The eighth annual Afrosolo Arts Festival in San Francisco begins Aug. 5, featuring Bay Area theatre artists Robert Henry Johnson, Miri Hunter Haruach, Kheven LeGrone, Aya de Leon and Thomas Robert Simpson. The festival, encompassing visual arts, community talk backs, jazz and theatre performances, ends Sept. 1.

Aug. 22-25, Johnson, Hunter Haruach, LeGrone, de Leon and Simpson present their five separate works on the African American experience in America. Johnson performs Letters to Jesus, a world premiere dance work on man's relationship with God. Grandmothers in the Universe is Hunter Haruach's take on the stories of Adam and Eve and Passover. LeGrone's Ulysses' Song looks at being young, gay and black in the new millennium. Poetry slam winner de Leon performs Sober Love, a poetic mix of song, spoken word and prayer on the search for joyfulness. Finally, Simpson presents The Cleansing, an exploration of race and racism.

Theatrical related talks include:

Aug. 11: Slamming AIDS: Young African American Artists Against AIDS, in which poetry, spoken word, hip-hop and dance are used to educate the African American community on the issue of AIDS and HIV
Aug. 25: wRiting about Race, in which Robert Alexander, Victor Lodata, Prince Gomolvilas, Edris Cooper and Elaine Romero will discuss the dangers and pleasures of creating characters of a different race

Tickets range from free to $18. For reservations, call (415) 771-AFRO. Afrosolo is on the web at http://www.afrosolo.org. — By Christine Ehren