Jan 17th – Jan 18th, 2021 – With the support of The City of Boulder Office of Arts + Culture, The Dairy Arts Center is pleased to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with live programming throughout the weekend including a public poetry workshop, virtual slam poetry performances, cinema, music, and more! Artists highlighting and uplifting the generational work of Dr. King Jr. will share with our community their personal stories, creative work, and artistic accomplishments in a multi-media celebration throughout the weekend.
EVERY CHILD IS BORN A POET
Mon Jan 18, 2021 – 7PM
VIRTUAL CINEMA EVENT VIA ZOOM
After a screening of the film, there will be a discussion moderated by poet Huascar Medina.
Huascar Medina, Poet Laureate of Kansas (2019-2021), is the Lit Editor for seveneightfive magazine, creator/host of Kansas is Lit on 785live.com, an Op-Ed writer for Kansas Reflector, and a new editor at South Broadway Press. He’s published two collections of poetry Un Mango Grows in Kansas (2020) and How to Hang the Moon (2017). His words have appeared in The New York Times, Latino Book Review, and elsewhere.
Directed by: Jonathan Meyer Robinson
An incendiary mix of documentary, poetry, storytelling, drama, and performance, EVERY CHILD IS BORN A POET explores the life and work of Piri Thomas (b. 1928) the Afro-Cuban-Puerto Rican author of the classic autobiographical novel Down These Mean Streets (1967). The film traces Thomas’ path from childhood to manhood in New York City’s Spanish Harlem, El Barrio, from the 1930s through the 1960s; his parents’ immigrant experience, home life during the Great Depression, his membership in barrio youth gangs, his struggle to come to terms with his mixed-racial identity, his travels as a teen-age merchant marine, his heroin addiction, his notorious armed robbery of a Greenwich Village nightclub, his six years spent in prison, and then his emergence as a writer. Thomas’ coming-of-age story is counter-pointed with verité scenes of his on-going work of forty-five years as an educator and activist empowering marginalized and incarcerated youths. A stylized, genre-spanning production, EVERY CHILD IS BORN A POET is a riveting portrait of a life lived through struggle, self-discovery, and transformation as it examines Thomas’ use of creative expression as a means of confronting poverty, racism, violence and isolation.
FROM LEGACY TO POSSIBILITY
Mon Jan 18, 2021 – 6PM
VIRTUAL PERFORMANCE VIA ZOOM
A virtual event hosted by poet Briannah Hill, featuring poets Assétou Xango and Hakeem Furious, visual artist Tya Anthony, and musicians Hazel Miller and Julia Kirkwood. Book Now
Briannah Hill, a.k.a ArtsyQ, identifies as a Blaqueer [Black & Queer] Nonbinary individual. They are a poet, storyteller, and workshop facilitator, from Denver, CO. Their passion and work are driven by their artist-activist evolution, and their in-it-to-win-it attitude when it comes to breathing life back into Black imagination, Black joy, and Black futures. When they aren’t performing, ArtsyQ is a community organizer, educator, and social activist for Black Trans and Blaqueer peoples. You can contact them through artsyq2@gmail.com, or on social media @ArtsyQ2 on all platforms.
Tya Alisa Anthony (°1978, Colorado Springs, United States) Interdisciplinary Artist + Curator, explores the intersections of Ecology, Ritual, and Storytelling through sculpture, photography, collage, and reliquary. While Anthony’s research-driven artist practice is an investigation of Ritual interspersed in our daily lives, fact with a little fiction, her Curatorial practice observes, reimagines and preserves inclusive spaces for people of color.
Anthony is the Executive Director and Founder of Mahogany Vu Contemporary Art, an online thriving gallery for BIPOC. Anthony is currently developing a thought provoking and socially responsible, action driven exhibit, FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, to be shown at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMOCA) in the Spring of 2021.
Anthony received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, (SUMMA CUM LAUDE) honored as Valedictorian, from Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design. Presently, Anthony lives and works in the city of Denver, producing performance, photography + installations. Tya is currently a TANK Studios artist, 2018 Redline Residency Artist and serves on the Advisory Board for Leon Gallery, a non-profit gallery and creative space dedicated to mentoring emerging artists across multiple disciplines, along with the Advisory Board of Colorado Photographic Art Center as well as the board of directors of Tilt West, a non-profit dedicated to fostering critical dialog in art and culture in Denver. She has exhibited in Baltimore, MD and the Colorado region including a permanent collection commissioned by the Octopus Initiative and Museum of Contemporary Art, Center for Visual Arts, LEON Gallery, and at RedLine.
Julia Kirkwood – Bubbly and infectious but grounded in soulful understanding and bold self-revelation, young singer-songwriter Julia Kirkwood’s music merges pop with hints of folk, rock, and electronica. Snappy rhythms and bright guitar lines combine with vocals that range from bold to lilting, while Julia’s lyrics reflect a sense of purpose beyond her years, focusing on themes of self-realization and human connection. At age 15, Julia already has been performing for over a decade and composing almost as long. Her songs offer compelling glimpses into the inner world of youth in the thrall of discovery, conveying signature energy that holds the promise of a bright musical future.
As a solo act, Julia has performed at prestigious Colorado venues, including Colorado Music Initiatives’ Take Note Concert, Colorado State University’s Stadium Series and Lagoon Series, New West Fest, and she has even opened for Bonnie Raitt.
Hazel Miller – Colorado-based music icon Hazel Miller has a reputation for “Bringing it” whether the event is a club setting, concert, festival, or non-profit fundraiser. Hazel has toured North America, Europe, Far East, Middle East and Central America. Her powerful voice, stands out, and her beautiful spirit shines through, to the delight of her loyal fans.
Hakeem Furious is a wordsmith hailing from
Jacksonville, Florida. and developing his roots in the Rocky Mountains. He graduated from a southern arts high school as a theater major and developed a knack for words when he was involved with the spoken word community established at Florida A&M University. An HBCU that cultivated his understanding, appreciation, and preservation of black culture and resilience. Currently, he travels the country performing poetry, curating shows, writing curriculum, and grants as CEO of the #UltraTerrestrialTour.
From Legacy to Possibility, a curated playlist for Martin Luther King Day
Selection of songs chosen by musicians Hazel Miller and Julia Kirkwood for the celebration of MLK Day, 2021. PLAY>
From Hazel:
A Change Gone Come | Sam Cooke
This song was the wail of sadness that so many people felt.
Too Many Martyrs | Phil Ochs
This Train | Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud | James Brown
We Shall Not Be Moved | Freedom Singers
Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round | Sweet Honey in the Rock
How I Got Over | Mahalia Jackson
From Julia:
I Can’t Breathe | H.E.R
This song speaks to some very specific events, (such as the ongoing list of deaths by Police officers imposed on Black citizens.), as well as current police brutality towards black people.
Freedom | Beyoncé
This song speaks to the fact that we’re trying to break free from the chains that continue to hold us down.
This is America (explicit) | Childish Gambino
This song tells it like it is. It shows how America continues to fight the same fight in different forms, but it also shows how both sides have things they need to figure out in order to end the ongoing violence and warfare.
I Just Wanna Live | Keedron Bryant
This song speaks to the true feelings and dangers many of us blacks are going through right now. This song being written by such a young person shows that the events taking place have a lasting effect on those of all ages.