BEAT NATION LIVE

Beat Nation Live is a cross platform digital arts and live music collective bringing together artists, writers and musicians in a new dynamic way.

The Beat Nation Live collective emerged from the grunt gallery beatnation.org project and debuted in Vancouver and Paris in June 2011.

Beat Nation Live is hip hop chanteuse Kinnie Starr; emcee and media artist Ostwelve; boss loopmeister and electronic cello Cris Derksen; video mash-up artist Jackson 2Bears; performance artist, singer and co-curator Skeena Reece; Haida artist Corey Bulpitt and Larissa Healey aka Gurl23 with the Tangible Interaction Digital Graffiti Wall; creator of the digitally triggered video drum Archer Pechawis and special guests Christie Lee Charles and JB The First Lady.

Beat Nation is naturally drawn to digital frontiers as hip hop is one of the first art movements to organically make the jump from the analogue to digital age. The roots of hip hop culture and music have been transformed by indigenous cultures and identities into new forms of visual culture and music that echo the realities of aboriginal people.

"Native graffiti art, indigenized ipods, indigenous-language hip hop and video, Indian bling and urban wear: Beat nation is about music, it's about art and it's about the spirit of us as indigenous peoples and cultures."

Tania Willard: Curator, beatnation.org

Beat Nation Live seeks further global possibilities to create an ongoing network of hip hop influenced aboriginal artists, musicians and curators worldwide.

Beat Nation Live is a co-production of International Arts Initiatives and the grunt gallery and is made possible with support from the Canada Council for the Arts, British Columbia Arts Council and the City of Vancouver.