BLACK ARTS @ WAA
Drawing on Black leadership, perspective, experience, and voice.
OVERVIEW & MISSION
The Black Arts @ WAA initiative seeks to recognize, champion, and uplift Black artists and ensembles as it works to address systemic racism and implicit bias in touring and presenting.
WAA recognizes that there is no quick fix to these complex issues, but a process rooted in transparency, honesty, and generosity can be a powerful instrument for change.
“We want to build a world in which undeveloped and unrefined emotional instincts — like possessiveness and jealousy — are minimized as much as humanly possible so that all eyes, hearts and spirits are not distracted from the goal. And the goal is freedom. The goal is to live beyond fear. The goal is to end the occupation of our bodies and souls by the agents of a larger American culture that demonstrates daily how we don’t matter.”
Patrisse Cullors | When They Call You a Terrorist
PROGRAM HISTORY
The inaugural Black Arts @ WAA program took place in 2019 at Leimert Park, the historic center of LA’s Black community. Drawing on Black leadership, perspective, experience, and voice, the day-long symposium focused on the performing arts of the Black arts diaspora.
The program opened with a performance by the Portland-based Ghanaian singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Okaidja Afroso, followed by a keynote address from artist, organizer, writer, and founder of Black Lives Matter Patrisse Cullors. Other program elements included panels, breakout peer-to-peer learning sessions, and a guided tour of the Time is Running Out of Time exhibit at Art + Practice — a presentation of early short works of LA Black filmmakers and video artists. The event closed with the Black Voices showcase program, featuring ADAAWE, DANCE IQUAIL!, Albino Mbie, and the Red Door Project. You can see the complete 2019 symposium program here.
Black Arts @ WAA presented their second Black Voices showcase program at the 2020 Arts Midwest + WAA joint virtual conference. The showcase included selected artists Dahlak Brathwaite, Drew Dollaz, Donal Fox, Amythyst Kiah, Spectrum Dance Theater, and Sphinx Virtuos, plus featured artists A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, EVIDENCE, A Dance Company, Darrel Grant, Jazzy Ash & The Leaping Lizards, Lula Washington Dance Theatre, and The Reminders.
Black Arts @ WAA hosted affinity sessions — which provide time and space for sharing, networking, and exchange among those with a shared identity — at the 2020 and 2021 conferences.
Audience at the 2019 Black Arts @ WAA keynote; image credit: Corporate Close Ups.
Panelists Nataki Garrett (Oregon Shakespeare Festival) and Krista Bradley (APAP) at the 2019 Black Arts @ WAA program; image credit: Corporate Close Ups.
2019 Black Arts @ WAA keynote speaker, Patrisse Cullors (Black Lives Matter); image credit: Corporate Close Ups.
Okaidja Afroso performing at the 2019 Black Arts @ WAA Symposium; Corporate Close Ups
BLACK ARTS @ WAA NEWS & EVENTS
Including the Black Voices Blog Series
MEET THE CO-CHAIRS
Black Arts @ WAA is co-chaired by WAA board members, Stephen Qacung Blanchett and Pamela Green.
Stephen Qacung Blanchett (he/him)
Cultural Heritage & Education Manager — Tlingit & Haida Tribes of Alaska | WAA Board Director
Qacung is a performing artist, a culture-bearer, an art and culture educator, and an advocate for equity and inclusion. Earlier on in his nearly 30 year career in performance art, he realized his passion to teach the beautiful songs and dances of his culture. He has served in leadership roles with the Alaska Native Heritage Center, First Alaskans Institute, Pamyua Inc., and other arts, culture, and community service entities. He is currently the Art Education Director for Juneau Arts and Humanities Council. He is a 2019 Dance/USA Fellowship recipient, a 2019 & 2016 recipient of the Rasmuson Foundation’s Artist Fellowship, and a 2015 National Artist Fellowship recipient through the Native Arts and Culture Foundation, Blanchett is a global citizen whose Yup’ik roots guides his leadership and artistic vision. He is a graduate of the University of Alaska Anchorage with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and Alaska Native Studies. What pointed him in the direction that he chose academically was a passage in a book that he read from the author Vine Deloria, in which he wrote, "Being born Native is like being born into politics". This passage also influenced Blanchett greatly as an artist, because he truly believes that being born Alaska Native we have a responsibility to fight for our traditions and heritage. So as an artist he not only has the passion to perform, he also loves to teach and perpetuate the Alaska Native traditions and to be an advocate for equity and inclusion in the arts and culture industry. To sample some of Qacung’s music please visit www.pamyua.com
Pamela Green (she/her)
Founder — PMG Arts Management | WAA Board Member
Pamela holds BA degrees in Public Policy and Drama from Duke University and a Master of Science in Arts Administration from Drexel University. She began her arts administration career with the Durham Arts Council, the American Dance Festival, and the Chuck Davis African-American Dance Ensemble. She was the Director of Touring and Presenting for the North Carolina Arts Council from 1989-1992. In 1992, Mrs. Green founded PMG Arts Management. PMG Arts Management currently represents established and emerging artists, including Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Philadanco!, Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre, and special projects with jazz singer Nnenna Freelon. She has served as a board member, consultant, panelist, or workshop leader for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), South Arts, the Western Arts Alliance (WAA), the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF), the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), the International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD), the North American Association of Performing Arts Managers and Agents (NAPAMA), and the Executive Committee of the North Carolina Presenters Consortium (NCPC) to name a few. In January of 2018 Green received the 2017 NAPAMA Liz Silverstein Award for Agent-Manager of the Year at the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) annual conference in New York City.
BLACK VOICES SHOWCASE PROGRAM
The Black Voices Showcase aired on October 6, 2022 as part of the Arts Midwest + WAA 2020 Conference, featuring artists Dahlak Brathwaite, Drew Dollaz, Donal Fox, Amythyst Kiah, Spectrum Dance Theatre/Donald Byrd, and Sphinx Virtuosi.
Meet the artists
Left to right: Dahlak Brathwaite, Drew Dollaz, Donal Fox, Amythyst Kiah, Donald Byrd (Spectrum Dance Theatre), and Sphinx Virtuosi.