are genres often requested.  Books can be shipped through media mail.  More information on the Big House Books website.  Shower Power. [https://showerpower.ms/]Shower Power is more than a shower. They believe that through faith and serving others they can transform people and the world. They bring  hospitality to the streets by delivering hygiene services to people experiencing homelessness.  It's about taking time to show people you care and restoring their dignity by providing them with the resources they need for self care.  We love people back to life!   Lemuria Bookstore [https://www.lemuriabooks.com/]  This year celebrating their 50th anniversary, Lemuria has formed valuable relationships with authors and their readers.  Lemuria believes in the value of the physical book, whether you're a collector in search of a literary gem or you are looking for the latest bestseller. In a digital age, Lemuria is areal bookstore with floor-to-ceiling shelves, that quintessential book smell, and a little bit of Southern hospitality, you’ll feel right at home.  It is beloved in Jackson, Mississippi.  One of the many reasons to visit Jackson. The Short Fuse Podcast [https://www.shortfusepodcast.com/]  is hosted by Elizabeth Howard. She talks with artists, writers, musicians, and others whose art reveals our communities through their lens and stirs us to seek change through their art, music, ideas, and performances. James Baldwin reminds us that "artists are here to disturb the peace."  Her articles related to communication and marketing have appeared in European Communications, Investor Relations, Law Firm Marketing & Profit Report, Communication World, The Strategist, and the New York Law Journal, among others.  Her books include Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David Godine, 2015) and Ned O’Gorman:  A Glance Back (Easton Studio Press, 2016).    @elizh24 [https://www.instagram.com/elizh24/] on Instagram Gerald Kent [https://linktr.ee/geraldkent] Gerald Kent is the producer and editor of the Short Fuse. Based in Cape Town, South Africa. Gerald is a talented musician and audio engineer who has been releasing his own music independently since 2021. Alongside his artistry, he’s built up experience working with multiple clients in the podcasting space, from editing through full-scale production.  Hannah Brueske, manages social media and marketing for the Short Fuse. She is a senior journalism student at Emerson College, with a special interest in feature stories, arts reporting, and documentary filmmaking. She is active in campus publications as a reporter for The Berkeley Beacon, Emerson’s only independent student newspaper, and the editor in chief of The Independent, an arts magazine that covers independent art. Evelyn Rosenthal, copy edits the Short Fuse. She is a singer specializing in jazz and Brazilian music, a freelance editor, and the former editor in chief and head of publications at the Harvard Art Museums. She writes about music for the Arts Fuse and copy edits the magazine The Arts Fuse  [https://artsfuse.org/] Bill Marx, is the editor in chief of The Arts Fuse. For over four decades, he has written about arts and culture for print, broadcast, and online. He has regularly reviewed theater for National Public Radio Station WBUR and The Boston Globe.He created and edited WBUR Online Arts, a cultural webzine that in 2004 won an Online Journalism Award for Specialty Journalism. In 2007 he created The Arts Fuse, an online magazine dedicated to covering arts and culture in Boston and throughout New England The Arts Fuse was established in June, 2007 as a curated, independent online arts magazine dedicated to publishing in-depth criticism, along with high quality previews, interviews, and commentaries. The publication’s over 70 freelance critics (many of them with decades of experience) cover dance, film, food, literature, music, television, theater, video games, and visual arts. There is a robust readership for arts coverage that believes that culture matters. The goal of The Arts Fuse is to treat the arts seriously, to write about them in the same way that other publications cover politics, sports, and business — with professionalism, thoughtfulness, and considerable attitude. The magazine’s motto, from Jonathan Swift, sums up our editorial stance: “Use the point of your pen … not the feather.”  The Arts Fuse has published over 10, 000 articles and receives 80,000+ visits a month. This year the magazine is celebrating its 18th birthday - a milestone for a small, independent magazine dedicated to covering the arts. Assist Arts Fuse in its mission:  keep arts and culture hale and hearty through dialogue, and not just marketing.   Serious criticism, by talking about the strengths, weaknesses, and contributions of the arts, plays an indispensable role in the cultural ecology. Smaller, newer organizations need a response. When they are ignored as they are by the mainstream media, they fail to gain an audience. And without an audience, they fold, further weakening the entire ecosystem. SUBSCRIBE [https://substack.com/@williammarx]to the weekly e-newsletter LIKE The Arts Fuse on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/theartsfuse/], FOLLOW  on Twitter [https://twitter.com/theartsfuse] HELP  The Arts Fuse thrive by providing underwriting [https://artsfuse.org/advertising] for the magazine. Even better — make a tax deductible donation.

Cinema Rodrigo: Talking Film

Aldo Juraidini Zorrilla [https://www.studiorodrigo.com/] is a designer working across disciplines, with a focus on product, strategy, and brand. As Design Director at Studio Rodrigo, he guides multi-disciplinary teams on projects mainly for the digital world. Aldo also founded and curates Cinema Rodrigo, a film club where friends and fellow creatives come together across New York City's independent theaters once a month to watch a film, discuss it, and hang out. Studio Rodrigo [https://www.studiorodrigo.com/] A design, branding, identity and produce design consultancy designed to make life better.  Academy Awards 2026 [https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2026] The 98th Academy Awards ceremony is being held on Sunday, March 15, 2026. In the conversation Elizabeth and Aldo discuss three of New York City's independent cinemas that offer  films that are curated and screened in intimate spaces. Film Forum [https://filmforum.org/about/general-information] Metrograph [https://metrograph.com/] Quad Cinema [https://quadcinema.com/] The Short Fuse Podcast [https://www.shortfusepodcast.com/]  is hosted by Elizabeth Howard. She talks with artists, writers, musicians, and others whose art reveals our communities through their lens and stirs us to seek change through their art, music, ideas, and performances. James Baldwin reminds us that "artists are here to disturb the peace."  Her articles related to communication and marketing have appeared in European Communications, Investor Relations, Law Firm Marketing & Profit Report, Communication World, The Strategist, and the New York Law Journal, among others.  Her books include Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David Godine, 2015) and Ned O’Gorman:  A Glance Back (Easton Studio Press, 2016).    @elizh24 [https://www.instagram.com/elizh24/] on Instagram Gerald Kent [https://linktr.ee/geraldkent]is the producer and editor of the Short Fuse. Based in Cape Town, South Africa. Gerald is a talented musician and audio engineer who has been releasing his own music independently since 2021. Alongside his artistry, he’s built up experience working with multiple clients in the podcasting space, from editing through full-scale production.  Hannah Brueske, manages social media and marketing for the Short Fuse. She is a senior journalism student at Emerson College, with a special interest in feature stories, arts reporting, and documentary filmmaking. She is active in campus publications as a reporter for The Berkeley Beacon, Emerson’s only independent student newspaper, and the editor in chief of The Independent, an arts magazine that covers independent art. Evelyn Rosenthal, copy edits the Short Fuse. She is a singer specializing in jazz and Brazilian music, a freelance editor, and the former editor in chief and head of publications at the Harvard Art Museums. She writes about music for the Arts Fuse and copy edits the magazine The Arts Fuse  [https://artsfuse.org/] Bill Marx, is the editor in chief of The Arts Fuse. For over four decades, he has written about arts and culture for print, broadcast, and online. He has regularly reviewed theater for National Public Radio Station WBUR and The Boston Globe.He created and edited WBUR Online Arts, a cultural webzine that in 2004 won an Online Journalism Award for Specialty Journalism. In 2007 he created The Arts Fuse, an online magazine dedicated to covering arts and culture in Boston and throughout New England The Arts Fuse was established in June, 2007 as a curated, independent online arts magazine dedicated to publishing in-depth criticism, along with high quality previews, interviews, and commentaries. The publication’s over 70 freelance critics (many of them with decades of experience) cover dance, film, food, literature, music, television, theater, video games, and visual arts. There is a robust readership for arts coverage that believes that culture matters. The goal of The Arts Fuse is to treat the arts seriously, to write about them in the same way that other publications cover politics, sports, and business — with professionalism, thoughtfulness, and considerable attitude. The magazine’s motto, from Jonathan Swift, sums up our editorial stance: “Use the point of your pen … not the feather.”  The Arts Fuse has published over 10, 000 articles and receives 80,000+ visits a month. This year the magazine is celebrating its 18th birthday - a milestone for a small, independent magazine dedicated to covering the arts. Assist Arts Fuse in its mission:  keep arts and culture hale and hearty through dialogue, and not just marketing.   Serious criticism, by talking about the strengths, weaknesses, and contributions of the arts, plays an indispensable role in the cultural ecology. Smaller, newer organizations need a response. When they are ignored as they are by the mainstream media, they fail to gain an audience. And without an audience, they fold, further weakening the entire ecosystem. SUBSCRIBE [https://substack.com/@williammarx]to the weekly e-newsletter LIKE The Arts Fuse on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/theartsfuse/], FOLLOW  on Twitter [https://twitter.com/theartsfuse] HELP  The Arts Fuse thrive by providing underwriting [https://artsfuse.org/advertising] for the magazine. Even better — make a tax deductible donation.