Virtual ‘Sound Clash’ will aid two colleges

With coronavirus restrictions and innovations in communications technology, the Jamaica College Old Boys Association of South Florida is sharing the virtual “True Blue Sound Clash” with the world next Saturday from 7 p.m. to midnight, through an online agreement with VP Records.

The special musical clash between the Jamaica College Old Boys Association of Florida and the St. George’s College Old Boys Association of Florida was created to replace the big annual True Blue weekend soccer event, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event is free, but donations are accepted for school projects — computer tablets and laptops for St. George’s students, and the funding of the three-month COVID-19 Rescue Plan aiding revenue-challenged Jamaica College.

Donate to Jamaica College at bit.ly/JamaicaCollegeRescuePlan. And visit bit.ly/StGeorgescomputers to donate to St. George’s College.

“A Sound Clash is a musical competition in which crew members/DJs from opposing sound systems use their skills to compete against one another,” according to the organizers.

Popular South Florida radio personality Steven “Sir Rockwell” Warner will be hosting the musical battle, which features former BBC Radio 1 DJ Christopher “Chris Goldfinger” Clarke of Jamaica College versus Chinese Assassin sound system founder Neilton “Johnny Ringo” Lee of St. George’s College, and Jamaica College’s DJ Ronnie up against DJ Fergie from St. George’s College.

The True Blue Sound Clash can be viewed on VP Records’ Facebook page — facebook.com/ vprecords — and its YouTube channel — youtube. com/vprecords.

“We are pleased to host this Clash on our platform and look forward to the musical competition between two great schools,” said Richard Lue, director of business development at VP Music Group.

For more information, visit the event’s website at trueblueweekend.com or its Facebook Fan Page, facebook.com/trueblueweekend.

Legrand’s ‘Canal’

Haitian artist Yolène Legrand — and her 2015 painting “Canal d’Avezac, Haiti” — are a part of the “Women on the Edge of Time” exhibition, from the New York Society of Women Artists.

East Harlem’s Taller Boricua gallery — which began hosting the show of more than 35 artists on its website during the March commemoration of Women’s History Month — will continue to make the show accessible in the website’s Archives “indefinitely,” according to New York Society of Women Artists President Natalie Giugni.

Photographs of their artworks, artist profiles and personal videos are featured in the exhibition. See the show at tallerboricua.org and newyorksocietyofwomenartists.com.

Legrand’s oil on canvas “Canal d’Avezac, Haiti” artwork is rooted in Haitian history. Located in the town of Camp-Perrin, the canal was built by Pierre Valentin d’Avezac, a Frenchman who relocated to Haiti.

“My canal piece, which is titled ‘Canal d’Avezac, Haiti,’ is based on the canal that was constructed in Haiti in 1769 by the French, who at that time were the slave owners and land owners in Haiti,” Legrand said. “And they had built the canal with, of course, the labor of the slaves so they could irrigate the land they were in charge of.”

“The former slaves and their descendants took over the management and administration of the canal to irrigate, what was now, their own land,” Legrand continued.

Music students benefit

The Jah Jerry Foundation Annual Scholarship Fundraiser is coming April 30 at 7 p.m. — a virtual affair raising funds for music-related educational aid featuring special guests and live performances.

Reflecting the musical nature of the foundation, special guests include internationally renowned Jamaican singer Ken Boothe and Pat Chin, co-founder of VP Records, the world’s largest reggae and soca label.

There will be music by Tres International — featuring Disco Kids and Kid Wonder. And former scholarship recipients Kryten Henry and David Ricketts are scheduled to perform at the event.

Donation is $25. To register, visit jahjerry.org and select “Donate.” A Zoom link will sent to patrons before the event.

Aperture’s ‘New York’

Aperture’s “New York” — the spring 2021 edition of the photography-focused magazine — and a monthlong, outdoor popup public art exhibition are special happenings marking the one-year anniversary of New York’s COVID-19 shutdown.

“Aperture magazine’s ‘New York’ issue honors the city through photographs and essays by visionary artists and writers,” according to magazine executives.

One of the works is “Absence Persists” about Haiti-born artist Widline Cadet, who covers “race, memory, erasure, migration, immigration and Haitian cultural identity from within the United States,” as well as “notions of visibility and hypervisibility, black feminine interiority, and selfhood.”

The piece on Cadet is written by award-winning Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat.

On April 22, Cadet and fellow photographer Rafael Rios will take part in a discussion on their portraits of “Family, Friendship, and New York.” To register for the talk, visit http://bit.ly/ ApertureConversations. All conversations will be posted for on-demand viewing after the live sessions.

To coincide with the Aperture New York print issue, Rockefeller Center is hosting an outdoor exhibition of larger-than-life photographs by Jamel Shabazz, who captured the 1970s in New York through portraits on city streets and subways. There will be 14 Shabazz photos on display in 7-foot-tall light boxes throughout Rockefeller Center’s public plazas.

Shabazz photographs are featured in the print magazine’s “Why Jamel Shabazz Is New York’s Most Vital Street Photographer” by Tanisha Ford.

To subscribe and view the Aperture spring 2021 issue, visit issues.aperture.org/ issue/20210101.