Antonino Pasquale D'Ambrosio (born June 23, 1971), is an Italian-American writer, filmmaker, producer, and visual artist. He is the founder and executive director of the independent media and production non-profit La Lutta NMC, Inc., based in New York and Rome. His current book is a collaboration with artist Shepard Fairey titled Mayday. Recently, D'Ambrosio Artist-In-Residence at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he launched the multi-media visual arts series La Terra Promessa.[1] D'Ambrosio has also been honored as New York University’s Gallatin Lecturer, an honor bestowed upon a contemporary artist creating innovative and social engaging work.[2] Acclaimed filmmaker Jim Jarmusch describes D'Ambrosio newest work A Heartbeat and A Guitar as “truly fascinating journey, charting the historical and social context of a courageous musical statement by one of our greatest rebel voices.”[3] The late historian Howard Zinn describes the book as “an important contribution to the cultural history of our time.”[3]. Musician Pete Seeger calls the book "a rare work that is beautiful and inspiring” [3]
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D'Ambrosio is the author of the 2009 book A Heartbeat and a Guitar: Johnny Cash and the Making of Bitter Tears. Legendary folk musician Pete Seeger describes the book as "a rare work that is beautiful and moving."[4] A Heartbeat and a Guitar was chosen by The Philadelphia Inquirer as a "2009 Book of Note,",[5] The Progressive "Favorite Book",[6] The Boston Globe,[7] among others.
Both his upcoming film and book feature original art from Shepard Fairey. Chuck D of Public Enemy has described D'Ambrosio as "the voice of a new generation -- passionate, intelligent and fierce -- whose work educates and inspires."[4]
He is also the editor and author of Let Fury Have the Hour: The Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer, which was selected by PBS as one of the top non-fiction books of 2005 and by Barnes & Noble as "Favorite Book."
He contributes to The Nation, Monthly Review, The Progressive, The Believer, SleptOn, The Rumpus, and other periodicals.
D'Ambrosio has produced more than 15 documentaries, films, videos, and visual art pieces. His recent film includes No Free Lunch starring Lewis Black. The film has been screened around the world. In September 2008, it received a notice of cultural distinction in Vanity Fair.[8]
As of January 2010, D'Ambrosio received support from Rob McKay of the McKay Foundation and Democracy Alliance [9] for production of a documentary film based on Let Fury Have the Hour chronicling the movement of world citizenship. The film has many musical contributions from artists including contributions Chuck D, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Ocote Soul Sounds, Sean Hayes, Tommy Guerrero, Boots Riley, Tom Morello, Wayne Kramer, Billy Bragg and others.[10].
D'Ambrosio's frequent collaborator artist Shepard Fairey created a series of murals inspired by D'Ambrosio film ''Let Fury Have the Hour. The mural series is titled "Mourning in America"
In 1997 D'Ambrosio founded La Lutta New Media Collective, a non-profit social media and documentary production group. La Lutta NMC has worked with more than 800 groups around the world on various media projects, and maintains a membership of over 20,000. The late Neil Postman served as an adviser and honorary first board member during the early stages of the group's development. The Nation selected La Lutta NMC as one of the top 50 independent media groups in the country, and the New York Times described it as "bold [and] courageous... creating true democracy."[4]
With La Lutta NMC, D'Ambrosio has produced a series of creative-activist events and performances including Speak the Words the Way You Breathe featuring the hip-hop group The Last Poets.
In 2010, artist Shepard Fairey invited D'Ambrosio to contribute the official essay for his solo-exhibit Mayday at the Deitch Projects in New York City.[11] The essay, May Day Calling, is printed on the back of Fairey's signature "flag" print.http://obeygiant.com/headlines/may-day-calling
In 2009, D'Ambrosio was Artist-In-Residence at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe, NM where he launched the multimedia land-art installation La Terra Promessa: In Sun & Shadow.[1]
In 2008, D'Ambrosio was featured on "Clash: Revolution Rock," an hour-long radio show[12] also featuring Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, writer Dave Marsh, and filmmaker Julien Temple.
In 2006, he became New York University's Gallatin Lecturer, an honor bestowed upon a contemporary artist creating innovative and social engaging work.[13]
In 2006 D'Ambrosio was invited to document the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign in Caracas, Venezuela at the World Social Forum.[14] His short film documenting the experience, In the Land of Bolivar, has been screened around the world. In 2005, D'Ambrosio was Artist-In-Residence in the Media Arts Department at Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus. He speaks extensively at universities and colleges throughout the country.
From 1999-2001, D'Ambrosio served as The Nation magazine's first Technology Coordinator, where he worked with then publisher Victor Navasky, editor Katrina vanden Heuvel, and the magazine's contributors.
He is currently a member of the San Francisco Writers Grotto and the Brooklyn Writer's Space. The son of Italian immigrants from the small mountain village of Colli a Volturno, D'Ambrosio was raised in Philadelphia, PA. In interviews and public appearances, D'Ambrosio has often said that his work is largely influenced by his experiences growing up in the Italian immigrant community in Philadelphia as well as his time spent as a boy working alongside his bricklayer father, Lorenzo, who died in 1988. D'Ambrosio has chronicled this experience in the upcoming short story "The Call" as well in a section of his book A Heartbeat and a Guitar. D'Ambrosio attended La Salle University where he received a BA in 1993. In 1997, he received a Masters degree from New York University where he was a Dean's Scholar.