The Main Event Gallery to Present WE SPEAK PEACE

WE SPEAK PEACE features performing artists from Ukraine, Russia, Afghanistan, and New York City in a one night only event. Led by NYC playwright/poet Galinsky and gallerist/filmmaker Jay Bulger, the eclectic group of performers feel the need to speak out and share right now. The event will be featured at The Main Event Art Gallery - 42 Avenue B, NY NY 10009

Featured performers include: Julia Kissina (Ukraine), Yelda Ali (Afghanistan), Galinsky (NYC, Ukraine), Valery Oisteanu (Russia), Jay Bulger (NYC), and Frank London (NYC.)

"We are tired of the same wars and the same rhetoric. The countries always vary, but the violence is always the same. We won't stop playing music and speaking peace until these corporate and government gangs stop the killing and destruction," says Galinsky.

Feature performers include:

Julia Kissina is an artist and writer. A political refugee, she immigrated to Germany in 1990. Born in Kiev, she studied dramatic writing in Moscow, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and taught as a Professor of New Media and Art Photography. In 2000 Julia Kissina herded an actual flock of sheep into the Museum of Modern Art in Frankfurt as part of a performance. In 2003 she curated the Art & Crime festival in Berlin, and performed in a German prison. In 2006 she created The Dead Artist's Society, which held séances to conduct Dialogues with Classics such as Duchamp and Malevich. A member of the Moscow Conceptualist movement and Russian literary underground avant-garde (Samizdat), Julia Kissina is the author of several novels and story collections translated throughout Europe. Suhrkamp Verlag, Germany has published her novels Springtime on the Moon, Elefantina, and a recent anthology of contemporary Russian prose «Revolution Noir», which she edited. In 2018 she created Urban Dictionary →→, a literary festival in Berlin, that brought together writers from New York and Berlin. Julia Kissina lives in Berlin and New York City.

Yelda Ali "My mother was pregnant with me while being smuggled out of Afghanistan during war. This explains why my work focuses on safety, womxn's rights, and mental health." Yeldā Ali is a New York City based artist and activist known for women's rights and mental health advocacy. In her commitment to creating self-sustaining safe spaces, she has produced over 200 educational experiences internationally. In 2015, Yeldā founded Camel Assembly, a womxn's organization that now comprises thousands of womxn globally. She believes in #MarchingDaily, a hashtag she created to serve as a reminder that lasting change happens through daily efforts towards self and community. In recent years, Yeldā has become a voice of representation for the Afghan diaspora, sharing stories of her culture and upbringing.

Valery Oisteanu was born in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, raised and educated in Romania, where he was known as Valeriu Oișteanu ([vaˈlerju]). He graduated from the Department of Chemical Industry of the Politechnical Institute in Bucharest. In 1970, Oisteanu made his literary debut in Romania with a collection of poems called Proteze. Due to his Jewish ancestry, the Communist regime allowed him to emigrate to New York City in 1972 or 1973, and he has been writing in English ever since. Oisteanu adopted Dada and Surrealism as a philosophy of art and life. He appears regularly at poetry readings in various New York venues, where he presents original performances of Zen and Dada-inspired "jazzoetry". He is a freelance art critic and on the permanent staff of several arts magazines, including The Brooklyn Rail, NYArts, Rain Taxi, the Spanish publication art.es, and the Canadian magazine D'Art International. Oișteanu is a member of Poets and Writers Inc. in New York and the founder and president of PASS: Poets and Artists Surrealist Society.

Frank London is a member of the Klezmatics, Hasidic New Wave, has performed with John Zorn, LL Cool J, Mel Torme, Lester Bowieπs Brass Fantasy, LaMonte Young, They Might Be Giants, David Byrne, Jane Siberry, Ben Folds 5, Mark Ribot, Maurice El Medioni and Gal Costa, and is featured on over 100 cds. His own recordings include INVOCATIONS (cantorial music); Frank Londonπs Klezmer Brass Allstarsπ DI SHIKERE KAPELYE and BROTHERHOOD OF BRASS; NIGUNIM and THE ZMIROS PROJECT (Jewish mystical songs, with Klezmatics vocalist Lorin Sklamberg); THE DEBT (film and theater music); THE SHEKHINA BIG BAND; the soundtrack to THE SHVITZ; the soundtrack to Perl Gluck's THE DIVAHN and four releases with the Hasidic New Wave.

Jay Bulger is an American film director and writer from Washington, D.C. Bulger attended Fordham University in the Bronx, where he boxed in several New York Golden Glove tournaments. Photographs of his fighting launched him onto the cover of Vogue and then modelling for brands such as Armani, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, Kenneth Cole, and Hermès. After a 2-year bout with cancer, Bulger dedicated himself to writing and directing and has since published cover stories and feature articles for Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, and GQ. He has directed music videos and commercials for bands such as The Hold Steady, Nightmare of You, Permanent Me, and Playradioplay; and brands such as Pepsi and Disney.

Galinsky is an activist and theatre artist with numerous credits as a writer, poet, and educator. He is head speaker coach for TEDxTeen and TEDxFultonStreet and runs multiple workshops both online and in person at jails and prisons throughout New York, including Rikers Island Jail. As a writer/producer/activist, his work has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, and on The VIEW, NPR, and ABC Nightline News. Most recently, at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York, Robert debuted in The Bench, A Homeless Love Story. Selected stage credits include the roles of Joshua & Cathy in Cloud Nine, and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet in New Haven Connecticut's "Free Shakespeare on The Green." He teaches writing and performance to incarcerated youths at Rikers Island Jail, works with homeless through the non-profits City Kids and Hearts of Gold and is a founding team member of the We Are Family Foundation and Nile Rodger's "Three Dot Dash" international peace initiative.