Contemporary Black Canvas
Dr. Pia Deas, Professor of African American Literature, interviews Black novelists, poets, filmmakers, visual artists, and radical gardeners and farmers
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BAM EP 5 Scholars, Dancers, and Choreographers: Dr. Osumare and Dr. Dixon Gottschild
Contemporary Black Canvas
03/24/19 • 24 min
Welcome to Contemporary Black Canvas. I am your host, Dr. Pia Deas. On this episode of Contemporary Black Canvas, we are sharing an audio recording entitled “ It’s A Commitment,” an audio recording. This audio piece features esteemed dance scholars Dr. Halifu Osumare and Dr. Brenda Dixon Gottschild. This is part of a larger, artists’ interview series conceptualized and hosted by Margaret Kemp, an Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance at UC Davis, and produced by Alexander Adams. They were kind and generous enough to ask us to share this recording with Contemporary Black Canvas to include as part of our Black Arts Movement series. For links to the guests and their work, please check our show notes. Please tune in and enjoy.
Scholars
Books
The Africanist Aesthetic in Global Hip Hop
Black choreographers moving: A national dialogue
Everybody Creative Arts Center
Black Choreography Moving Towards the 21st Century
Digging; The Africanist presence in American performance, dance and other contexts
The post BAM EP 5 Scholars, Dancers, and Choreographers: Dr. Osumare and Dr. Dixon Gottschild appeared first on Contemporary Black Canvas.
03/24/19 • 24 min
EP 25 Scholar Rashad Shabazz
Contemporary Black Canvas
03/10/19 • 69 min
Welcome to Contemporary Black Canvas where we celebrate the depth and breadth of Black artistic and intellectual traditions. In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Rashad Shabazz, an Associate Professor of Justice and Social Inquiry within School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University and an affiliate faculty member at the Lincoln Center of Applied Ethics. Dr. Shabazz’ research interests are in human geography, Black cultural studies, gender studies, and critical prison studies. He joined us on our show to discuss his book, Spatializing Blackness: Architectures of Confinement and Black Masculinity in Chicago. Join us and hear how Dr. Shabazz’s growing up in Chicago shaped him as a person and a scholar. Hear how Chicago police, law enforcement, and city officials responded to the influx of Blacks into Chicago during the great migration. Hear Dr. Shabazz explain, in depth, what “prisonize” is and how it shaped the Black experience in Chicago during the 20th century. Join us for a deeply moving and transformative conversation about how the structures of prisons are replicated in the everyday living spaces and living environments of Black Americans. To learn more about Dr. Shabazz and his work, please check out his book Spatializing Blackness and keep an eye out for his future work on the development of the Minneapolis Sound.
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03/10/19 • 69 min
BAMAA EP 4 Scholar & Activist Abdul Alkalimat
Contemporary Black Canvas
03/03/19 • 68 min
Welcome to Contemporary Black Canvas, I am your host, Dr. Pia Deas. In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with scholar and activist, Abdul Alkalimat. In our conversation today, he begins by discussing how influential his family of activists and scholars were on his early development and his lifelong commitment to the freedom struggle. Our discussion focuses how he, together with Conrad Kent Rivers and Hoyt Fuller, founded the artist’s collective, OBAC, the Organization of Black American Culture in Chicago in 1967. We discuss OBAC’s role in Black Arts Movement and in creating the Wall of Respect mural. The Wall of Respect, a mural of black leaders, changed the tone of Chicago, strengthened its Black community, and inspired a thousands of artists across the country to not only embrace the Black Arts movement but to also create cultural murals in other neighborhoods. The story of OBAC and the Wall of Respect was captured through a combination of essays, and artifacts in his book The Wall of Respect: Public Art and Black Liberation in 1960s Chicago edited by him Robin Crawford and Rebecca Zorach. Dr.Abdul Alkalimat has been and continues to be a substantial force in the black community. Currently, outside of his long career in academia, he is maintains a variety of digital archives, including one focused a collection of his work and pertinent information related to liberation movements since the 1960’s and the other is a dedication to Malcolm X. Throughout his career, Alkalimat demonstrates the importance of knowledge to freedom and survival. He urges listeners to keep generational records as they are an “important part of our DNA”. To find his work, please check out his website: www.alkimat.org.
http://brothermalcolm.net Malcolm X dedication Site
http://alkalimat.org Abdul Alkalimat archive
http://www.nupress.northwestern.edu/content/wall-respect Wall of Respect Book
https://interactive.wttw.com/dusable-to-obama/africobra Africobra Information
http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/shows/list/underground-railroad/stories-freedom/henry-box-brown/ Henry Box Brown’s Bio
https://interactive.wttw.com/dusable-to-obama/dawsons-black-machine William Dawson’s bio
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/jackson-joseph-harrison Rev. J. H. Jackson’s bio
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/24/jeff-donaldson-art-kravets-wehby-gallery Artist Jeff Donaldson & Africobra
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/margaret-burroughs Margaret Taylor-Burroughs’ bio
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03/03/19 • 68 min
EP 24 Curator Meg Onli
Contemporary Black Canvas
02/24/19 • 66 min
Welcome to Contemporary Black Canvas. I am your host, Dr. Pia Deas. This week we had the pleasure of speaking with Meg Onli, the current Assistant Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia. Please join us for this two-part series. In this episode, we speak to Meg Onli about her life and work as a curator. In part two, we speak to Meg Onli and a guest artist about Onli’s latest exhibition, Colored People Time, an exhibit in three chapters that opens in February 2019 and closes in December of this year. Please see our shownotes for the link to this exhibition. In this episode, I talk to Meg Onli about her move to Chicago in 2005 to pursue graduate school and a career as a conceptual artist and how she realized that she was better suited to be a curator. Before she joined the ICA as an Assistant Curator, Onli was the Program Coordinator at the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. She was also the recipient of the Creative Capital/Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant and the creator of the website The Black Visual Archive. Meg Onli’s first exhibition Speech/Acts at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia (2017) focused on Black poetry in order to explore how the social constructs of language have shaped the black American experience. To find out more about the current exhibit please visit www.icaphila.org.
For more information & exhibition dates and times visit
For more on Meg Onli’s new exhibit (February 2019) visit :
Colored People Time: Mundane Futures
Artists Meg Onli mentioned on this episode:
Up and coming artists: Carolyn Lazard, Cameron Rollin, Aria Dean Matthew Angelo Harrison
Resource she relies on: Other artists
Words you live by: To find happiness in my own labor
Where can we find your work: Institute of Contemporary Art
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02/24/19 • 66 min
EP 23 Visual Artist, Architectural Designer, and Poet Komi Olaf
Contemporary Black Canvas
01/27/18 • 46 min
On this episode, I am joined by CBC’s research assistant, Jasmine Newton. In this episode, we interviewed architectural designer, poet, and visual artist, Komi Olaf. His visual art has been inspired by asking the question, “What does African heritage look like with technology?” He thus, imagines a world where colonization does not exist and instead a world in which hybridity and a mixture of culture and identities have emerged and flourished. Not only has his visual art explored Afrofuturist concepts but his spoken word poetry and architectural design has also utilized this technological lens at the intersections of race, culture, and identity. Bringing art and technology at the forefront, his work challenges social and cultural norms by imagining and reimagining worlds beyond perceived confinements. He is also apart of MadeMill, a collective of professional developers whose mission is to “ make product creation and social innovation accessible, affordable, in order to connect the services and resources necessary to move an idea into reality.” Olaf was recently apart of a group exhibition entitled, AfrOURban. This collective’s objective is “to document and express the many characters of the metropole on the [African] continent and how these inform culture or are informed by it. Tune into this week’s episode to hear more about his migration from Nigeria to Canada and how he uses art as a means to navigate through these two identities and the challenges he has faced as an artist. You can find Komi Olaf’s work at his website komiolaf.com where you can purchase his works, commission for art work and watch his spoken word poetry.
References Mentioned On the Support:
Khwaja Shams-ud-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi
“Roots:The Saga of an American Family” by Alex Haley
British Colonization of Canada
“Silent Night”
Canadian Festival of Spoken Word
Sapiens A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene
Freedom: The Courage to Be Yourself by Osho
Up and Coming Artist You Recommend:
01/27/18 • 46 min
EP 22 Educator Khalilah Brann
Contemporary Black Canvas
01/14/18 • 63 min
Welcome to Contemporary Black Canvas, where we celebrate the depth and breadth of the Black artistic and intellectual traditions. I am your host, Dr. Pia Deas. Before we begin, I want to encourage all of our listeners to check out our new and beautifully re-designed website. Our website now gives a much better a more comprehensive understanding of all of Contemporary Black Canvas’ projects. Be sure to check us out! Let us know you’re listening! Underneath our “About” tab, click on “Contact Us” to sign up for our newsletter, send us feedback, or recommend an artist. You can find us at www.contemporaryblackcanvas.com In this episode, I interviewed Khalilah Brann, an educator, and education activist, writer, institution builder, and publisher. Her career as an educator has fueled her passions for teaching and decolonizing the minds of underrepresented and misrepresented communities across the country. She is the founder of CREAD, Culturally Responsive Educators of the African Diaspora, whose mission is to “ to support teachers, educators and community members in ensuring the positive racial identity development through education of young people of the African Diaspora.” Most recently, she has also co-founded and launched her publishing company, DeColonizing Education. Their first book, co-written by Khalilah Brann and Chemay Morales-James, the ABC’s of the Black Panther Party, was published in December 2017 and is now available. Their book includes extension activities and learning guides for educators and parents. The book is skillfully designed to appeal to ages 7-12. Tune into this week’s episode to hear more about her transformative junior year of highschool, her successful and humbling moments in the classroom, and the individuals who shaped and nurtured her teaching passions. You can find Khalilah Brann’s work at her CREAD website at creadnyc.com and you can purchase a copy of the ABC’s of the Black Panther Party at decolonizinged.com.
ABCs of the Black Panther Party
Decolonizing Education Publishing Company
Michelle Alexander Interviews Angela Davis
Thinker, Educators, Liberators You Recommend:
Teach Freedom by Charles M. Payne and Carol Sills Strickland
Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Dr. Joy Degruy
Resources You Rely On:
Humans
Youtube and Google
Words You Live By:
Assatta Shakur’s Chant:
“It is our duty to fight for our freedom.
It is our duty to win.
We must love each other and support each other.
We have nothing to lose but our chains.” [therefore I must execute and revise]
Where can our listeners find and support your work?
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01/14/18 • 63 min
BAM Ep 2: Jae and Wadsworth Jarrell
Contemporary Black Canvas
01/01/18 • 65 min
Welcome to Contemporary Black Canvas, where we celebrate the depth and breadth of the Black artistic and intellectual traditions. I am your host, Dr. Pia Deas, in this episode, we interviewed painter, sculptor, and printmaker Wadsworth Jarrell and fashion designer Jae Jarrell. Their works, contributions and founding of the AFRICOBRA Movement has been inspired by the need to continuously uplift and empower their communities with art that is colorful, joyful, and strong. The Jarrells along with other founding members, Jeff Donaldson, Barbara Jones-Hogu, and Gerald Williams formed the collective in 1968 in Chicago. They believed that their skills could be better put to use by creating art rather than protesting and thus made revolutionary art that instilled pride and possessed a heavy political aesthetic. Jae Jarrells fashion designs which were inspired by the Black Arts Movement and the individuals who would adorn these pieces as they fought for liberation and equality. Likewise, Wadsworth Jarrell’s visual art was inspired by Black leading figures, Black life in Chicago, and jazz. Their artistry taps into their philosophies and principles of creating art that reflected the “electricity of the atmosphere” during the revolutionary movement. From Jae’s early exposure to the arts and design to Wadsworth’s experience in the military, tune into this week’s episode as they take us back in time to 1968 and the start of it all: A moment where political and social issues needed to be addressed through art and the burgeoning of the creation of a new African American school of thought and artistic language to meet the needs of the times.
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01/01/18 • 65 min
BAMAA Ep 1: Poet and Press Founder Naomi Long Madgett
Contemporary Black Canvas
01/01/18 • 73 min
I am delighted to welcome you to a new series within the larger Contemporary Black Canvas series. This month in honor of Black history month we are premiering the first two episodes of our new, on-going series, the Black Arts Movement Audio Archive. The Black Arts Movement Audio Archive is the first audio archive of its kind preserves the voices of artists important to the Black Arts Movement and scholars whose emerging work in the field provide us with a deeper understanding of the Black Arts and Black Power Movement. You can find this new series on our website by clicking on the left header “podcast” and then selecting Black Arts Movement Audio Archive. This is an ongoing and developing series and episodes will be released periodically through the next year and beyond.
This week we had the benefit of speaking with Dr. Naomi Long Madgett, esteemed and award-winning Poet, Educator, and senior Editor of the Lotus Press. Dr. Madgett’s career and press coincided with the Black Arts Movement and while her aesthetics do not place her directly within BAM, she is still an important poetic voice whose work defies easy literary periodization. Born in 1923 she has been blessed to see the genesis of many great eras and wars that influenced her early years & recollections of life. After attending the first high school for African Americans west of the Mississippi, Sumner High School, Dr. Madgett then returned to her home state to complete her college education at Virginia State University. Join us in discussion of her family history, living through world wars, traversing prejudice, and how an intimate relationship with her father strongly shaped her convictions and deep admiration of lan guage and literature. Learn about the foundations of Dr. Madgett’s affinity for poetry and her steady ascension to prominence in community with fellow poets, writers, and great figures of the African American intellect. Additionally, join us to hear about her friendship with Langston Hughes and the day she met Countee Cullen at his home. Enjoy a dialogue rich in our history and sprinkled with excerpts from Dr. Madgett’s autobiography, Pilgrim Journey.
Click here for more information & to purchase Dr. Madgett’s publications:
https://www.naomilongmadgett.com/publications-available
For more information visit:
- https://www.naomilongmadgett.com/
- Paul Laurence Dunbar
- The Simple Stories by Langston Hughes
My Lives & How I Lost Them by Christopher Cat in collaboration with Countee Cullen
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01/01/18 • 73 min
EP 21: Tommy Joshua, Founder of North Philadelphia Peace Park
Contemporary Black Canvas
12/31/17 • 83 min
In this episode we had the pleasure of speaking with Tommy “Junebug” Joshua, the founder & visionary behind the North Philadelphia Peace Project. Joshua is a Philadelphia native with deep roots in the rural Greensboro, NC. Strong family ties led to deeply vested communal bonds during his adolescence & well into adulthood that heavily influenced the mission of his work. Explore the history of his family, the Doggetts, the impact of industrialism on Philadelphia, & learn how both his city experience and his country roots translated into his early activism. Joshua’s recognition of the necessity of having a safe space, his fervent desire to address the socio-economic issues that plague many Black communities, and his realization that a vegetable garden and school would provide an essential nourishing space in his home community, inspired him to create the North Philadelphia Peace Park. The North Philadelphia Peace Park is a community garden with plans for a school. The North Philadelphia Peace Park generates individual and communal agency by promoting the value in returning to our roots, living off the land, and providing food in a food apartheid system. The North Philadelphia Peace Parks seeks to stress community by utilizing the motto: “what you can contribute please do; what you need please take.” For more information about the North Philadelphia Peace Park, please check out their Facebook page. Join us & tune in.
For more information, please visit:
http://phlassembled.net/m/sovereignty/index/north_philly_peace_park/
Interested in getting involved, donating, or researching some of the programs mentioned? Click these links!
- University of Pennsylvania Diverse Design Program
- Occupy Philadelphia
Tommy Joshua’s Hip-Hop Influences:
- Ice Cube: Death Certificate
- KRS-One: You Must Learn
- Public Enemy: Rebel Without a Pause
To volunteer:
Work Party every Sunday at 2216 W. Jefferson in North Philadelphia
To donate/contact:
North Philadelphia Peace Park of CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia
1315 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
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12/31/17 • 83 min
EP 26 Poet Geffrey Davis
Contemporary Black Canvas
09/22/19 • 64 min
In today’s episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with award winning poet Geffrey Davis. Davis has authored two successful books Revising the Storm, a 2013 A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize winner and most recently Night Angler , the recipient of the 2018 James Laughlin Award. Geffrey Davis is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Arkansas. His work has been widely published and he is the recipient of numerous awards and has earned fellowships at Bread Loaf, Cave Canem, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Vermont Studio Center. His work explores the depths of familial frustrations, milestones in new parenthood and the process of mending wounds from generational trauma. Join us as he shares his unique journey of finding purpose in poetry, shares advice on “hacking our inhibitions” and discusses the importance of his most recent poetry collection, Night Angler, as an “ongoing love letter to his son.” The vulnerability and honesty of his story underscores his message for listeners to “love the body that produced this work as much as you love the art itself.” To read more on Geffrey, hear selections of his poems, or see his upcoming reading schedule, please visit his website.
F. Douglas Brown Icon and Begotten
Cave Canem Black Poetry Retreat
Tiana Clark I Can’t Talk About the Trees Without the Blood
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09/22/19 • 64 min
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