2020 SEASON
VESSELS
MARCH 26-29, 2020 | 7:00 PM
HOTEL PETER & PAUL
What does freedom sound like in confinement? In Vessels, seven women explore the transcendental possibilities of music during the Middle Passage. Set in an interactive, sculptural environment that invokes those infamous ships, this interdisciplinary, speculative history work explores singing as a survival tool.
Co-shaped and co-produced by Rebecca Mwase and Ron Ragin
Ensemble: Chanice Holmes, Tenaj Levinnia Jackson, Mykia Jovan, Rebecca Mwase, Jalisa Roberts, Benedicta Sowah, Mahalia Abéo Tibbs
GOMELA: BROOKLYN
JUNE 18-21, 2020
BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN
Gomela, a Bantu word, means “to go back to/to return.” Directed by Stephanie McKee and developed by dancers Kesha McKey, Kai Knight, Jeremy Guyton, poet Sunni Patterson and drummer Jawara Simon, Gomela takes us on a journey through time and space. Making evident the connection between Africa, Haiti, and New Orleans, Gomela highlights the vibrant and percussive movements and stories that breathe life into ancient African dance and drumming and contemporary artistic expression, such as spoken word, hip-hop and jazz. Gomela is an experience of collective memories passed down from generation to generation, a tapestry woven by a group of multi-disciplinary artists who represent the diversity of African Americans who call New Orleans home.
Gomela is based on hope, survival, courage and the resilience that exists in the face of oppression. It is about the heartbeat of a people that will never die, the culture and traditions that continue to evolve, grow and survive the test of time. It illuminates Place Matters—gentrification and the Right of Return of New Orleanians displaced after Katrina; and Black Lives Matter—the beauty and resilience of black people, past and present.
HOMECOMING PROJECT: WATER
DATES TBA
Homecoming Project: Water, presented in partnership with the New Orleans African American Museum of Art, explores the relationship we have with water through stories told in the form of dance, music, spoken word, and film.
Featuring Homecoming Project artists Sunni Patterson, Frederick "Wood" Delahoussaye, Kesha McKey, free feral, & Jeremy Guyton.
SATURDAY CYPHER
Saturday Cypher is a series of pop-up parties celebrating Black art and Black joy. Giving a nod to the cypher as it shows up in hip hop, Saturday Cypher is a gathering of Black artists in different Black spaces showcasing their art in the spirit of celebration. All Saturday Cyphers are free and open to the public.