Henry Rollins is currently on his Capitalism 2012 spoken word tour, which has taken him to the capitals of all 50 states in the union. Tonight, it finishes up in our nation's capital, Washington DC, with a spoken word performance that will be broadcasted around the world over youtube. But before you check that out, here's one of the many videos Rollins has made over the course of his journey; a video diary entry from his stop in Richmond back on October 21. In the video, he speaks to Mike Williams, better known to most RVA residents as Mike Kemetic of Photosynthesizers and Audio Mass Transit. In addition to his frequent hustle around town making music and keeping the clubs of RVA dancing, Mike also works on staff at Art 180, a local nonprofit that creates art-related programs for young people in the local community. In the video, he and Rollins discuss the importance of art in the growth and education of young people, and what kids lose when art programs are removed from schools due to decreased educational funding--exactly the gap that Art 180 is intended to fill. After speaking to Mike, Rollins also talks to Garry Callis Jr, a 17 year old RVA resident and participant in the Art 180 program, who has a lot of knowledge to pass on. The video is an excellent presentation of the culture of art that continues to grow here in RVA, and gives viewers from out of town a great look at the murals created around town during the G40 Art Festival and the RVA Street Art Festival earlier this year. Check it out:
Henry Rollins' Capitalism tour diaries are brought to you by TakePartTV, an internet video service from some of the people involved with such documentaries as An Inconvenient Truth and Food Inc. You can see all of Rollins' Capitalism tour-related videos by clicking HERE. And check back with Take Part's Youtube channel tonight at 8 PM to catch the live broadcast of Rollins' election eve performance at the 9:30 Club.
By Andrew Necci
Photo by Marc Cheatham (check out behind-the-scenes coverage of the making of this video at thecheatsmovement.com)