60 Cove St
Portland, ME 04101
USA
Join our July Artist-in-Residence, Arisa White as she leads a generative workshop that imaginatively engages the mind, body, and spirit!
Our current Artist-In-Residence, poet and writer Arisa White will lead participants through a generative workshop that imaginatively engages the mind, body and spirit in mapping out its humus—the “dark organic matter” that nourishes your boldest and daring ideas. Through somatic and centering exercises, deep questioning, and reflective writing, attendees will become aware of their fears, inhibitions, and the social expectations that stifle their creativity. Attendees will conceive of practices and design prompts that free and express their inescapable selves.
Participants are asked to dress comfortably and to bring a yoga mat or blanket to lie on. All writing levels are invited, no experience is required.
This event is free, open to all, ages 16+ , will center Black and Brown community members, and takes place at the Indigo Arts Alliance Studio in Portland, ME.
At the heart of Indigo Arts Alliance’s mission is our Artist Residency program, which provides Black and Brown artists an environment for the production of artwork in all media across various disciplines. Our Residency aims to connect Black and Brown artists from across the globe to local artists of African descent. We activate our mission by creating opportunities for critical feedback, relationship building and increased awareness of creative practices and resources.
PLEASE NOTE: For the health and safety expectations, all attendees at indoor events and performances are required to provide proof against the COVID-19 virus, or a negative PCR test from within the previous 48 hours or a negative ‘Rapid Test’ from the previous 12 hours. It is necessary to also show a legal photo identification along with your vaccination proof, or test result. All proof may be original or digital. Participants are asked to remain masked. There will be extra masks and hand sanitizer stations provided.
Learn More:
Arisa White is an assistant professor of English and Creative Writing at Colby College. She is the author of Who’s Your Daddy, co-editor of Home Is Where You Queer Your Heart, and co-author of Biddy Mason Speaks Up, the second book in the Fighting for Justice Series for young readers. Her poetry is widely published and her collections have been nominated for an NAACP Image Award, Lambda Literary Award, and has won the Per Diem Poetry Prize, Maine Literary Award, Nautilus Book Award, and an Independent Publisher Book Award. As the creator of the Beautiful Things Project, Arisa curates poetic collaborations that are rooted in Black queer women’s ways of knowing. She is a Cave Canem fellow and serves on the board of directors for Foglifter and Nomadic Press, as well as the Community Advisory Board for Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. Arisa is currently working on an Afro-speculative opera, set between the material and spiritual worlds, where three females’ lives intersect because of a murder-suicide. Post Pardon: The Opera, in development with composer Jessica Jones, is a transgenerational apology.
Indigo Arts Alliance is a place where freedom of expression and personal transformation through creativity is encouraged. Indigo Arts Alliance embodies a Black-led, multiracial approach to the rich intersections of citizenship, community-building, and creativity. More than ever, our world needs people who can help us imagine more compassionate, generous, and welcoming human societies. Indigo does that work. It is a great gift to the Portland community, to the region, and to our nation!
Indigo Arts Alliance is rooted in two principles:
– Art is a key resource for healthy human communities. It should be cultivated and celebrated.
– Artists play a unique role in strengthening our multiracial democracy. We need their vision and inspiration to help build a more humane, inclusive, and just world.