Deaf Performing Artists Network is Coming to Austin
DATE: March 8, 2009
TIME: 2:00pm
ADDRESS:
Borders
4477 South Lamar
Austin, Texas
http://www.d-pan.com
Amazing things happen when the worlds of American Sign Language and
popular music meet: A beautiful new art form is created, and music
culture is finally made accessible to millions of Deaf and hard of
hearing people.
Through a series of groundbreaking videos, the Deaf Performing
Artists Network (D-PAN) has shown that music and music culture
aren’t necessarily limited to hearing individuals only. By creating
ASL-centric videos for songs by artists such as John Mayer, Christina
Aguilera, and Eminem, D-PAN has expanded the communication and
artistic possibilities of both sign language and the music video,
while creating performing and working opportunities for Deaf artists
and technicians.
We’d like to extend a special invitation to you and everyone else
interested to join D-PAN’s Sean Forbes for a special performance and
presentation at Borders Books and Music, 4477 South Lamar, Austin TX
(512-891-8974), on Sunday, March 8th at 2:00pm. Sean will explain the
concepts and process behind an ASL video, discuss his personal
experience as a Deaf performer, and provide a live demonstration of
ASL’s beauty and power in a musical context.
We would be happy to see you there. Just as importantly, we would
appreciate any help you might be able to provide in making other
interested people aware of this event. Included below is an invitation
and detailed information concerning this appearance. If you feel so
inclined, please share it with your students/employees/colleagues
—we would be enormously grateful.
Please be sure to join us for a fun and exciting afternoon at Borders
on Sunday, March 8th, and please feel free to share this invitation
with family, friends, and coworkers.
About D-PAN
The Deaf Performing Artists Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization dedicated to advancing cultural, artistic, and media
accessibility for Deaf and hard of hearing individuals, to the
promotion of creative works by Deaf artists and performers, and to the
professional advancement of talented Deaf and hard of hearing
performers, creators, technicians and others within the music and
media arts. D-PAN is headquartered in Ferndale, Michigan.
About Sean Forbes
Sean Forbes is the co-founder of the Deaf Performing Artists’
Network, as well as its first performing member. The child of two
musical parents, Sean suffered permanent hearing loss at one year of
age, but nonetheless pursued a lifelong aspiration towards a career in
the music industry. Recognizing both the lack of opportunity within
the industry and the extensive need for accessibility to music and
music culture for the deaf community, he conceived the idea of
ASL-enhanced music videos. He currently serves as D-PAN’s creative
liaison to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. A graduate of
Lahser High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Sean attended
Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York and graduated
in 2008 with a Bachelors Degree in Multidisciplinary Studies.
Sean and D-PAN were recently featured on CNN’s popular “Young
People Who Rock” series. If you’d like to learn more about D-PAN,
please check out the story at
(http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/02/01/ypwr.forbes/index.html), or
visit our website at www.d-pan.org.
If you have any questions or would like any additional information,
please feel free to contact Mark, ([email protected]). Here is the link
to the Borders flyer: www.d-pan.com/flyers/tx.pdf
Mark Levin
Email: [email protected]