The Brooklyn-based nonprofit Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation is proud to present its eighth annual ART IS ALIVE Festival on Saturday, September 21st.

ART IS ALIVE will feature a variety of free performances, workshops and classes featuring art forms and artists from the African diaspora, according to a press release.

The festival will take place from 12:00 to 9:00 p.m. at The Space at Irondale, 85 South Oxford St.

“We are thrilled to present our eighth annual ART IS ALIVE festival, free to the Brooklyn community. Each year we showcase the richness of African and African-diasporic multidisciplinary art forms, including vibrant performances, engaging classes, and educational and insightful workshops,” said Kofi Osei Williams, Asase Yaas Managing Director and Executive Producer of ART IS ALIVE. “Most importantly, this is a family festival and there is something for everyone.”

Asase Yaa aims to empower youth and give them the opportunity to learn, study and experience the history, movement and beauty of dance, music and culture of the African Diaspora at the highest level.

The whole day full of activities for ART IS ALIVE contains:

Classes

12:00 to 14:00 (45 minutes each)
Afrobeat, Caribbean and Hip Hop dance classes hosted by the Asase Yaa School of the Arts

Workshop

13:00 (one hour)
Resources for Raising Children – Artist Workshop hosted by Asase Yaa in collaboration with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Live performances

4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Asase Yaa Youth Ensemble offers various dance forms, including tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop, modern and African dances, as well as indigenous African style drumming and Afrobeat.

Batala New York is the leading all-female and black percussion ensemble, whose music and costumes originate largely from Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.

FIYAA Forces of Nature Incredible Youth Arts Alliance is a new youth dance company founded by Abdel R. Salaam, artistic director/choreographer and co-founder of the Dance theatre “Forces of Nature”.

Plezi Rara is a Brooklyn-based Haitian band dedicated to mastering the art of “rara,” an indigenous genre of Haitian festival music used in street processions.

Soul Science Laboratory is a music and multimedia duo driven by host and songwriter Chen Lo and composer and producer Asante Amin. They are innovative griots who incorporate hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Afrobeat into their art.