As angry protestors across the country demand an end to police brutality, nationally syndicated African-American cartoonist Keith Knight has increasingly become a sought-after speaker on U.S. race relations, a frequent topic in his storytelling cartoons. Knight, the creator of three comic strips, The Knight Life, The K Chronicles, and (th)ink, is scheduled for a number of U.S. speaking engagements in 2015, including a special guest presentation on police brutality at the inaugural Black Comix Arts Festival in January and a civil rights panel discussion at the California School Library Association Conference in February. In his provocative speaking engagements, a unique blend of lecture, activism, and comedy, Knight addresses issues of race, politics, media, censorship, and the importance of social activism.  Read the rest of this entry »

The Republic of South Africa’s Department of Arts and Culture will bring its South African Arts Festival 2013 (SAAF), a weekend of South African film and music, to Downtown Los Angeles for the first time, with events on Friday, October 4 through Sunday October 6, 2013. The inaugural SAAF 2013 will showcase seven South African films and seven musical artists representing the diversity of the South African experience at free events over two days.  Highlights include Saturday’s outdoor “South African Music Festival” at Grand Performances and a day of South African films screening on Sunday at Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14 and Grand Performances.  Friday’s private preview and the Sunday closing night event both combine the screening of a South African feature film with an invitation-only reception.  Screenings will include animation, narrative, and documentary works.  Read the rest of this entry »