October 2024

Artist as First Responder October Newsletter

This month, Artist as First Responder proudly presents Black (W)hole: A Black Feminist Art Happening, an organic convergence of Black feminist energy, aesthetics, memory, and practice in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Visit the website below or find more information about the events and more news in the rest of the newsletter.

(A)BLACKQUEER SOUND PUBLIC LECTURE

In this lecture, DJ Lynnée Denise will discuss what she refers to as (A)BlackQueerSound, a makeshift queer archive compiled over her twenty-year deep listening practice as a DJ and public scholar. The archive comprises albums, liner notes, films, record label histories, and dance floor stories presented and performed through sound and text over the past decade.

October 16, 2024
4:00 - 5:30 PM PDT
Humanities Center Board Room
Stanford University 

SURVIVAL IS A PROMISE PUBLIC READING

Alexis Pauline Gumbs from her book “Survival is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde,” which dives deeply into Lorde’s manuscript archive. This event is free and open to the public! Masking is strongly encouraged.

LITANIES: A RITUAL READING FOR AUDRE LORDE

Litanies is a ritual reading performance for Audre Lorde, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Lorde delivering her first poetry reading at the Women's Building in the fall of 1974.

October 17, 2024
6:00 - 9:00 PM PDT
Women’s Building, San Francisco, CA

REVISITING BLACK LESBIAN LEGACIES

Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking panel discussion, "Revisiting Black Lesbian Legacies in Conversation with Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs", as we explore the expansive vision of survival through the work of Audre Lorde.

October 18, 2024
6:30 PM PDT
EastSide Cultural Center
Oakland, CA

WEAVING WATERS WITH ARTIST AS FIRST RESPONDER

Weaving Waters is a one-day immersive experience that flows through time, memory, and the cosmos, featuring the visionary works of Sydney Cain aka Sage Stargate, Alisha B. Wormsley, and amara tabor smith.

October 19, 2024
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Liberation Park

FRONTLINE PROPHET IN DETROIT

The traveling Frontline Prophet: James Baldwin exhibition features the artwork of Detroit-based creative Sabrina Nelson. In honor and celebration of his centennial birthday, Nelson provides an intimate, multi-sensory experience of James Baldwin and his legacy. The exhibition consists of unique works birthed from Nelson’s meditation on James Baldwin, and a 91-day commitment to draw his essence from her memory. With a deeply personal perspective on the iconic writer, she presents a seven-year sketchbook study, vivid works on paper and canvas, projected video, installations, collaborations with contemporary writers and thinkers, and augmented reality experiences.

Please join Ashara Ekundayo and Sabrina Nelson in conversation for “Through Baldwin’s Eyes: Artistic Explorations of Blackness and Identity” on October 29th at the Charles H Wright African American Museum.

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