Connections
We make connections. From City Hall to the Great Wall. We not only know people, we know the right people.
Author: andres@davidperry.com
Blind Bay Area Architect Christopher Downey Designed Cutting Edge Facility
Blind Bay Area Architect Christopher Downey Designed Cutting Edge Facility
Saturday, July 26 Grand Opening of SF’s New Independent Living Resource Center Marks Anniversary of the Signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc / (415) 693-0583 / news@davidperry.com
21 July 2014 – San Francisco, CA: It’s the blind leading the blind. When the Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco (www.ilrcsf.org ) opens its new state-of-the-art facility this Saturday, July 26 – the 24th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act – this often negative cliché will become a high compliment, especially to the facility’s architect, Christopher Downey of the Bay Area: one of the world’s very-few, working, blind architects.
“Both the visually impaired and the sighted rely on information and architectural cues to navigate the built environment,” says Downey, who lost his sight in 2008 following surgery to remove a tumor that was pressing on his optic nerve. “I draw upon my experience as an architect to help design teams and client organizations to create enriching environments for the visually impaired and, not coincidentally, the sighted as well.”
Downey, 51, starts each day rowing with the East Bay Rowing Club on the Oakland Estuary before commuting on public transit to his office in San Francisco. He has been featured in local, national and international media stories and speaks regularly about architecture and visual impairment including his inspirational TED Talks. He also teaches accessibility and universal design at UC Berkeley and serves on the Board of Directors for the Lighthouse for the Blind in San Francisco. Downey consults on design for the blind and visually impaired, encompassing specialized centers as well as facilities serving the broader public. His work ranges from a new Department of Veterans Affairs blind rehabilitation center, to renovations of housing for the blind in New York City, and to the new Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco.
“With over 98,000 people with disabilities in the City of San Francisco, we know that our goal of expanding access for all was ambitious, especially given the current real estate climate, but that didn’t stop us, and Chris was integral to helping us realize our dream,” says Jessie Lorenz, Executive Director of the Independent Living Resource Center, noting that fully 25% of their clients are current conflict vets with disabilities. “We exist to ensure that people with disabilities are full social and economic partners, both within their families and in a fully accessible community. What a perfect way to mark almost a quarter century of the ADA and the lives this law has improved.”
According to Lorenz, the Independent Living Resource Center’s new facility at 825 Howard Street is “truly a community center.” It is a purpose-built, ground floor, fully accessible location in the heart of San Francisco’s South of Market district. An integral part of its neighborhood, the new center is a welcoming place with street appeal where people with disabilities feel comfortable dropping in, participating in workshops, and seeking support and information as they establish or maintain their independence.
“Our new home was designed and built to anticipate disability as the rule, not the exception,” Lorenz emphasizes. “It has an open floor plan guided by a forward-thinking green design that is made expressly for enhancing community for people of all abilities. We endeavored to create space to allow for dynamic interaction and group presentations. The lobby will be for waiting, greeting, and exhibiting veteran and community artwork. The built environment will showcase the best principles of accessible design, responding to the growing needs of a technologically savvy disabled community.”
Additionally, Schindler Elevator Corporation, a pioneer in building mobility, has partnered with the Independent Living Resource Center to pilot the next generation of features for PORT Technology, an innovative destination-dispatching system that revolutionized the way people move through buildings.
Founded in 1977, the Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco exists to ensure that people with disabilities are full social and economic partners, both within their families and in a fully accessible community. ILRCSF core values are: Choice: the right of individuals and families to make informed decisions about their own lives. Persons with disabilities are experts on their own needs. Consumer leadership creates an accessible community. Full access to and inclusion in the community for all people with disabilities means the same range of choices as the general community. Universal usability means that services, housing and consumer products are designed to be used by all members of the community.
“Establishing a more accessible and visible office will position us as a model community-based center for independent living in an urban area,” Lorenz sums up. “We hope to move from a model of solely offering support and services to individuals with disabilities, to becoming an incubator and community center where the Independent Living Movement can build the next generation of leaders who will be empowered and engaged citizens who are fully integrated in their communities.”
A Tribute to Nelson Mandela on what would have been his 96th birthday
San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival 2014 Season Closing Event
A Tribute to Nelson Mandela on what would have been his 96th birthday
FREE and open to the public Friday, July 18, 12noon
Media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc / (415) 693-0583 / news@davidperry.com
Presented in partnership with Dancers’ Group, San Francisco Grants for the Arts, and San Francisco City Hall, as part of the monthly Rotunda Dance Series
15 July 2014 – San Francisco, CA: On Friday, July 18th the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival will officially close the 2014 Festival Season with a free public program under the grand San Francisco City Hall rotunda. The final event will honor the late South African leader Nelson Mandela with a traditional African “homegoing” ceremony on what would have been his 96th birthday.
The program will include a procession of drummers led by Festival artistic director CK Ladzekpo, with many of the same musicians who drummed so powerfully during Mandela’s appearance in 1990 at the Oakland Coliseum. Thamsanqa Hlatywayo, artistic director of Jikelele Dance Theatre, will lead the crowd in singing the South African national anthem, and Jikelele Dance Theater will perform and lead a South African Praise. There will also be a sacred offering, including a libation, and brief tributes from dignitaries, including Naomi Diouf, artistic director of Diamano Coura West African Dance Company, and the Honorable Marilyn Hall Patel, former Chief Judge of the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Finally, Diamano Coura West African Dance Company will present three African dances celebrating Mandela’s life.
The San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival celebrates and fosters appreciation for the world dance and music artists living throughout the greater Bay Area’s diverse ethnic communities. On the Festival stages, audiences have the opportunity to experience dance from over 100 distinct world cultures. The New York Times called the annual San Francisco Ethnic Dance festival “a glorious achievement…one of the finest of all American dreams: a setting where cultures can celebrate their own traditions while honoring and applauding others.”
The Rotunda Dance Series is a partnership between Dancers’ Group, World Arts West (producers of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival), San Francisco Grants for the Arts, and San Francisco City Hall. It brings many of the Bay Area’s most renowned dance companies to City Hall’s rotunda space for free noon-time performances on the first Friday of each month (with occasional calendar adjustments). Events primarily involve dance, but often also include live music, theater or other performing art disciplines. About Diamano Coura West African Dance Company (diamanocoura.org) Diamano Coura West African Dance Company is a nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to the preservation, education, and appreciation of traditional West African music, dance, theater, and culture. Since its inception in 1975, Diamano Coura, under the direction of Emmy Award-winner Dr. Zak Diouf and Artistic Director Naomi Diouf, has implemented its mission through ongoing workshops, performances, youth programs, national and international touring engagements, lecture demonstrations, community outreach, and creative partnership programs with renowned artists and performing companies. Diamano Coura in the Senegalese Wolof language means “those who bring the message.” About Thamsanqa Hlatywayo, artistic director of Jikelele Dance Theater (jikelele.com) Thamsanqa Hlatywayo was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he began learning traditional songs and dances of many different ethnic groups at an early age. Later, he studied with Gibson Kente, considered the father of township theater, a storytelling tradition involving music and dance. After moving to the US, Thamsanqa joined the Tony-nominated Broadway show Sarafina! He founded Jikelele Dance Theater when he was the Laney College dance department’s township theater guest artist in 2011. About CK Ladzekpo CK Ladzekpo is the director of the African music program at the University of California, Berkeley. His is a distinguished career as a performer, choreographer, composer, teacher and published scholar in the African performing arts. He is a member of a renowned family of African musicians and dancers who traditionally serve as lead drummers and composers among the Anlo-Ewe people of southeastern Ghana in West Africa. He has been a lead drummer and instructor with the Ghana National Dance Ensemble, the University of Ghana’s Institute of African Studies and the Arts Council of Ghana. He joined the music faculty of the University of California Berkeley in 1973 and continues to be an influential catalyst of the African perspective in the performing arts. About World Arts West (worldartswest.org) For over three and a half decades, World Arts West has supported and presented world dance artists throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The main presenting program of the organization is the nationally acclaimed San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, which presents over 100 distinct dance forms and thousands of local dancers who are sustaining and innovating within those forms. The organization works year round to advance cultural literacy and build bridges of cultural understanding. About Dancers’ Group (dancersgroup.org) Dancers’ Group promotes the visibility and viability of dance. Founded in 1982, we serve San Francisco Bay Area artists, the dance community and audiences through programs and services that are as collaborative and innovative as the creative process. As the primary dance service organization for the second largest dance community in the country, Dancers’ Group’s many programs help artists produce work, build audiences, and connect with their peers and the community.
The 2014 Rotunda Dance Series will continue with the following schedule:
August 1: Dohee Lee
September 5: Garrett + Moulton Productions
October 3: Dimensions Dance Theater
November 7: Fall Festival Feature Performance with Bal Anat and Karavansaray Dance Company
December 5: Sean Dorsey Dance
Calendar Editors please note: Who: A Tribute to Nelson Mandela, the closing event of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival Season What: The Rotunda Dance Series, free monthly dance performance, presented by Dancers’ Group and World Arts West, in partnership with San Francisco Grants for the Arts and San Francisco City Hall.
Cost: Free Where: City Hall, San Francisco When: Friday, July 18, 2014, Noon Info: Terry Conway, (415) 474-3914, terry@worldartswest.org
Images available for download: CK Ladzekpo, co-Artistic Director of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, photo by RJ Muna: Download photos
Naomi Diouf, Artistic Director of Diamano Coura West African Dance Company, photo by RJ Muna: Download photos
Thamsanqa Hlatywayo, Artistic Director of Jikelele Dance Theater, photo by RJ Muna: Download photos
Anthony Turney – Obit
Anthony Turney – OBIT
December 23, 1937 – July 4, 2014
Surrounded by family and friends, the Venerable Anthony Turney died peacefully on July 4, 2014 at Coming Home Hospice in San Francisco following three years living with cancer. He was 76 years old. His death came on the 38th anniversary of his becoming a United States citizen.
Throughout his esteemed and varied career, and most recently as Archdeacon for the Arts at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral, Anthony epitomized what it was to be a servant minister, both in the church and in the wider community. He was a profoundly gifted man, a lover of the arts, a gardener, a Brit, and a committed leader in non-profit endeavors. His career included positions as Deputy Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, DC; Executive Director of the Dance Theater of Harlem; Administrative Director of the San Francisco Opera; and CEO of the NAMES Project Foundation. He was ordained to the Episcopal diaconate in 1996 and continued to serve through his work at Grace Cathedral and in the Diocese of California.
Anthony was born in Sutton, England, on December 23, 1937, second oldest of three children within a family that soon broke up. His first years were spent in a Church of England children’s home for ‘waifs and strays,’ although he claimed he was never certain which of those he truly was. At the age of four, he was adopted by the Turney family who lived in Aylesbury, about 40 miles northeast of London. That same year marked the beginning of the Blitz, thus defining his childhood in wartime England. In his mid teens, he served as a police cadet and thought of joining the force. Then at the age of 17, Anthony joined the Grenadier Guards, an infantry regiment of the British Army and the most senior regiment of the Guards Division. Besides serving in the Guards’ iconic ceremonial duties outside of Buckingham Palace, Anthony also saw distinguished service under fire during the Suez Crisis. Afterwards, he spent his 20s at various jobs in London, “lost in the wilderness,” as he put it.
Anthony spoke often of the defining moments in his life, and the most significant of these was his move to the United States in 1968. He jumped right in to the non-profit world, discovering his talent for leadership in the arts. First establishing himself in New York City, Anthony made a name for himself as an independent event producer, especially proud to have once presented Buckminster Fuller at Carnegie Hall. Over the years he also lived in St. Louis, Atlanta, Washington, DC, and finally, San Francisco. He became a United States citizen on July 4, 1976, the bicentennial of his adopted country.
With the onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, Anthony’s life changed course once again. In mid 1991, he quit his work to care for his partner, James Brumbaugh, who was dying from AIDS-related complications. It was a devastating loss. In 1992, after completing Jimmy’s AIDS Memorial quilt panel, he asked, “What would you have me do now, God?” Within months, he moved permanently to San Francisco, was appointed CEO of the NAMES Project Foundation, and after only three years, would bring more than 42,000 panels of the Quilt to Washington, DC for display on the National Mall. It was viewed by 1.2 million people.
In 1996, Anthony was appointed to the San Francisco Arts Commission. In 2000, he was a consultant to the United States Agency for International Development, assisting in the agency’s efforts to partner with faith-based organizations in responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa.
In San Francisco, Anthony found his spiritual home at Grace Cathedral, where he served as parishioner, as Canon for Development, and then, through his vocational calling, as clergy. Several years before his retirement, Anthony was appointed Archdeacon of the Diocese of California, as such serving the whole community of deacons, administratively and pastorally, and was very much a person on whom the Bishop relied centrally and heavily. Afterwards, Anthony was named Archdeacon for the Arts at Grace Cathedral. He also served as Chaplain to the Dean’s Search Committee for Grace Cathedral. As an openly gay member of the clergy and a vocal advocate for marriage equality and other social justice issues, Anthony was a tireless champion of the LGBT community. An energetic volunteer and traveler, Anthony spent a month walking across Spain along the Camino de Santiago and successfully biked, three times, from San Francisco to Los Angeles as part of the AIDS LifeCycle. After Hurricane Katrina, he volunteered with a group from Grace Cathedral to assist in rebuilding a home for a young woman who had lost her home.
As accomplished as he was, his friends and family will remember Anthony most fondly for his commanding personality. He filled a room with grace and dignity – and then used his keen humor to destroy any remaining decorum. Anthony was an extraordinary friend and companion, always caring for those around him. He listened intensely and valued each person who came into his life. His friends and colleagues were blessed by his giving nature. Those who loved and admired Anthony continue to do so with passion and loyalty.
A final gift that Anthony bestowed on his friends and family was the way in which he lived out his dying. He did so with integrity, dignity and humor. Those who witnessed his journey learned with him. Dying often reveals a great many things about a person, especially those who are in the public arena. We watched him from a distance as he made his private journey, and, when invited, we walked part of that pilgrimage alongside him. We are grateful for both the public and the private blessings.
Anthony is survived by his San Francisco, St. Louis and Los Angeles family; his Episcopal Church friends and colleagues; beloved friends from across the world; his canine companion, Drew; and his newly found – and greatly loved – biological family in England and in Canada. His, truly, was a life well lived: in love, friendship and grace.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Anthony’s memory may be made to one of the following: The Sacred Dying Foundation (www.sacreddying.org), The Rainbow Honor Walk (www.rainbowhonorwalk.org), the Ghiberti Foundation, the arts and culture foundation at Grace Cathedral (www.gracecathedral.org) or the San Francisco Opera Archive (www.sfopera.com)
A funeral and celebration of Anthony’s life will be held at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral (1100 California Street) on Monday, July 14 at 11am.
Anthony’s body in closed coffin will lay in the Cathedral’s AIDS Interfaith Chapel beginning at 7am for all those wishing to pay their respects prior to the funeral. 
Ten Percent – TV Listing- June – July 2014
Ten Percent – TV Listing. June – July 2014
Ten Percent — LGBT-TV for Northern California
Mondays – Fridays, 11:30am & 10:30pm and Saturdays & Sundays at 10:30pm on Comcast Hometown Network Channel 104 in Northern California.
Episode # 229
Monday — Friday, June 23 – 27, 11:30am & 10:30pm
Saturday & Sunday, June 28 – 29, 10:30pm
David Perry speaks with filmmaker Jennifer M. Kroot about her documentary chronicle of Star Trek legend George Takei: To Be Takei. Perry also chats with Oakland filmmaker Cheryl Dunye about her short film Black is Blue, chronicling a day in the life of a transgender security guard.
Episode # 230
Monday — Friday, June 30 – July 4, 11:30am & 10:30pm
Saturday & Sunday, July 5 – 6, 10:30pm
David Perry interviews Brendon North, one of the performers in Steve Silver’s Beach Blanket Babylon, celebrating its 40th anniversary. David Perry also speaks with actor Keiko Shimosato Carreiro from SF Mime Troupe’s production of Ripple Effect.
Episode # 231
Monday — July 7 – 11, 11:30am & 10:30pm
Saturday & Sunday, July 12 – 13, 10:30pm
David Perry chats with author, raconteur and legendary San Francisco host, John Newmeyer. Perry also interviews attorney Elizabeth Kristen about the current legal landscape vis-a-vis LGBT issues and gender equity.
Episode # 232
Monday — Friday, July 14 – 18, 11:30 am & 10:30pm
Saturday & Sunday, July 19 – 20, 10:30pm
David Perry talks to Lillian Phan about her dream same-sex wedding contest Love For All. Perry also speaks with internationally acclaimed landscape designer, Stephen Suzman.
Episode # 233
Monday — Friday, July 21 – 25, 11:30 am & 10:30pm
Saturday & Sunday, July 26 – 27, 10:30pm
David Perry chats with Xavier Caylor, producer of Flagging in the Park. Perry also talks to Harry Lit and Jack Sugrue about the annual Lazy Bear Weekend in Guerneville, California and the entire “bear landscape” of Northern California.
Ten Percent is also available 24/7 through the “On Demand” Feature through your Comcast Cable Network. Choose “Get Local” and “Comcast Hometown” to access Ten Percent. Past shows may also be viewed online at www.comcasthometown.com.
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About 10 Percent
Comcast Hometown Network (CHN), Comcast’s regional cable network covering Northern and Central California, continues its commitment to quality original programming with Ten Percent, a weekly interview series that focuses on lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender (LGBT) issues. The half-hour show, created and hosted by long-time San Francisco media professional David Perry, airs on Channel 104, Mondays – Thursdays at 11:30am & 8pm and is available to all Comcast digital cable customers throughout Northern and Central California. Each episode will then be available online at www.comcasthometown.com as well as on Comcast’s popular ON DEMAND platform, which is free to Comcast digital customers. To view Ten Percent ON DEMAND, Comcast Digital Cable customers can tune to Channel 1 on their Digital Cable lineup or press the ON DEMAND button on their remote control, then click on the “Get Local” section, then click on “Comcast Hometown.”
“I jokingly call the show ‘Charlie Rose for the LGBT world,” said David Perry, Producer/Host of Ten Percent. “We may be only ten percent of the general population, in round numbers, but our issues are one hundred percent front-and-center in today’s world. Whether it’s the fight for marriage equality or debates about gay clergy or the right to serve openly in uniform, our issues are reflective of the world at large.”
“David has a well-known and unique voice that bridges many communities,” said Jason Holmes, Executive Producer at Comcast Hometown Network. “David’s talents and the launch of Ten Percent further enhance Comcast’s commitment to our communities and Comcast Hometown Network’s compelling, community-based regional programming,”