On Dec. 1, between 6:00-6:30 pm, the AfroSurreal Writers will be projecting a short digital film of novelist/poet/critic Ishmael Reed’s Oakland Blues at Frank Ogawa Plaza outside of Pro Arts Gallery. The film is directed by Alton Ray of Mighty Productions.
We’ll have free hot chocolate and popcorn; in fact, the entire event is free. We want to bring creative communities together and celebrate writers and artists of color.
At our brunch last week, we saw writers and artists of color coming together.
Hosted by Shannon Holbrook, a writer and popular media personality in the Bay area, with readings by Dera R. Williams and Learkana Chong, and held at the home of Manjula Menon, a writer and creator of Nightlight.me, the event was about bringing together artists working in different disciplines, around a big, healthy plate of vegetarian food.
Faith Adiele, author of the PEN-award winning Meeting Faith, was there to support her students Learkana and Audrey T. Williams, and Dr. Adrienne Oliver, who were also at the event.
Writers talked with visual artists: Writer Thaddeus Howze, Rtystk and Lexi of the Kiss My Black Arts Collective; writer and activist Tureeda Mikell; Tara Christina, writer and creator of Tara’s Teas; Jenee Darden, a writer and producer of the Cocoa Fly podcast, Peter McKay, a reporter for Vice, Indizr, the Washington Post, and creative entrepreneurs Brandi Bentley Hudson and Charles Hudson.
The purpose: to eat and live well–and celebrate creativity!
Photos by Lanee Mecca Woodard.
(The AfroSurreal Writers Workshop is actively seeking patrons! If you want to support our films/digital projections, workshops, or other projects, please email us at afrosurrealwriters@gmail.com. )
Written by: Rochelle Spencer is co-editor of All About Skin (Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2014) and is co-editing STEAM: Women on the Intersections of Science and Art.
