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Gurmehar Kaur reading a chapter from her book " Small Acts Of Freedom. “ at Times Litfest 2018 in Bengaluru.
" Her first book is the story of three generations of women—her nani (maternal grandmother), Amarjeet, her mother, Raji, and Gurmehar herself. All of them have dealt with loss and death when they were least prepared for it. All of them have transcended it and emerged stronger.""
Author: Ngô Huy Hòa (hachi8)
Tel: +84 936780285
Email: hachi181@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/ngohuyhoa
Don't use this image on any media without my permission.
© All rights reserved.
Please NO multigroup invites! Por favor NO invitaciones a multigrupos!
Author : @Kiri Karma
museumPASSmusees 2021 - Art et marges musee museum - Chanson D'amour
Le Art et marges musee remet a l'honneur la creation sonore outsider. Moins connue du public que les productions picturales, la musique brute n'en est pas moins foisonnante, elle touche a tous les styles et a reussi a se maintenir quasi hors d'atteinte d'un pretendu bon gout. C'est par le biais faussement naif de la chanson d'amour que nous vous invitons a plonger dans les univers singuliers de ces musicien.ne.s au grand coeur. Quoi de mieux que l'amour, tragique et magique, dechirant mais heureusement passionnant pour donner de la voix ? Enregistrements, textes, pochettes d'albums... nous font toucher du doigt ce qui est longtemps reste de la musique underground.
Avec des oeuvres de Julien Brien, Monique Capart, Ali Demailly, Elayne Goodman, Daniel Johnston, Normand L'Amour, Jean-Luc Le Tenia, Reynols, Pascal Roussel, Maitre Selecto, Philippe Sylvanis, Petr Valek, Chuckie Williams.
( 200 musees
Des maintenant, vous pouvez visiter tous les musees participants pendant un an. Pas une fois, mais aussi souvent que vous le souhaitez !
297 expositions
Vous pouvez egalement visiter les expositions temporaires des musees participants gratuitement ou a un tarif fortement reduit.
1 pass musees
Tout ceci avec seulement 1 pass.
Author of quotes, unknown. HFF! Taken in Humber Bay Park recently. Ottavia reflected in a puddle as she takes her shot. I am very glad that I met Ottavia along the way :)
Thanks for your visits and stay blessed:)
Author : @Kiri Karma
City trip In Bruges - July 2020 - Day 1
first Day in Bruges
Premier jour a Bruges
( City trip in Bruges.
Bruges (Brugge), the capital of West Flanders in northwest Belgium, is distinguished by its canals, cobbled streets and medieval buildings. Its port, Zeebrugge, is an important center for fishing and European trade. In the city center's Burg square, the 14th-century Stadhuis (City Hall) has an ornate carved ceiling. Nearby, Markt square features a 13th-century belfry with a 47-bell carillon and 83m tower with panoramic views. )
Author: Ngô Huy Hòa (hachi8)
Tel : +84 936780285
Email : hachi181@gmail.com
Facebook : facebook.com/ngohuyhoa
Author Unknown
"We were given: Two hands to hold. To legs to walk. Two eyes to see. Two ears to listen. But why only one heart? Because the other was given to someone else. For us to find."
Le Ruwanwelisaya est un stupa au Sri Lanka, considéré comme une merveille pour ses qualités architecturales et sacré pour de nombreux bouddhistes du monde entier. Il a été construit par Gamini Abhaya qui est devenu le maître de tout le Sri Lanka après une guerre dans laquelle le Chola roi Elara, a été défait.
Ceci est l'un des Solosmasthana (les 16 lieux de culte) et la Atamasthana (les 8 lieux de vénération dans l'ancienne ville sacrée d'Anuradhapura). Ce stupa est l'un des plus grands stupa du monde avec 103m de hauteur et une circonférence de 290m.
[ Vincent Leroux Photo ] tous droits réservés - all rights reserved. Contacter l'auteur avant toute utilisation - contact the author before any use
Author : @Kiri Karma
museumPASSmusees 2020 - CENTRALE for contemporary art
CENTRALE for contemporary art
L'ambition premiere de la CENTRALE for contemporary art est de faire decouvrir et sensibiliser un public le plus large possible aux creations artistiques contemporaines d'artistes bruxellois, et ce, dans une perspective internationale.
La CENTRALE propose une reflexion sur la creation contemporaine et son lien avec la societe. Sa programmation a pour vocation la presentation d'oeuvres d'art qui questionnent les limites de l'art plutot que d'imposer une lecture unique de la creation.
La CENTRALE met en valeur le foisonnement de l'art actuel dans une perspective internationale a travers des expositions thematiques, des duos d'artistes bruxellois et internationaux, des collaborations avec des ecoles d'art bruxelloises, des projets participatifs d'artistes belges en residence, des collaborations avec d'autres lieux defendant la creation contemporaine et l'ouverture aux autres formes d'art (danse, performance, musique, litterature,...).
PANORAMA
La CENTRALE presente l'exposition Xavier Noiret-Thome & Henk Visch PANORAMA, ode a la peinture et a la sculpture.
Xavier Noiret-Thome, artiste francais base a Bruxelles, offre des peintures et assemblages d'une rare diversite qui se nourrissent de savoir, d'experience et d'influences assumees. Il a choisi d'inviter le sculpteur, dessinateur et peintre hollandais Henk Visch, dont les sculptures tantot monumentales, tantot miniatures, s'apparentent selon lui a la pensee humaine.
Leurs oeuvres, intenses et directes, parfois teintees d'humour, depeignent le reel et tentent de cerner le processus de creation et son impact sur la vie.
Pour cette exposition, les deux artistes ont concu un parcours qui se decline en cinq chapitres, de la pensee a la metaphysique. Ce cheminement permet la decouverte de leurs oeuvres respectives, prenant le contre-pied de la presentation classique de la peinture et de la sculpture, tout en permettant une lecture du processus de creation artistique et de la reflexion qu'il suscite.
Des artistes, performeur.ses, musicien.ne.s de jazz, animatrice d'ateliers intergenerationnels, offriront un autre regard sur le duo.
L'exposition s'accompagne d'une collaboration exceptionnelle avec De Garage a Malines qui presentera l'exposition No more, no less du 19.09 au 22.11.2020.
Xavier Noiret-Thome - Henk Visch. Panorama
03.09.2020 > 17.01.2021
GOOD LOST CORNERS - places that appeal to me
Il s'agit d'histoires personnelles mais pour le lecteur, le contenu ne sera pas si different. Elles pourraient etre les histoires de n'importe qui. ' - SPOT SPOTS - Prologue due to circumstances, 2017 - Artist book, Self-published - Max Kesteloot
Depuis plus de 10 ans, Max Kesteloot (1990, Gand, vit et travaille a Ostende) capture ses observations sur photo. Au cours de promenades ou de voyages, il se concentre principalement sur son contexte urbain environnant, constitue d'elements architecturaux souvent banals. Ses images sont depourvues de personnes et ne se referent qu'indirectement a une presence ou une action potentielle. Le travail de Kesteloot semble porter sur la facon dont nous absorbons notre environnement, et comment cela se traduit par des impressions fragmentees et des souvenirs associes.
Dans l'exposition GOOD LOST CORNERS - places that appeal to me, les visiteurs peuvent entendre une voix constante qui se refere a des lieux qui ont ete photographies par l'artiste, puis utilises comme source pour realiser des oeuvres visuelles. Pour les spectateurs, il est impossible de savoir quel texte appartient a quelle image, mais c'est exactement ce qui rend interessant l'exploration de l'oeuvre.
( 170 musees
Des maintenant, vous pouvez visiter tous les musees participants pendant un an. Pas une fois, mais aussi souvent que vous le souhaitez !
267 expositions )
Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisting of 156 stories across nine volumes, have been translated into more than 125 languages. Wikipedia
Remembered for his fairy tales: The Emperor's New Clothes, The Little Mermaid, The Red Shoes, The Ugly Duckling, The Princess and the Pea, and The Little Match Girl.
Original black and white photo by Thora Hallager, Denmark's earliest female photographer and Andersen's landlady and friend in Copenhagen.
Author : @Kiri Karma
Divers 2020 - Mini Europe
Mini-Europe is open since 18/05/2020.
Welcome back to the open-air museum Mini-Europe!
Located at the foot of the Atomium, MINI-EUROPE is the only park where you can visit the whole of Europe in a couple of hours. A truly unique voyage ! Stroll amid the typical ambiance of the most beautiful towns of the Old Continent.
Be amazed! Mini-Europe is a park featuring all the wonders of Europe, in miniature. Bonsai trees, flowery groves and dwarf trees embellish the 350 monuments which have been reproduced at scale 1/25. Thousands of lifelike figurines and animations! Set off the eruption of the Vesuvius and admire the takeoff of the Ariane rocket. The two hour walk, which is both entertaining and educational, will let you (re)discover the 27 member states of the European Union + United Kingdom and their historical, architectural and cultural wealth.
( Diverses photos prisent en 2020 sans sujet reel.
Various pictures taken in 2020 without real subject. )
Author : @Kiri Karma
Divers 2020 - November
Photos of November 2020
Photos de novembre 2020
( Diverses photos prisent en 2020 sans sujet reel.
Various pictures taken in 2020 without real subject. )
Author : @Kiri Karma
Travel to Boa Vista (Cap Vert) - January 2023 - Day 11
Various pics of the day 11 in Boa Vista with no particular subject
Diverses photos prisent a Boa Vista (jour : 11) sans sujet reel.
Author : @Kiri Karma
Divers 2020 - May
Photos of May 2020
Photos de mai 2020
( Diverses photos prisent en 2020 sans sujet reel.
Various pictures taken in 2020 without real subject. )
Author : @Kiri Karma
Travel to NOLA - February 2024 - Day 6
Various pics of the day six in New Orleans.
Diverses photos prisent en Nouvel Orlean le jour six.
Author : @Kiri Karma
Made in Asia - 2022 - Day 3
13 eme edition - jour 3
( Rejoignez l'aventure en 2022 ! Fans de mangas, d'animes et de jeux video ? Passionne(e)s par le cosplay, YouTube et la culture asiatique ? Alors, rendez-vous en avril pour trois jours de folie au festival Made in Asia !
Artistes japonais, celebres YouTubers, escape-rooms, concours de danse K-Pop, ateliers de dessins, expositions de jouets et de figurines, tournois de jeux video, concerts et bien d'autres surprises vous y attendent ! )
Author : @Kiri Karma
Edition 2022 - Bright Brussels
Sunflowers for Vincent van Gogh - Ocubo
Une mer de tournesols, se balancant au gre du vent.
For a moment you feel as if you were looking at a painting by Vincent van Gogh. As you come closer, you will see that these are lanterns made according to Chinese traditions. This luminous work of art is a tribute to the painter who, during his stay in Arles, France, painted 69 sunflowers, and regarded those sunflowers as lanterns.
Developed in 2019 for GLOW Eindhoven, the work was also exhibited at the Qinhuai International Lantern Festival 2020 in Nanjing. It was there that the work was constructed under the direction of Gu Yeliang, a famous artist known for his lanterns. The work was created in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and Van Gogh Brabant. The sunflowers are currently owned by the OCUBO studio, which specialises in light and cultural projects in public spaces.
Copyright:
Sunflowers design: Hugo Vrijdag
Originally designed for: Glow Eindhoven
Owned and presented by: OCUBO
The festival of lights in Brussels
Bright Brussels, the festival of lights returns to brighten up the capital this winter!
Four evenings and three routes will take you on a journey to discover of some twenty immersive and poetic artistic works. From 10 to 13 February, the Royal Quarter, the European Quarter and the Flagey neighborhood will be illuminated by enchanting light installations. The festival will also feature a fringe programme, including evening events in the museums.
It's become a tradition for the lights of Bright Brussels to warm us up in the dead of winter and, best of all, it's completely free!
( Bright Brussels is a light festival, a fascinating route through the city consisting of a dozen light installations that are artistic, interactive, playful,... and simply captivating. )
Author : @Kiri Karma
Divers 2021 - Klimt, The Immersive Experience
'Klimt : The Immersive Experience' in a unique digital art exhibition. Gustav Klimt's masterpieces and many stages of his life get literally animated in a totally 360° immersive experience. Prepare yourself for an unforgettable special effects laden immersive experience.
A spectacular light and video presentation choreographed to an original score...
The immersive Gallery of the Klimt exhibition dives you into the artist's world. More than 200 works by Gustav Klimt are projected in an animated, creative and surprising way all around you. Your senses are awakened through these virtual brushstrokes.
Good to know: the show lasts 35 minutes and is put on a loop.
( Diverses photos prisent en 2021 sans sujet reel.
Various pictures taken in 2021 without real subject. )
Author : @Kiri Karma
museumPASSmusees 2021 - Mima - Double Bill
'DRAMA', The Art Of Laurent Durieux
'Laurent Durieux's magnificent work elevates poster art to a high level. The stunningly executed images express the ideas and themes of the films he has chosen in new terms. They communicate a lot without words and are part of the wonderful tradition of illustrative art. '
Francis Ford Coppola
The exhibition presents around a hundred original posters of the Belgian artist, internationally acclaimed by moviegoers.
THE ABC OF PORN CINEMA
(Prohibited under 18 year old)
In 2013, the ABC, Brussels' last old-school adult cinema still showing 35mm films, was shut down. Its archive, meticulously built over the forty years of its existence, was salvaged by Cinema Nova, allowing the veil of a bygone era devoured by the digital revolution to be lifted.
The exhibition 'The ABC of Porn Cinema' spans four decades of activity by the aforementioned theatre, and in doing so recalls the world that surrounded it. Through numerous documents, posters, hand-painted billboards, engraved press plates and censored photos retrieved from the ABC, plus an accompanying art installation, an obscure part of our culture destined to be buried in the annals of history can once again be rediscovered and reappraised. Indeed, these historical archives are exceptional and unique, unafraid to indulge in humour or to drum up reflection and controversy.
An exhibition created by the Nova cinema and the MIMA with the participation of the Gogolplex collective
( 200 musees
Des maintenant, vous pouvez visiter tous les musees participants pendant un an. Pas une fois, mais aussi souvent que vous le souhaitez !
297 expositions
Vous pouvez egalement visiter les expositions temporaires des musees participants gratuitement ou a un tarif fortement reduit.
1 pass musees
Tout ceci avec seulement 1 pass.
Author : @Kiri Karma
museumPASSmusees 2020 - Musee Belge de la Franc-Maconnerie
Le Musee Belge de la Franc-Maconnerie se situe dans l'ancien hotel Dewez, un batiment neoclassique du 18e siecle. L'exposition permanente offre un apercu historique de la franc-maconnerie dans nos regions.
Le Musee Belge de la Franc-Maconnerie correspond a une volonte d'ouverture de la part d'une association connue pour sa discretion.
Il cherche, par le biais de vitrines thematiques et didactiques, et dans un souci d'information et d'incitation a la reflexion, a rendre la demarche maconnique comprehensible par tous. Le musee, situe dans un batiment neoclassique (Hotel Dewez), presente des oeuvres d'art, decorations, bijoux, vaisselle, livres du 18eme siecle a nos jours. Ces pieces sont des temoins et des signes de memoire qui illustrent l'evolution historique, le fonctionnement, les idees et les structures actuelles de la Franc-Maconnerie.
( 170 musees
Des maintenant, vous pouvez visiter tous les musees participants pendant un an. Pas une fois, mais aussi souvent que vous le souhaitez !
267 expositions )
Author : @Kiri Karma
urbana-project - Les geants d'Anderlecht 2020
Les geants d'Anderlecht
Dans le cadre du parcours d'artistes d'Anderlecht, Itinerart 2016, Urbana a invite plus de 15 artistes a venir peindre des piliers du Hall of Fame de Neerpede.
Tout au long du week-end (16-17 Avril 2016), se sont succedes plusieurs artistes aux univers et influences multiples qui donnent a voir leur travail au travers de peintures murales. Illustrateurs, peintres muralistes ou encore calligraphes ont travailles autour du theme ' les geants d'Anderlecht ', theme qui se prete au format vertical impose par la hauteur des piliers (entre 6,5 et 9,7 metres)
Cet evenement etait organise avec le soutien du service tourisme d'Anderlecht et de la COCOF.
ARTISTES :
Hell'o - Solo Cink - Farm Prod - Blancbec - Eyes-B - Nean - Defo Dalbino - Steve Locatelli - Eres - Reset - Reab - El nino 76 - Demos - Aien & Ebola - Derm - Dzia - Dema - Lolo Fonico
+ les autres creations plus locales et interdites
( Urbana est une asbl nee de la volonte de mettre en avant les arts contemporains urbains en animant une reflexion globale de qualite autour de l'ensemble de disciplines telles que le Street Art, l'architecture, l'urbanisme, la mode, le design, etc. En portant un projet d'envergure complet et different, notre equipe se donne pour mission de combler les lacunes dont souffre la representation des arts urbains en Belgique, a une epoque ou la ville et les reseaux urbains prennent de plus en plus d'importance dans la vie des citoyens.
Dans cette perspective, Urbana a la volonte de servir d'incubateur de projets et de creer une plateforme d'information, de rencontres et d'accompagnement d'artistes. Elle va ainsi developper des projets porteurs et innovants pour promouvoir et representer ces arts emergeant, mettre en place des espaces d'expression artistique, ameliorer leur integration dans la gestion des espaces publics et prives et, globalement, contribuer au rayonnement international des artistes belges.
En mettant en avant la qualite et le sens critique, Urbana veut depasser le decalage qui existe entre ce qu'est la scene des arts urbains aujourd'hui, et la vision parfois reductrice qu'on en montre.
L'objectif est egalement de soutenir la transversalite entre les differents intervenants en matiere d'urbanisme afin de creer une emulation artistique efficace et durable, et creer des synergies qui montreront la capitale comme un catalyseur de competences et de creativite. )
author: Tong Liu
folder: me
paper: 25cm tissue-foil
height: about 10cm
see the CP of this model in the photostream of the author here:
Author : @Kiri Karma
Cobra Wrestling Association - Genesis 4 - Black Cobra & The Sensation Vs Ricky Sosa & Deamos
Black Cobra & The Sensation (Sensation Warriors) (c) Def. (Pin) Ricky Sosa & Deamos
For : CWA Tag Team Kampioens (No Title Change)
( We proberen het nogmaals : zaterdag 19 februari 2022 . Zaal de mast in Torhout.
Cobra Wrestling Association presents : The Comeback of GENESIS 4 . )
Author : @Kiri Karma
Travel to Boa Vista (Cap Vert) - January 2023 - Day 5
Various pics of the day 5 in Boa Vista with no particular subject
Diverses photos prisent a Boa Vista (jour : 5) sans sujet reel.
Author unknown, I will be taking a break from Flickr to focus on quality time with my family. Will try to visit from time to time, will try to catch up later. Stay happy and blessed:)
This! Magazine's Special Flickr Publication
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Balloon's Day Parade - Comic Strip Experience 2020
The immersive experience
Ta-da! The Brussels Comic Strip Festival has turned into an immersive experience in the impressive Gare Maritime at Tour & Taxis. The route, spread over more than 3,400m2 and combining breathtaking scenery and giant balloons, takes you on a journey through nine drawn worlds. It's an educational experience developed in collaboration with publishers and various partners.
Curious? Follow the guide.
9 worlds
Bob et Bobette/Suske &Wiske (Willy Vandersteen / Standaard Uitgeverij)
You start your immersive journey with Spike & Suzy (Bob & Bobette in French, Suske & Wiske in Dutch). Professor Barabas welcomes you in his strange laboratory. It is here that the famous duo reveals the secrets that link them to Brussels. What's more, Spike & Suzy are celebrating their 75th anniversary this year! It's a great opportunity to discover the new giant balloon bearing their faces. You can also see the heroes in their famous car 'Vitamitje' (Vitaminette in French), one of professeur Barabas' thousands of inventions, which appeared for the first time in the album 'De sprietatoom' (le Rayon Magique in French) in 1946.
Yakari (Joris Chamblain, Job & Derib / Le Lombard)
A very different world reveals itself to you here; that of Yakari. By the new giant Yakari balloon and in the setting of a real native American village, you learn the history of Yakari and his people. They have a rich past, full of history and legends, and have a lot to teach us about respect for nature and ecological values.
Yasmina (Wauter Mannaert / Dargaud) (French)
Go for a stroll through the big vegetable garden belonging to Yasmina. Salads, pumpkins, carrots, edible plants, ... Yasmina, a talented young chef, gives you her tips for 'good food'.
Lucien et les mysterieux phenomenes (Le Lay & Horellou / Casterman) (French)
Discover the unique decor of Lucien et les mysterieux phenomenes (Lucien and the mysterious phenomena). Do you know Art Nouveau? Inside Mr Price's splendid building you will learn more about this architectural and artistic movement. The art of 'living together' is also a theme specific to his world.
Alternative comic strips
Ten young Belgian authors present their wonderful worlds. An exhibition introduces you to alternative comic strips with original works by Charlotte Pollet, Mortis Ghost, Gabri Molist, Aniss El Hamouri, Felix Laurent, Exaheva, Aurelie Wilmet, Rebecca Rosen, Stephane de Groef and Mathilde Van Gheluwe. Each author edited a comic strip with alternative comics publishers.
Star Wars - 501st FanWars Garrison South Belgium
Welcome to a galaxy far, far away. FanWars and its garrison of empire soldiers accompanies you through a decor filled with a 6m AT-AT and a giant BB8 balloon, both well-known to Star Wars fans around the world.
Korean Webtoons - The Korean Cultural Center
What is a Webtoon? They're digital comics which are loved by Koreans. Discover this new trend thanks to the Korean Cultural Center in Brussels.
L'Eleve Ducobu (Zidrou et Godi / Le Lombard)
It's the perfect opportunity (or not) to go back to school. Ducobu, the nation's favourite dunce, welcomes you to his classroom and gives you some tips on how to cheat. You never know, they could come in handy...
Gaston (Franquin / Dupuis)
At a time when teleworking is in vogue, discover the unlikely office of Gaston Lagaffe and his zany inventions. But how does he ever get any work done?
The giant balloons and Billy and Buddy's 2CV
Your comic strip stroll is accompanied by about fifteen giant balloons distributed all along the route. You'll find the stars of the Balloon Parade floating in the heart of the majestic Gare Maritime at Tour & Taxis. Ducobu, Spirou, Tintin, a Classic Smurf, Papa Smurf, Lucky Luke, Gaston Lagaffe, BB8, Blork, Le Chat, Billy, Yakari (new 2020), Spike & Suzy (new 2020), Dooly, Toto and the Atomium... they're all here. Even Moucherot, the hero of our 2020 poster by Francois Boucq, will make an appearance for this edition.
Exclusive! The Comics Art Museum has also brought out Billy & Buddy's 2CV.
( Balloon's Day Parade
Journal Tintin Rally )
Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jackson featured a musical fusion of jazz, blues, and soul, as well as lyrical content concerning social and political issues of the time, delivered in both rapping and melismatic vocal styles by Scott-Heron. His own term for himself was "bluesologist", which he defined as "a scientist who is concerned with the origin of the blues". His poem "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", delivered over a jazz-soul beat, is considered a major influence on hip hop music.
His music, most notably on the albums Pieces of a Man and Winter in America in the early 1970s, influenced and foreshadowed later African-American music genres such as hip hop and neo soul. His recording work received much critical acclaim, especially for The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. AllMusic's John Bush called him "one of the most important progenitors of rap music", stating that "his aggressive, no-nonsense street poetry inspired a legion of intelligent rappers while his engaging songwriting skills placed him square in the R&B charts later in his career."
Scott-Heron remained active until his death, and in 2010 released his first new album in 16 years, entitled I'm New Here. A memoir he had been working on for years up to the time of his death, The Last Holiday, was published posthumously in January 2012. Scott-Heron received a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. He also is included in the exhibits at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) that officially opened on September 24, 2016, on the National Mall, and in an NMAAHC publication, Dream a World Anew. In 2021, Scott-Heron was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a recipient of the Early Influence Award.
Gil Scott-Heron was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Bobbie Scott, was an opera singer who performed with the Oratorio Society of New York. His father, Gil Heron, nicknamed "The Black Arrow," was a Jamaican footballer who in the 1950s became the first black man to play for Celtic Football Club in Glasgow, Scotland. Gil's parents separated in his early childhood and he was sent to live with his maternal grandmother, Lillie Scott, in Jackson, Tennessee. When Scott-Heron was 12 years old, his grandmother died and he returned to live with his mother in The Bronx in New York City. He enrolled at DeWitt Clinton High School, but later transferred to The Fieldston School, after impressing the head of the English department with some of his writings and earning a full scholarship. As one of five Black students at the prestigious school, Scott-Heron was faced with alienation and a significant socioeconomic gap. During his admissions interview at Fieldston, an administrator asked him: "'How would you feel if you see one of your classmates go by in a limousine while you're walking up the hill from the subway?' And [he] said, 'Same way as you. Y'all can't afford no limousine. How do you feel?'" This type of intractable boldness would become a hallmark of Scott-Heron's later recordings.
After completing his secondary education, Scott-Heron decided to attend Lincoln University in Pennsylvania because Langston Hughes (his most important literary influence) was an alumnus. It was here that Scott-Heron met Brian Jackson, with whom he formed the band Black & Blues. After about two years at Lincoln, Scott-Heron took a year off to write the novels The Vulture and The Nigger Factory. Scott-Heron was very heavily influenced by the Black Arts Movement (BAM). The Last Poets, a group associated with the Black Arts Movement, performed at Lincoln in 1969 and Abiodun Oyewole of that Harlem group said Scott-Heron asked him after the performance, "Listen, can I start a group like you guys?"[18] Scott-Heron returned to New York City, settling in Chelsea, Manhattan. The Vulture was published by the World Publishing Company in 1970 to positive reviews.
Although Scott-Heron never completed his undergraduate degree, he was admitted to the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, where he received an M.A. in creative writing in 1972. His master's thesis was titled Circle of Stone. Beginning in 1972, Scott-Heron taught literature and creative writing for several years as a full-time lecturer at University of the District of Columbia (then known as Federal City College) in Washington, D.C. while maintaining his music career.
Scott-Heron began his recording career with the LP Small Talk at 125th and Lenox in 1970. Bob Thiele of Flying Dutchman Records produced the album, and Scott-Heron was accompanied by Eddie Knowles and Charlie Saunders on conga and David Barnes on percussion and vocals. The album's 14 tracks dealt with themes such as the superficiality of television and mass consumerism, the hypocrisy of some would-be black revolutionaries, and white middle-class ignorance of the difficulties faced by inner-city residents. In the liner notes, Scott-Heron acknowledged as influences Richie Havens, John Coltrane, Otis Redding, Jose Feliciano, Billie Holiday, Langston Hughes, Malcolm X, Huey Newton, Nina Simone, and long-time collaborator Brian Jackson.
Scott-Heron's 1971 album Pieces of a Man used more conventional song structures than the loose, spoken-word feel of Small Talk. He was joined by Jackson, Johnny Pate as conductor, Ron Carter on bass and bass guitar, drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, Burt Jones playing electric guitar, and Hubert Laws on flute and saxophone, with Thiele producing again. Scott-Heron's third album, Free Will, was released in 1972. Jackson, Purdie, Laws, Knowles, and Saunders all returned to play on Free Will and were joined by Jerry Jemmott playing bass, David Spinozza on guitar, and Horace Ott (arranger and conductor). Carter later said about Scott-Heron's voice: "He wasn't a great singer, but, with that voice, if he had whispered it would have been dynamic. It was a voice like you would have for Shakespeare."
In 1974, he recorded another collaboration with Brian Jackson, Winter in America, with Bob Adams on drums and Danny Bowens on bass. Winter in America has been regarded by many critics as the two musicians' most artistic effort. The following year, Scott-Heron and Jackson released Midnight Band: The First Minute of a New Day. In 1975, he released the single "Johannesburg", a rallying cry for the end of apartheid in South Africa. The song would be re-issued, in 12"-single form, together with "Waiting for the Axe to Fall" and "B-movie" in 1983.
A live album, It's Your World, followed in 1976 and a recording of spoken poetry, The Mind of Gil Scott-Heron, was released in 1978. Another success followed with the hit single "Angel Dust", which he recorded as a single with producer Malcolm Cecil. "Angel Dust" peaked at No. 15 on the R&B charts in 1978.
In 1979, Scott-Heron played at the No Nukes concerts at Madison Square Garden. The concerts were organized by Musicians United for Safe Energy to protest the use of nuclear energy following the Three Mile Island accident. Scott-Heron's song "We Almost Lost Detroit" was included in the No Nukes album of concert highlights. It alluded to a previous nuclear power plant accident and was also the title of a book by John G. Fuller. Scott-Heron was a frequent critic of President Ronald Reagan and his conservative policies.
Scott-Heron recorded and released four albums during the 1980s: 1980 and Real Eyes (1980), Reflections (1981) and Moving Target (1982). In February 1982, Ron Holloway joined the ensemble to play tenor saxophone. He toured extensively with Scott-Heron and contributed to his next album, Moving Target the same year. His tenor accompaniment is a prominent feature of the songs "Fast Lane" and "Black History/The World". Holloway continued with Scott-Heron until the summer of 1989, when he left to join Dizzy Gillespie. Several years later, Scott-Heron would make cameo appearances on two of Ron Holloway's CDs: Scorcher (1996) and Groove Update (1998), both on the Fantasy/Milestone label.
Scott-Heron was dropped by Arista Records in 1985 and quit recording, though he continued to tour. The same year he helped compose and sang "Let Me See Your I.D." on the Artists United Against Apartheid album Sun City, containing the famous line: "The first time I heard there was trouble in the Middle East, I thought they were talking about Pittsburgh." The song compares racial tensions in the U.S. with those in apartheid-era South Africa, implying that the U.S. was not too far ahead in race relations. In 1993, he signed to TVT Records and released Spirits, an album that included the seminal track "'Message to the Messengers". The first track on the album criticized the rap artists of the day. Scott-Heron is known in many circles as "the Godfather of rap" and is widely considered to be one of the genre's founding fathers. Given the political consciousness that lies at the foundation of his work, he can also be called a founder of political rap. "Message to the Messengers" was a plea for the new generation of rappers to speak for change rather than perpetuate the current social situation, and to be more articulate and artistic. Regarding hip hop music in the 1990s, he said in an interview:
They need to study music. I played in several bands before I began my career as a poet. There's a big difference between putting words over some music, and blending those same words into the music. There's not a lot of humor. They use a lot of slang and colloquialisms, and you don't really see inside the person. Instead, you just get a lot of posturing.
— Gil Scott-Heron
In 2001, Scott-Heron was sentenced to one to three years imprisonment in a New York State prison for possession of cocaine. While out of jail in 2002, he appeared on the Blazing Arrow album by Blackalicious. He was released on parole in 2003, the year BBC TV broadcast the documentary Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised—Scott-Heron was arrested for possession of a crack pipe during the editing of the film in October 2003 and received a six-month prison sentence.
On July 5, 2006, Scott-Heron was sentenced to two to four years in a New York State prison for violating a plea deal on a drug-possession charge by leaving a drug rehabilitation center. He claimed that he left because the clinic refused to supply him with HIV medication. This story led to the presumption that the artist was HIV positive, subsequently confirmed in a 2008 interview. Originally sentenced to serve until July 13, 2009, he was paroled on May 23, 2007.
After his release, Scott-Heron began performing live again, starting with a show at SOB's restaurant and nightclub in New York on September 13, 2007. On stage, he stated that he and his musicians were working on a new album and that he had resumed writing a book titled The Last Holiday, previously on long-term hiatus, about Stevie Wonder and his successful attempt to have the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. declared a federally recognized holiday in the United States.
Malik Al Nasir dedicated a collection of poetry to Scott-Heron titled Ordinary Guy that contained a foreword by Jalal Mansur Nuriddin of The Last Poets. Scott-Heron recorded one of the poems in Nasir's book entitled Black & Blue in 2006.
In April 2009, on BBC Radio 4, poet Lemn Sissay presented a half-hour documentary on Gil Scott-Heron entitled Pieces of a Man, having interviewed Gil Scott-Heron in New York a month earlier. Pieces of a Man was the first UK announcement from Scott-Heron of his forthcoming album and return to form. In November 2009, the BBC's Newsnight interviewed Scott-Heron for a feature titled The Legendary Godfather of Rap Returns. In 2009, a new Gil Scott-Heron website, gilscottheron.net, was launched with a new track "Where Did the Night Go" made available as a free download from the site.
In 2010, Scott-Heron was booked to perform in Tel Aviv, Israel, but this attracted criticism from pro-Palestinian activists, who stated: "Your performance in Israel would be the equivalent to having performed in Sun City during South Africa's apartheid era... We hope that you will not play apartheid Israel". Scott-Heron responded by canceling the performance.
Scott-Heron released his album I'm New Here on independent label XL Recordings on February 9, 2010. Produced by XL label owner Richard Russell, I'm New Here was Scott-Heron's first studio album in 16 years. The pair started recording the album in 2007, with the majority of the record being recorded over the 12 months leading up to the release date with engineer Lawson White at Clinton Studios in New York. I'm New Here is 28 minutes long with 15 tracks; however, casual asides and observations collected during recording sessions are included as interludes.
The album attracted critical acclaim, with The Guardian's Jude Rogers declaring it one of the "best of the next decade", while some have called the record "reverent" and "intimate", due to Scott-Heron's half-sung, half-spoken delivery of his poetry. In a music review for public radio network NPR, Will Hermes stated: "Comeback records always worry me, especially when they're made by one of my heroes ... But I was haunted by this record ... He's made a record not without hope but which doesn't come with any easy or comforting answers. In that way, the man is clearly still committed to speaking the truth". Writing for music website Music OMH, Darren Lee provided a more mixed assessment of the album, describing it as rewarding and stunning, but he also states that the album's brevity prevents it "from being an unassailable masterpiece".
Scott-Heron described himself as a mere participant, in a 2010 interview with The New Yorker:
This is Richard's CD. My only knowledge when I got to the studio was how he seemed to have wanted this for a long time. You're in a position to have somebody do something that they really want to do, and it was not something that would hurt me or damage me—why not? All the dreams you show up in are not your own.
The remix version of the album, We're New Here, was released in 2011, featuring production by English musician Jamie xx, who reworked material from the original album. Like the original album, We're New Here received critical acclaim.
In April 2014, XL Recordings announced a third album from the I'm New Here sessions, titled Nothing New. The album consists of stripped-down piano and vocal recordings and was released in conjunction with Record Store Day on April 19, 2014.
Scott-Heron died on the afternoon of May 27, 2011, at St. Luke's Hospital, New York City, after becoming ill upon returning from a trip to Europe. Scott-Heron had confirmed previous press speculation about his health, when he disclosed in a 2008 New York Magazine interview that he had been HIV-positive for several years, and that he had been previously hospitalized for pneumonia.
He was survived by his firstborn daughter, Raquiyah "Nia" Kelly Heron, from his relationship with Pat Kelly; his son Rumal Rackley, from his relationship with Lurma Rackley; daughter Gia Scott-Heron, from his marriage to Brenda Sykes; and daughter Chegianna Newton, who was 13 years old at the time of her father's death. He is also survived by his sister Gayle; brother Denis Heron, who once managed Scott-Heron; his uncle, Roy Heron; and nephew Terrance Kelly, an actor and rapper who performs as Mr. Cheeks, and is a member of Lost Boyz.
Before his death, Scott-Heron had been in talks with Portuguese director Pedro Costa to participate in his film Horse Money as a screenwriter, composer and actor.
In response to Scott-Heron's death, Public Enemy's Chuck D stated "RIP GSH...and we do what we do and how we do because of you" on his Twitter account. His UK publisher, Jamie Byng, called him "one of the most inspiring people I've ever met". On hearing of the death, R&B singer Usher stated: "I just learned of the loss of a very important poet...R.I.P., Gil Scott-Heron. The revolution will be live!!". Richard Russell, who produced Scott-Heron's final studio album, called him a "father figure of sorts to me", while Eminem stated: "He influenced all of hip-hop". Lupe Fiasco wrote a poem about Scott-Heron that was published on his website.
Scott-Heron's memorial service was held at Riverside Church in New York City on June 2, 2011, where Kanye West performed "Lost in the World" and "Who Will Survive in America", two songs from West's album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The studio album version of West's "Who Will Survive in America" features a spoken-word excerpt by Scott-Heron. Scott-Heron is buried at Kensico Cemetery in Westchester County in New York.
Scott-Heron was honored posthumously in 2012 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Charlotte Fox, member of the Washington, DC NARAS and president of Genesis Poets Music, nominated Scott-Heron for the award, while the letter of support came from Grammy award winner and Grammy Hall of Fame inductee Bill Withers.
Scott-Heron's memoir, The Last Holiday, was published in January 2012. In her review for the Los Angeles Times, professor of English and journalism Lynell George wrote:
The Last Holiday is as much about his life as it is about context, the theater of late 20th century America — from Jim Crow to the Reagan '80s and from Beale Street to 57th Street. The narrative is not, however, a rise-and-fall retelling of Scott-Heron's life and career. It doesn't connect all the dots. It moves off-the-beat, at its own speed ... This approach to revelation lends the book an episodic quality, like oral storytelling does. It winds around, it repeats itself.
At the time of Scott-Heron's death, a will could not be found to determine the future of his estate. Additionally, Raquiyah Kelly-Heron filed papers in Manhattan, New York's Surrogate's Court in August 2013, claiming that Rumal Rackley was not Scott-Heron's son and should therefore be omitted from matters concerning the musician's estate. According to the Daily News website, Rackley, Kelly-Heron and two other sisters have been seeking a resolution to the issue of the management of Scott-Heron's estate, as Rackley stated in court papers that Scott-Heron prepared him to be the eventual administrator of the estate. Scott-Heron's 1994 album Spirits was dedicated to "my son Rumal and my daughters Nia and Gia", and in court papers Rackley added that Scott-Heron "introduced me [Rackley] from the stage as his son".
In 2011, Rackley filed a suit against sister Gia Scott-Heron and her mother, Scott-Heron's first wife, Brenda Sykes, as he believed they had unfairly attained US$250,000 of Scott-Heron's money. The case was later settled for an undisclosed sum in early 2013; but the relationship between Rackley and Scott-Heron's two adult daughters already had become strained in the months after Gil's death. In her submission to the Surrogate's Court, Kelly-Heron states that a DNA test completed by Rackley in 2011—using DNA from Scott-Heron's brother—revealed that they "do not share a common male lineage", while Rackley has refused to undertake another DNA test since that time. A hearing to address Kelly-Heron's filing was scheduled for late August 2013, but by March 2016 further information on the matter was not publicly available.[69] Rackley still serves as court-appointed administrator for the estate, and donated material to the Smithsonian's new National Museum of African American History and Culture for Scott-Heron to be included among the exhibits and displays when the museum opened in September 2016. In December 2018, the Surrogate Court ruled that Rumal Rackley and his half sisters are all legal heirs.
According to the Daily News website, Kelly-Heron and two other sisters have been seeking a resolution to the issue of the management of Scott-Heron's estate. The case was decided in December 2018 with a ruling issued in May 2019.
Scott-Heron's work has influenced writers, academics and musicians, from indie rockers to rappers. His work during the 1970s influenced and helped engender subsequent African-American music genres, such as hip hop and neo soul. He has been described by music writers as "the godfather of rap" and "the black Bob Dylan".
Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot comments on Scott-Heron's collaborative work with Jackson:
Together they crafted jazz-influenced soul and funk that brought new depth and political consciousness to '70s music alongside Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. In classic albums such as 'Winter in America' and 'From South Africa to South Carolina,' Scott-Heron took the news of the day and transformed it into social commentary, wicked satire, and proto-rap anthems. He updated his dispatches from the front lines of the inner city on tour, improvising lyrics with an improvisational daring that matched the jazz-soul swirl of the music".
Of Scott-Heron's influence on hip hop, Kot writes that he "presag[ed] hip-hop and infus[ed] soul and jazz with poetry, humor and pointed political commentary". Ben Sisario of The New York Times writes that "He [Scott-Heron] preferred to call himself a "bluesologist", drawing on the traditions of blues, jazz and Harlem renaissance poetics". Tris McCall of The Star-Ledger writes that "The arrangements on Gil Scott-Heron's early recordings were consistent with the conventions of jazz poetry – the movement that sought to bring the spontaneity of live performance to the reading of verse". A music writer later noted that "Scott-Heron's unique proto-rap style influenced a generation of hip-hop artists", while The Washington Post wrote that "Scott-Heron's work presaged not only conscious rap and poetry slams, but also acid jazz, particularly during his rewarding collaboration with composer-keyboardist-flutist Brian Jackson in the mid- and late '70s". The Observer's Sean O'Hagan discussed the significance of Scott-Heron's music with Brian Jackson, stating:
Together throughout the 1970s, Scott-Heron and Jackson made music that reflected the turbulence, uncertainty and increasing pessimism of the times, merging the soul and jazz traditions and drawing on an oral poetry tradition that reached back to the blues and forward to hip-hop. The music sounded by turns angry, defiant and regretful while Scott-Heron's lyrics possessed a satirical edge that set them apart from the militant soul of contemporaries such as Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield.
Will Layman of PopMatters wrote about the significance of Scott-Heron's early musical work:
In the early 1970s, Gil Scott-Heron popped onto the scene as a soul poet with jazz leanings; not just another Bill Withers, but a political voice with a poet's skill. His spoken-voice work had punch and topicality. "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" and "Johannesburg" were calls to action: Stokely Carmichael if he'd had the groove of Ray Charles. 'The Bottle' was a poignant story of the streets: Richard Wright as sung by a husky-voiced Marvin Gaye. To paraphrase Chuck D, Gil Scott-Heron's music was a kind of CNN for black neighborhoods, prefiguring hip-hop by several years. It grew from the Last Poets, but it also had the funky swing of Horace Silver or Herbie Hancock—or Otis Redding. Pieces of a Man and Winter in America (collaborations with Brian Jackson) were classics beyond category".
Scott-Heron's influence over hip hop is primarily exemplified by his definitive single "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", sentiments from which have been explored by various rappers, including Aesop Rock, Talib Kweli and Common. In addition to his vocal style, Scott-Heron's indirect contributions to rap music extend to his and co-producer Jackson's compositions, which have been sampled by various hip-hop artists. "We Almost Lost Detroit" was sampled by Brand Nubian member Grand Puba ("Keep On"), Native Tongues duo Black Star ("Brown Skin Lady"), and MF Doom ("Camphor"). Additionally, Scott-Heron's 1980 song "A Legend in His Own Mind" was sampled on Mos Def's "Mr. Nigga", the opening lyrics from his 1978 recording "Angel Dust" were appropriated by rapper RBX on the 1996 song "Blunt Time" by Dr. Dre, and CeCe Peniston's 2000 song "My Boo" samples Scott-Heron's 1974 recording "The Bottle".
In addition to the Scott-Heron excerpt used in "Who Will Survive in America", Kanye West sampled Scott-Heron and Jackson's "Home is Where the Hatred Is" and "We Almost Lost Detroit" for the songs "My Way Home" and "The People", respectively, both of which are collaborative efforts with Common. Scott-Heron, in turn, acknowledged West's contributions, sampling the latter's 2007 single "Flashing Lights" on his final album, 2010's I'm New Here.
Scott-Heron admitted ambivalence regarding his association with rap, remarking in 2010 in an interview for the Daily Swarm: "I don't know if I can take the blame for [rap music]".[81] As New York Times writer Sisario explained, he preferred the moniker of "bluesologist". Referring to reviews of his last album and references to him as the "godfather of rap", Scott-Heron said: "It's something that's aimed at the kids ... I have kids, so I listen to it. But I would not say it's aimed at me. I listen to the jazz station." In 2013, Chattanooga rapper Isaiah Rashad recorded an unofficial mixtape called Pieces of a Kid, which was greatly influenced by Heron's debut album Pieces of a Man.
Following Scott-Heron's funeral in 2011, a tribute from publisher, record company owner, poet, and music producer Malik Al Nasir was published on The Guardian's website, titled "Gil Scott-Heron saved my life".
In the 2018 film First Man, Scott-Heron is a minor character and is played by soul singer Leon Bridges.
He is one of eight significant people shown in mosaic at the 167th Street renovated subway station on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx that reopened in 2019.