Barbra Streisand, Amy Poehler, Kathleen Turner, Bernie Sanders, John Lewis & More Co-Sponsor Human Rights Art Festival In NYC

Over 100 speakers, artists, activists and performers from all over the globe are set to take part in the International Human Rights Art Festival in NYC November 12-18 at Wild Project (195 E. 3rd Street). The Honorary Co-Sponsors for the festival include Barbra Streisand, Amy Poehler, Kathleen Turner, Norman Lear, United States Senators Bernie Sanders, Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand & Susan Collins, and U.S. Congressman/Civil Rights Icon John Lewis, in addition to NYC Human Rights Commissioner Carmelyn Malalis and Chinese Democracy Activist Mr. Wei Jingsheng who was released from prison in part by President Bill Clinton in 1997 (and is the recipient of numerous international human rights awards including the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and the National Endowment for Democracy Award). Over a dozen countries are represented in the festival including Australia, Canada, China, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Honduras, India, Israel, Italy, Tahiti, Taiwan, the Philippines and the USA.

Featuring dance, theatre, music, spoken word & comedy performances and talks & discussion panels (over 30 events), the International Human Rights Art Festival (Produced by Tom Block) is a week-long series of advocacy events & performances at the intersection of art, activism and society, bringing together artists, social & political leaders and the general public to imagine & implement a better, more caring world. The full schedule can be viewed at www.ihraf.org; tickets are $21.

The centerpiece of the festival, the Celebration of Justice is on Friday, November 16 at 7:30pm: Bringing together artists, activists, politicians on the IHRAF stage to most clearly present its philosophy of beauty, sincerity, vulnerability and engagement. It will include a film by Congressman John Lewis made specifically for IHRAF about the importance of art to the Civil Rights Movement. The 11/16 event will showcase Chinese Democracy Activist Wei Jingsheng; NYC Human Rights Commissioner Carmelyn Malalis; Rabbi Abie Ingber, Executive Director of the Center for Interfaith Community Engagement at Xavier University; and Dr. Sarah Sayeed, Senior Advisor in the NYC Community Affairs Unit. It will also feature performances from Violinist Owen Valentine; Singer Alika Hope; Spoken Word Artist (and Festival Assistant Producer) Layla Zami; Climate Change Activist Theatre Artist Julia Levine; and Two-Spirit Cherokee singer Tony Enos.

Other performances include: Tribal Baroque (Mon. 11/12 @ 7pm) using countertenor and coloratura soprano vocals to create a fantasy opera, Thoth and Lila'Angelique will perform "The Pantheon Of Electric Beasties" about a despot who takes over a city; Fine (Mon. 11/12 @ 8:30pm) a drama by Alexa Jordan about a therapist and her patients, exploring mental health issues, the way we view individuals with mental health disorders, and the stigma surrounding these common, human issues; Amirov Dance Theater (Tues. 11/13 @ 7pm) in a performance stringing together a chain of relationships unveiling the multiplicities of womanhood, capturing the identities of women from divergent paths in life; Movement of the People Dance Company (Wed. 11/14 @ 7pm) a company dedicated to addressing historic & present sociocultural injustices through dance; ImprActivists (Thur. 11/15 @ 7pm) Katie Hutch leads her team of professional improv actors to the intersection of improv comedy and social activism in the form of humor, creativity and engagement; Theatre of the Oppressed (Sat. 11/17 @ 2:30pm) an original, interactive forum play by The Fortune Society Theatre Troupe addresses injustice in the criminal justice system, based on experiences of the actors; Quill House (Sun. 11/18 @ 1pm) an immersive sonic visual theater experience that through movement, sound, and ethereal elements, presents a layered collage of visual and sonic experiences that delve into subconscious realities and conscious fictions in a world fraught with injustice.