FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The 5th Annual Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle
Partners With The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival
Oakland, CA – June 22, 2011 – The 5th Annual Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle, a nationwide urban art competition that honors and advances creativity in the Hip Hop arts, is partnering with Brooklyn Bodega, the producers of the annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival for the first of four battles being held this year. The event will take place on Saturday, July 16, 2011 in the Tobacco Warehouse area of the festival, from 12-6pm. There will be 12 artists competing for a chance to advance to the final battle in Oakland, CA this fall. Confirmed Judges for the New York Battle will be Chino BYI, and Estria himself.
“We’re excited and honored to partner with Brooklyn Bodega this year. It was a natural fit to bring the Graffiti Battle to The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival because we share the same values of providing a positive space for the community to celebrate Hip Hop culture. The artists involved are some of the best in the Nation. This Battle will be a show-stopper.” – Estria Miyashiro, Co-Founder The Estria Foundation
In addition to the Graffiti Battle, the “James Top Black Book Battle” will be happening simultaneously and will hold three categories – Youth (12-21), Adult (21+), and a Women’s only division. To participate in the “James Top Black Book Battle” you must attend The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival and sign up the day of. The first 30 to sign up will receive a Crescent Graffiti Paper Sketch Pad to use in the battle, (all supplies will be provided to participants). During the “Family Day” events, The Estria Foundation will also be hosting their hugely popular t-shirt stencil workshop.
Event Schedule: *All Estria Battle events and activities will take place in the Tobacco Warehouse
12-6pm Graffiti Battle
12-3pm T-shirt Stencil Workshop
2-4:30pm James Top Black Book Battle (artists sign up before 1:30pm to enter competition)
Confirmed artists competing in the Graffiti Battle: Reds, Python, Doves, Cern, Sade, Rain, VIK, Meres, and Totem1
Sponsors for the New York Battle include MTN Colors, Fatcap.com, Crescent’s Graffiti Paper, Cukui, Xmental Inc, and James Top. To attend the Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle you will need to purchase tickets to The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. Tickets and packages have gone on sale to the general public online via brooklynbodega.showclix.com.
About Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle: The Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle is a national urban art competition that honors and advances creativity in the Hip Hop arts. The battle was founded in 2007 by graffiti art living legend Estria Miyashiro and arts educator Jason Mateo. Through this art form of messaging, the competition encourages graffiti writers to communicate social justice issues and empower communities with spirit and beauty. The graffiti battle is a project of the Estria Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Oakland, CA. www.estriabattle.com
About The Estria Foundation: The Estria Foundation was founded by Estria Miyashiro and Jeremy LaTrasse in 2010 and is a community-based organization dedicated to lasting systemic and social change. Through workshops, speaking engagements, projects, and events, the foundation is committed to creating public art advocating justice and peace in under-served communities worldwide. www.estria.org
About Brooklyn Bodega: Brooklyn Bodega is a multimedia content production and branding company. Our brand extends into event production, journalism and critical media analysis, digital and grassroots marketing, radio, video, and content distribution. While The Bodega is best known for producing New York City’s largest Hip-Hop event, The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival; our expertise also manifests in Brooklyn Bodega Radio, Bodega TV, our blogazine and online home BrooklynBodega.com, and most recently The Bodega Agency, our boutique marketing and branding operation. For year-round updates, visit BrooklynBodega.com and YouTube Channel- Bodega TV.
About ‘The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival’: Established in 2005, The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival (BHF) is New York City’s largest Hip-Hop cultural event that showcases the positive aspects of Hip-Hop culture by highlighting Hip-Hop’s legacy as an agent of artistic progression, community building and social change. In addition to musical performances, the Festival offers a number of activities for its audience, including: panel discussions, exhibitions, parties, an award show and a family-friendly block party. The Festival is more than a concert or outdoor fair. It is a family reunion for lovers of this great culture. In 2010, the Festival expanded to a week-long format of programming and topped BHF history with a record breaking 20,000 in attendance. www.bkhiphopfestival.com
The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival (BHF) returns on Monday, July 11th- Saturday, July, 16th. This premier week-long, all-ages event attracts over 20,000 fans to Brooklyn annually in a celebration of Hip-Hop music and culture. This year, fans can look forward to the return of the Show & Prove Super Bowl, Bodega Education Initiative, Salute The DJ, Family Day and the Main Stage performances; plus new programming such as “Under The Influence” Art Event and the Bodega Recognition Awards.
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Contact:
Paloma Belara, Battle Director
@estriabattle @estriaorg
paloma@estria.org
415-992-1428 (m)
510.698.6640 (o)
510.868-0262 (f)
The Estria Foundation
5301 Adeline St.
Oakland, CA 94608
