Last year i was awarded the Nottingham Roosevelt Travel Scholarship, which offers people with a connection to Nottingham aged between 21-30 an unique opportunity to explore America for up to 3 months. The NRTS (http://www.rooseveltscholarship.org/) encourages it’s chosen scholars to investigate/research an industry that they are involved in. I was absolutely thrilled to be awarded this opportunity and intent to explore three areas; Film making, performance poetry and Black Cultural organisations.
I arrived in New York JFK yesterday, greeted by 8 inches of snow, a warm smile from a taxi driver from Guyanna called Ombré. I shared the taxi/shuttle bus with a welcoming couple Peter & Leigh returning from three week holiday Israel who live about 7minutes away fromt he Holiday Inn Where i spent my first night.
Today I will make my way across to Manhattan to my first Servas host, Fred. Sevas is an amazing orgainisation that promotes world peace by encouraging people to accommodate travelers in their home. The hosts and traveler both have to be vetted, interviewed and checked out before joining Servas to ensure each parties safety. I plan to stay with many Servas families during my 3 month stay in the states.
Tomorrow I plan to attend the screening of a docu-film “Celia The Queen” by Joe Cardona (http://cccadi.org/01/celia-the-queen-a-film-screening/) at the Caribbean Cultural Centre. The CCC (http://cccadi.org/) founded by Marta Moreno Vega, is part of the African Diaspora Institute and organises various events and curates exhibitions that celebrate art and culture from the Caribbean. I also hope to connect with the founder or director of CCC to find out more about the organisation.
I’ll be posting regular updates of my American Adventure, so look out for them!
iscreativemedia 