Caribbean: Crossroads of the World
June 14–October 21, 2012
Opening: June 13, 7–9 pm
Studio Museum of Harlem
144 West 125th Street
New York, NY
Call for entries for Well-Crumbed:
Morsels from the Moustache of El Bibliobandido
Submission deadline: September 30, 2012
www.rev-it.org
El Bibliobandido is a masked outlaw that rides through town on a burro, ravenous for stories, and terrorizes little kids until they offer him what they’ve written.
Conceived by REV- in 2010 in collaboration with the community of El Pital, a village in the jungles of northwest Honduras where rural illiteracy rates average 80%*, El Bibliobandido first induced terror, laughter, and tears in los niños (and more than a few adults), prompting them to write and read furiously in order to avert calamity. Soon after, he became the chief villain that the community loved to hate. The originary drama was repeated on a monthly basis replete with new characters—the police that show up chasing after (but never catching) El Bibliobandido, tiny accomplices referred to as ‘Los Bandiditos,’ and—as of May 2012—an inspector who imperiously rides through town examining the books offered by little kids to make sure they are at their most succulent, most spicy, and most sweet. Since 2010, the living legend of El Bibliobandido has brought bookmaking and storywriting activities to surrounding villages—some with hardly any books or paper.
Today, dozens of adults and over 500 kids from across the northwest region of Honduras are involved in the story’s unfold. Teachers in the 18 participating villages exchange information about literacy activities as well as the latest Bibliobandido ‘episode’ that their communities invent and dramatically enact on the third week of every month (or ‘Bibliobandido Week’), marking the monthly harvest of stories. El Pital remains Bibliobandido Headquarters, where one part time paid employee and 15 volunteers with a median age of 14 coordinate outreach within the region. There lies a troupe of eager kids ready for new stories to offer El Bibliobandido.
El Bibliobandido makes his debut in New York City at the Studio Museum of Harlem in a group exhibition (June 14–October 21, 2012; reception June 13, 7–9 pm) entitled Caribbean: Crossroads of the World that also spans to the Queens Museum of Art and El Museo del Barrio. Studio Museum of Harlem is located at 144 West 125th Street, NYC.
*According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in 2009, more than 40% of the Honduran population suffers from illiteracy; that number jumps to 80% when concerning rural populations.
Call for entries due September 30, 2012
Well-Crumbed: Morsels from the Moustache of El Bibliobandido (in Spanish: Bocadas del Bigote del Bibliobandido) is an anthology of short stories written by those of all ages to be published in Winter 2012. Well-Crumbed centers around the idea that El Bibliobandido, in haste and hunger, has gobbled down stories, leaving crumbs in his moustache—or perhaps he’s left little bits for later. REV- seeks short stories of no more than 5000 words that depart from this notion. Through this anthology, REV- will explore these tasty morsels of fiction. The top dozen or so entries will be published in printed volumes; the top first, second, and third place winning stories will be dramatically reinterpreted and re-enacted by kids in El Pital, and produced by REV- as 5-minute video shorts in 2013. For submission details, please click here.
What is REV- ?
REV- furthers socially engaged art, design, and pedagogy. A non-profit organization founded in 2009, REV-’s projects, public art works and publications have been presented internationally and reviewed in Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BBC, GOOD magazine, and more. REV- derives its name from both the colloquial expression “to rev” a vehicle and the prefix “rev-“ which means to turn—as in, revolver, revolution, revolt, revere, irreverent, revelry, etc.
Creative director: Marisa Jahn.
Bibiliobandido collaborators
Rachel McIntire, Anjum Asharia, and 500 people in and around the community of El Pital, Honduras
Support
REV-, Un Mundo, People’s Production House, Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco.
