Omar Akram
The 2013 Grammy’s may be done with but the impact of this year’s unconventional winners has still left its mark on the music industry. Even the nominations alone spoke to changing trends in the business with musicians like Gotye, Frank Ocean, M83, and Mumford & Sons stealing the awards away from more established mainstream artists. However, the nominee and winner making the most histor
ic splash seems to be Best New Age Album winner Omar Akram. With his 4th studio album “Echoes of Love”, Omar has done more than combine a stellar composition that mixes elements of classical piano, Middle Eastern strings and percussion, and Cuban jazz, he has also become the first person of Afghanistan decent to win, much less even be nominated for, a Grammy. Omar, who has been featured on Voice of America and the BBC, plans to further spread his music with an upcoming world tour. The tour dates and venues have not been finalized yet but Omar plans to kick things off by performing in Tunisia in July 2013. In the meantime, he will be performing at the world famous Hollywood House of Blues April 6th at 7:30pm in the venue’s illustrious Foundation Room. Brendan O’Connell
American painter Brendan O’Connell is making a name for himself in the art world, as well as in the media. O’Connell who was profiled in the New Yorker and interviewed on The Colbert Report, will soon be featured in People magazine, as well as on CBS Sunday Morning. He’s recognized for his skillful blending of consumer culture with paint strokes that resemble the impressionist era. In his most recent work titled The Walmart Series O’Connell turns his attention to America’s favorite past time shopping. His muse for this two part series is the controversial mega chain Walmart. His ambitious experimentation of merging popular culture with a twist of classical painting methods help to breathe life into areas that are overlooked in everyday occurrences. “People connect virtually through Facebook and Twitter. But one of the only places you can see large numbers of people interacting with their environment is while they’re shopping. I would argue that Walmart is the most visited interior architecture on the planet, and it is quite possibly the most democratic.” Explains the painter O’Connell. While O’Connell loves creating his own works, it’s also very important to him that young artists get a chance. The Everyartist.me organization, which he helped found, aims to help children find their own creativity. The Rubin Foundation of New York City gave O’Connell a grant to start a pilot program towards starting a “National Art Day.” The initial day was a success, where Everyartist.me worked alongside the Walmart Visitor’s Center and the Bentonville, Arkansas, school district. The day included a digital and real-world art event, where over 8,000 students gathered to create on the football field of the local high-school. In 2013, the organization’s goal is to have it literally be a national art day, where thousands upon thousands of children will have the chance to participate.
