This is pretty much the only place to be today (Saturday September 22nd) for those looking to discuss Toronto’s past, present and future history of empowerment, expression, inspiration and commerce through art.

Get more details @ http://www.themanifesto.ca/festival/2012/fresh-arts-x-manifesto-summit/

This year, the Fresh Arts 20 X Manifesto Summit – a day-long conference focused on inspiring and educating youth through keynote speakers, mentor classes and discussion panels – will feature some of hip hop’s most influential artists in North America. Manifesto is also celebrating 20 years of Toronto’s Fresh Arts program, an initiative created to foster up and coming talent, including Toronto’s own, Kardinall Offishall and Saukrates. The Summit is the second day of the Manifesto Festival (Canada’s largest h

ip hop festival) and will begin at 12:30 p.m. at Ryerson University’s George Vari Engineering Building. The electrifying lineup of key speakers will include Jully Black, Kardinal Offishall, Shad, Solitaire, Rich Kidd and notable American rapper Pharoahe Monch.

The conference will kick-off with a keynote panel titled “Art is Power- A Dialogue on the Transformative Power of Art”, moderated by popular radio host Mark Strong and led by industry leaders Kardinall Offishall, Pharoahe Monch and poet and educator d’bi Young. Additional panel discussions will include “Toronto Generations, Knowledge is Power, Then & Now: 20 Years of Hip-Hop” and “The Art of Business” will run throughout the day between the hours of 2:45-7:30 p.m.

The Summit’s mentor classes will provide an enlightening learning experience for attendees both young and old. The classes will be held between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. with a second set of classes being held between 6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The classes will provide perspective on the topics of the Art of Music Production, Spoken Word, Film and Video Direction and the Art of Performance, taught by groundbreaking artists Jully Black, Shad, J-Wyze, Rich Kidd, Cazhhmere, Quentin Vercetty and Solitaire.

This one-of-a-kind experience is part of Manifesto’s goal to bridge the gap between the artists their performances and the messages, stories and motivations behind their expressions. The Fresh Arts 20 x Manifesto Summit plays a key role in integrating a shared experience that not only challenges the status quo from a grassroots perspective, but to also help write the next chapter in hip hop’s discourse through group dialogue.

To sign-up for mentor classes, key note speakers and panel discussions visit the Manifesto Festival’s official website:
http://www.themanifesto.ca/festival/2012/fresh-arts-x-manifesto-summit/

For More Information:
Visit our website
www.themanifesto.ca/festival

or Contact
Christopher A. Trotman
Communications Coordinator, Manifesto Community Projects
christopher@themanifesto.ca
647-202-0114

For interview requests please fill out the form in the link below:
http://themanifesto.ca/submissions/manifesto-2012-interview-request-form/