Not Waiting For
The World To
Change
UH-H student starts her own REVOlution
by Tiffany Edwards
University of Hawaii-Hilo sophomore
Nina Brav is a revolutionary.
REVO, short for revolution, is what she is calling an April 21 art and
photography exhibit, fashion show, and film feature at the old Western
Auto building in Hilo. All the proceeds from the $5 entry fee for REVO
will go toward the Grace of God Orphanage in Malawi.
"For me, my 'revo' exists in Hilo and Africa," said Brav,
a Hilo native (though other similar events have taken place around the
country). "This is about being passionate about whatever your cause
is. So many people have different desires in life. Your revo can be
in Puna, in South America ... it's the idea of doing something big,
fixing something, helping something. I'm hoping this show will inspire
people. There are so many different forms of art."
Brav has rounded up about a dozen different artists from Hilo and Puna
whose media include painting, collage, sketching, glassblowing, and
even graffiti. Brav, an artist herself, specializes in photography.
For the fashion show, Brav has gathered different brands from O'ahu
and the Big Island. Among them are HE>i, Arise Arise, Oasis Skateboards,
and fashions from Kuhao Zane's The Cutlery, which features independent
brands such as Bittersweet, Leilow, GrnAppleTree, Rogue Status, The
Hundreds and Ethnic Creative. All the clothing to be highlighted is
cut-and-sew, and some of it is recycled: T-shirts transformed into dresses
and so forth.
The art will be for sale, and a portion of those proceeds will also
go toward the African orphanage, with the artists themselves deciding
how much of the proceeds they'll donate.
Along with the art exhibit and fashion show, there will be a DJ and
a showing of the documentary "Invisible Children" (2003).
"Invisible Children" sheds light on the fact that thousands
of children in Uganda are abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)
to be trained as soldiers.
"The basic idea is to bring together all these different creative
forms that feel relevant to us here in Hawai'i to raise awareness about
global issues. In this case, it's going to be about the needs of Africa
in general," Brav said.
She noted that a hip hop kid who does graffiti may not ordinarily hang
out with a hippie kid who does glass blowing. But they can come together
at REVO for a cause much greater than the two of them.
"I just really feel like we needed something for the community
to come together," Brav said. "I feel like we needed to be
educated, especially in Hawai'i, where we don't hear about a lot of
things in the world. [REVO] is a creative way to raise awareness."
Brav learned about the African orphanage from her friend Kristie Campbell,
of Manoa, who for years ago worked as a volunteer in Malawi. Kristie
has gone back to the orphanage every summer since then, and every month
sends her paycheck from nannying to the orphaned children, according
to Brav.
Malawi (the same country where Madonna adopted a one-year-old boy last
year) is one of the poorest countries in the world; more than half the
12.6 million residents live in poverty and tens of thousands die each
year from AIDS. Estimates of AIDS-orphaned children range from 900,000
to 2 million and having one meal per week is common for them, according
to the United Nations' Department of Public Information.
Brav said REVO will feature a booth with information on different opportunities
for people to get involved, not just in Africa, but in Hilo as well.
While the lineup of artists, designers and entertainers is in place,
Brav is requesting volunteers to get the facility ready for REVO, and
to pound the pavement and pass out flyers to publicize the event.
"We want to try and bring in a variety of people, not just the
young crowd," Brav said, noting the art is for sale and not too
many young people have deep pockets.
Brav and other REVO organizers have gotten permission to use three different
parking lots in the Hilo area the night of the show, so valet parking
will be offered, with the parking proceeds also going toward the orphanage.
REVOlution
multimedia event
art/fashion/film/DJ
April 21; 7pm (doors open)
141 Haili St. (at Kino'ole), Hilo
Invisible Children movie trailer:
invisiblechildren.com/home.php
INFO:
myspace.com/revooflove
or Brav@startarevo.org
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