Urban Arts Outreach

This summer I was fortunate enough to have helped out and been a part of a movement that I strongly believed in. Urban Arts Outreach is a movement to uplift local and global urban art communities by promoting reconciliation and justice, encouraging and empowering servant leaders, assist local means to meet local needs, care for people's health, and educate the next generation through the arts. They help bridge the gap between culture and church, art and purpose.

They hold "sessions" (also known as open mics, jam sessions, and practice spots for dancers) that are trusted meeting grounds for cultural expression. Sessions provide a safe-haven where people of different backgrounds can periodically participate, practice, promote, and progress together.

Urban Arts Outreach is the catalyst group involved with facilitating such a session twice a month in downtown Santa Ana called Saint City Session. The Session is dedicated to consistently meet and build connections between people through a dialog through the arts. Instead of assuming the needs of the community, we listen and assist growing ideas towards better solutions. The result is a diverse, yet relational, family-friendly environment, not limited to stereotypes of what church and fellowship should look like.

Saint City Session is organized and led by a friend of mine, Dan Emmerie, who DJs and created his own free mixtape to download. It's a track composed of classic hip hop artists and snippets of Rick Warren's message from a Purpose Driven Life.

Track listing:
1. Intro - Rick Warren*
2. What am I here for? - music by The Procussions "I'll Fly"
3. Created for a Relationship - beat by Kev Brown "Raise"
4. Love - music by Poems "Love"
5. Separation to Solution - beat by Ohmega Watts "Dedicated"
6. Freedom to Choose - music by Theory Hazit & Sivion "Decisions"
7. Call to Action - beat by Mr. J (The Procussions) "Everybody's Free"
8. Confession - music by Braille "Everything Changed"
9. Prayer - beat by Dert (Tunnel Rats) "You can do better than drums"
10. Celebration - music by Surreal & Sivion "Let the Horns Blow"
11. Recap Cypher - music by Lightheaded, Poems, Sojourn, Sivion, Surreal, and more...
12. Purpose and Passion - music by The Procussions "High Powered"

If you're a dancer, DJ, or artist who needs a place of community and practice, come check out Saint City Session in Santa Ana, California next time you're around :)