Groundbreaking Garden Ceremony Part#2 on January 22, 2011 in Sulphur Springs/Tampa, Fl.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The Moses House Groundbreaking for The New Garden Part#1
Video from the Groundbreaking ceremony at The Moses House on January 22, 2011.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Moses House Open House
The Moses House has a new space at the historic Mann-Wagnon Park in Sulphur Springs. Saturday, April 3rd, 1:00-3:00 pm join us for a fun afternoon of music, BBQ, and light refreshments. Learn about the Moses House, how to get involved, and how you can help support it's mission. Programming resumes soon!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Moses House awarded grant by Project Ahimsa
On March 16, 2010, the Moses House was awarded a $1,500 mini-grant by Project Ahimsa, a Patel Foundation Cultural Initiative that operates under the auspices of the Patel Foundation for Global Understanding. Project Ahimsa is “a global effort to empower youth through music” by developing and supporting community based music education. It carries out its mission “by producing cultural events, supporting youth music educators throughout the world, developing innovative cultural arts programming, and donating musical instruments” (source: Project Ahimsa website). Ahimsa is a concept that originates in the ancient Indian religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It means “do no harm” and entails pursuing a life of nonviolence.
The Moses House is extremely grateful for Project Ahimsa’s support, and it feels honored to become part of the Project Ahimsa family. The Moses House will use the Project Ahimsa mini-grant to develop its Street Music and Turntables Workshop. The funds will purchase some of the sound equipment necessary to set up a permanent mini-studio in the Moses House building at the Sulphur Springs Cultural Center in the Mann-Wagnon Park in Tampa, Florida. More funds need to be raised to finish building the studio, but the Project Ahimsa grant is a big step forward that will allow the Moses House to take its music education program to a whole other level. Thus far the program has depended on sound equipment loaned from the program’s directors and instructors. The addition of studio equipment to the Moses House’s resource capacity will allow more youth to enroll in the Street Music Workshop, as well as benefit additional youth and community residents with open microphone events, freestyle sessions, live performances, and other related activities.
The Street Music and Turntables Workshop has been one of the Moses House’s most popular programs among Sulphur Springs youth, many of whom find release from the pressures of everyday life in the freestyle rapping sessions scheduled into the workshop. Created in the spring of 2009, the Moses House Street Music and Turntables Workshop provides culturally relevant music education to youth living in situations of risk in order to improve literacy, encourage social activism, and develop positive leadership skills in the local community. The workshop is conducted by DJ Chang Bang, the program director, with assistance from DJ James West and Moses House volunteer instructors. (DJ Chang Bang provided one of the bonus tracks on Project Ahimsa’s Global Lingo CD.) This program provides a supportive educational outlet for underprivileged neighborhood youth to express their musical talents, lyrical creativity, and poetic gifts; constructs a positive social space in which neighborhood youth can critically discuss community issues while enhancing their abilities to artistically represent such issues; and advances the multicultural and social justice education potential of artistic and cultural activities in the neighborhood. As such, the workshop supports Project Ahimsa’s mission to empower youth through developing and supporting community based music education.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Taft Richardson Tribute Project Previews
This a preview of The Taft Richardson Tribute DVD for The Moses House.
Taft Richardson was born on September 2, 1943 in Lumberton, Florida. He grew up in Spring Hill, now a neighborhood of North Tampa. One day, in the early 1970s, while eating ribs, Mr. Taft had an artistic vision delivered to him by God. In the bones he saw a giraffe. This vision inspired Mr. Taft to devote himself to making bone sculptures and to delivering a spiritual message to whomever was willing to listen.
Mr. Taft’s family upbringing and African American heritage had also taught him to nurture and care for those in the community around him, especially the children. Mr. Taft’s artistic vision combined with his community activism led to the creation of the Moses House, a youth arts organization, which he co-founded in 1984 with his brother Harold Richardson.
On November 30, 2008, Mr. Taft passed away at the age of 65 after battling cancer. Deeply saddened by their loss, Mr. Taft’s family requested help with preserving his legacy and memorializing his importance in the form of tributes to “Granddaddy Taft”—as family, friends, and the community had known him.
Lance Arney and Mabel Sabogal, Ph.D. students from the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Florida, answered the family’s call and designed a tribute project with them. Lance and Mabel video recorded interviews with family members, friends, and admirers of Mr. Taft—some of the many people whose lives had been touched by Mr. Taft’s caring personality, spiritual vision, and artistic gifts.
On April 3, 2009, at the North Tampa Community Center in Mr. Taft’s own neighborhood, the Department of Anthropology, the Moses House, and Mr. Taft’s family co-hosted a public event in honor of Mr. Taft. (Download a copy of the flyer, designed by Lance Arney, here.) Additional tributes and performances dedicated to Mr. Taft were recorded.
The tributes that had been recorded prior to the April 3rd public event were presented to the live audience in the hope of eliciting more reminiscences and tributes. Moved by these recorded tributes to Mr. Taft, members of the live audience offered more in the form of performances dedicated to Mr. Taft and reminiscences about how he had touched the lives of all who had known him.
The DVD and community celebration of Mr. Taft received collaborative support from Dr. Kristin Congdon and the Folkvine Group at the University of Central Florida, Dr. Antoinette Jackson’s Heritage Research and Resource Management Lab, and Mr. Taft’s close family, who prepared and served a banquet of food at the conclusion of the tribute. DVD. 53 minutes. A Moses House Production. Co-directed and co-produced by Lance Arney and Mabel Sabogal. Copyright © 2009 The Moses House. All rights reserved. Cover image courtesy of the Heritage Research and Resource Management Lab, Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida. Text and cover design by Lance Arney.
Copies of this DVD are available for $15.00 each (includes shipping via United States Postal Service Media Mail). All proceeds from the sale of this DVD will be used to fund Moses House youth arts programs.
Go to: http://themoseshouse.org
Taft Richardson was born on September 2, 1943 in Lumberton, Florida. He grew up in Spring Hill, now a neighborhood of North Tampa. One day, in the early 1970s, while eating ribs, Mr. Taft had an artistic vision delivered to him by God. In the bones he saw a giraffe. This vision inspired Mr. Taft to devote himself to making bone sculptures and to delivering a spiritual message to whomever was willing to listen.
Mr. Taft’s family upbringing and African American heritage had also taught him to nurture and care for those in the community around him, especially the children. Mr. Taft’s artistic vision combined with his community activism led to the creation of the Moses House, a youth arts organization, which he co-founded in 1984 with his brother Harold Richardson.
On November 30, 2008, Mr. Taft passed away at the age of 65 after battling cancer. Deeply saddened by their loss, Mr. Taft’s family requested help with preserving his legacy and memorializing his importance in the form of tributes to “Granddaddy Taft”—as family, friends, and the community had known him.
Lance Arney and Mabel Sabogal, Ph.D. students from the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Florida, answered the family’s call and designed a tribute project with them. Lance and Mabel video recorded interviews with family members, friends, and admirers of Mr. Taft—some of the many people whose lives had been touched by Mr. Taft’s caring personality, spiritual vision, and artistic gifts.
On April 3, 2009, at the North Tampa Community Center in Mr. Taft’s own neighborhood, the Department of Anthropology, the Moses House, and Mr. Taft’s family co-hosted a public event in honor of Mr. Taft. (Download a copy of the flyer, designed by Lance Arney, here.) Additional tributes and performances dedicated to Mr. Taft were recorded.
The tributes that had been recorded prior to the April 3rd public event were presented to the live audience in the hope of eliciting more reminiscences and tributes. Moved by these recorded tributes to Mr. Taft, members of the live audience offered more in the form of performances dedicated to Mr. Taft and reminiscences about how he had touched the lives of all who had known him.
The DVD and community celebration of Mr. Taft received collaborative support from Dr. Kristin Congdon and the Folkvine Group at the University of Central Florida, Dr. Antoinette Jackson’s Heritage Research and Resource Management Lab, and Mr. Taft’s close family, who prepared and served a banquet of food at the conclusion of the tribute. DVD. 53 minutes. A Moses House Production. Co-directed and co-produced by Lance Arney and Mabel Sabogal. Copyright © 2009 The Moses House. All rights reserved. Cover image courtesy of the Heritage Research and Resource Management Lab, Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida. Text and cover design by Lance Arney.
Copies of this DVD are available for $15.00 each (includes shipping via United States Postal Service Media Mail). All proceeds from the sale of this DVD will be used to fund Moses House youth arts programs.
Go to: http://themoseshouse.org
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Help enrich the lives of youth in Sulphur Springs and empower them to improve their own community!
As some of you may already know, the Moses House is one of three local grassroots nonprofit organizations that are being granted permission to lease (rent-free) the currently unoccupied buildings at the Mann-Wagnon Memorial Park at 1101 E. River Cove Street in Sulphur Springs. (The other two nonprofits are the Sulphur Springs Museum and Community Stepping Stones.) These buildings have remained vacant since the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department moved out toward the end of 2008. Over the course of 2009, the Sulphur Springs Cultural Park Partnership (the three nonprofits) and their allies at USF and elsewhere have been actively negotiating with County and City officials to be granted use of the buildings and surrounding green park area, which borders the Hillsborough River. USF faculty and students, especially from the Anthropology Department and the College of The Arts, have played major roles throughout this entire endeavor. For more about the history of this initiative, as it was reported in the local news media, click here.
Prior to occupancy of the buildings, each of the three nonprofits must meet certain criteria specified by the Arts Council of Hillsborough County and the Board of County Commissioners. For the Moses House, this includes demonstrating that we have the capacity to renovate our building, the funds to finance organizational operations and programming, sufficient staff and volunteers to direct and assist with program activities, business and marketing plans for sustaining the organization and attracting community members to its facilities, and the ability to make utilities payments and cover our share of the grounds maintenance costs.
The Moses House is now busily preparing our move-in proposal and drumming up support. As a way to encourage donations and pledges of support, three Moses House youth participants have made a video tour of the building we will be allowed to occupy as soon as we meet the move-in criteria. This video was made as part of a series of “Hood Documentaries” being produced by Sulphur Springs youth in the Moses House digital video workshop. It can be viewed below. (For better viewing, click on PAUSE until the entire video loads up, then click on PLAY.)
If you or anyone you know is able to help support the Moses House through donations or volunteering (or pledges of donations and/or volunteering), please e-mail us or visit the donation page on our website. We are accepting miscellaneous furniture, office supplies and office furniture, computer equipment, music and sound equipment, art supplies, books and videos about the history and cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora, and building renovation supplies, as well as monetary donations in any amount. All monetary donations will go toward operating expenses and programming costs; the Moses House board of directors, executive director, instructors, and program staff do not receive any salaries or wages from donated monies.
All donations will be used to further the organization’s mission: to create and provide community-based cultural and educational programs and activities for children and youth from low-income families; to support and conduct non-partisan research, education, and informational activities to increase public awareness of the poor, distressed, and underprivileged; to defend human rights and civil rights secured by law; to strive for the elimination of prejudice and discrimination; to advance social justice education; and to combat community deterioration, juvenile delinquency, and the criminalization of children and youth (see our Mission Statement).
Thank you from everyone at the Moses House!
Prior to occupancy of the buildings, each of the three nonprofits must meet certain criteria specified by the Arts Council of Hillsborough County and the Board of County Commissioners. For the Moses House, this includes demonstrating that we have the capacity to renovate our building, the funds to finance organizational operations and programming, sufficient staff and volunteers to direct and assist with program activities, business and marketing plans for sustaining the organization and attracting community members to its facilities, and the ability to make utilities payments and cover our share of the grounds maintenance costs.
The Moses House is now busily preparing our move-in proposal and drumming up support. As a way to encourage donations and pledges of support, three Moses House youth participants have made a video tour of the building we will be allowed to occupy as soon as we meet the move-in criteria. This video was made as part of a series of “Hood Documentaries” being produced by Sulphur Springs youth in the Moses House digital video workshop. It can be viewed below. (For better viewing, click on PAUSE until the entire video loads up, then click on PLAY.)
If you or anyone you know is able to help support the Moses House through donations or volunteering (or pledges of donations and/or volunteering), please e-mail us or visit the donation page on our website. We are accepting miscellaneous furniture, office supplies and office furniture, computer equipment, music and sound equipment, art supplies, books and videos about the history and cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora, and building renovation supplies, as well as monetary donations in any amount. All monetary donations will go toward operating expenses and programming costs; the Moses House board of directors, executive director, instructors, and program staff do not receive any salaries or wages from donated monies.
All donations will be used to further the organization’s mission: to create and provide community-based cultural and educational programs and activities for children and youth from low-income families; to support and conduct non-partisan research, education, and informational activities to increase public awareness of the poor, distressed, and underprivileged; to defend human rights and civil rights secured by law; to strive for the elimination of prejudice and discrimination; to advance social justice education; and to combat community deterioration, juvenile delinquency, and the criminalization of children and youth (see our Mission Statement).
Thank you from everyone at the Moses House!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Life Under 21 film shoot at The Workshop (Behind The Scenes footage)
Bay News 9 in Tampa bay recently paid us a visit to shoot a piece on the workshop for their Cable On-Demand Show called "Life Under 21," which is hosted by Danielle Belusky. Here are three behind the scenes videos shot & edited by one of our instructors/volunteers Carlos (dj Chang Bang) Corcho. Make sure to join "Life Under 21's" Facebook page.
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