5 Poets. 1 Goal. To get you ready to vote in November!
Artist Collective ART SAVE THE VOTE, Feel Good Action, and Skylight Books have partnered for a special night of art as activism.
Stream the event now: https://youtu.be/
Join us on National Voter Registration Day TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20th @ 7pm PT as we present the following poets:
bridgette bianca
Vanessa Angélica Villarreal
traci kato-kirayama
Jaha Zainabu
Christopher Rivas
ASL Interpreting provided by PRO BONO ASL.
Throughout the event we’ll be raising money for Feel Good Action, a voter mobilization organization who will provide onsite voter registration and verification!
Although our event is free to attend, please consider donating in place of a ticket. Suggested donation is $10 but any amount helps!
http://weblink.donorperfect.
**Donation QR codes will be available at event. We will NOT be taking cash donations.**
Can’t make it in person? No problem! Register for free on our Eventbrite page and we’ll send you a link day of to stream the event remotely:
Click here to register on Eventbrite.
This event is supported in part by Poets & Writers.
About our Poets:
bridgette bianca is a poet and professor from South Central Los Angeles. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Howard University and her Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Otis College of Art & Design. bridgette bianca has performed her poetry all around Southern California, including features at The World Stage, the Southern California Poetry Festival, Los Angeles Lit Crawl, the Table Lit, LitFest Pasadena, Rapp Saloon, La Palabra, and the un::fade::able Reading Series. She was most recently published on CulturalWeekly.com and in Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora. She is one half of the literary curating team, Making Room for Black Women, with Sanura Williams of My Lit Box and co-host of the quarterly reading series at the Women’s Center of Creative Work with Nina Rota. bridgette bianca’s work as a writer and an educator seeks to serve the people and moments most forget or ignore. Her first book of poetry, be/trouble, was released by Writ Large Press in 2020. Find her on IG @bridgettebianca.
Vanessa Angélica Villarreal was born in the Rio Grande Valley to Mexican immigrants. She is the author of the award-winning collection Beast Meridian (Noemi Press, Akrilica Series 2017), recipient of a 2019 Whiting Award, a Kate Tufts Discovery Award nomination, and winner of the John A. Robertson Award for Best First Book of Poetry from the Texas Institute of Letters. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Harpers Bazaar, Oxford American, POETRY, and elsewhere. She is a recipient of a 2021 National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship and a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she is working on a poetry and nonfiction collection while raising her son. Her essay collection, CHUECA, is forthcoming from Tiny Reparations Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in 2023. Find her on Twitter @Vanessid.
traci kato-kiriyama (they+she) is the author of Navigating With(out) Instruments, an award-winning multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary artist, recognized for their work as a writer/performer, theatre deviser, cultural producer, and community organizer. As a storyteller and Artivist, tkk is grounded in collaborative process, collective self-determination, and art+community as intrinsically tied and a critical means toward connection and healing. She is a performer & principal writer for PULLproject Ensemble, two-time NET recipient; NEFA 2021-22 finalist for their show TALES OF CLAMOR. tkk —presented for over 25 years in hundreds of venues throughout North America as a writer, actor, poet, speaker, guest lecturer, facilitator, Artist-in-Residence, and organizing / arts & culture consultant— has come to appreciate a wildly hybrid career (w/ presenters incl. LaMaMa Cabaret; Enwave Theatre; The Smithsonian; The Getty; Skirball Cultural Center; and Hammer Museum, to Zero Gravity; Grand Park; Whisky a Go Go; Hotel Cafe; House Of Blues Foundation Room; and countless universities, arts spaces, and community centers across the country). Their work is also featured in a wide swath of media and print publications (incl. NPR; PBS; Elle.com; Entropy; Chapparal Canyon Press; Tia Chucha Press; Bamboo Ridge Press; Heyday Books; Regent Press). Find them on IG @traciakemi1.
Jaha Zainabu is a poet and visual artist from Long Beach, California currently residing in Los Angeles. Jaha has been a member of The Anansi Writers Workshop at The World Stage in Los Angeles, California since 1992. She was the poetry instructor for Say Word and Community Literature Initiative. She was the artist in residence for The Girl Blue Project and is currently the artist in residence for WomanPreach, Inc. She is also the producer of Red Stories, a storytelling show in Los Angeles. Jaha has traveled throughout the United States performing her poetry. For the past twelve years, she has been the artist-in-residence for WomanPreach, Inc. She has toured her work in many colleges, churches, schools, theaters and poetry venues. For more info on her poetry visit Mama's Kitchen Press on IG @mamaskitchen.press.
Christopher Rivas is an actor, essayist (New York Times, Boston Globe, Zocalo, Outside Magazine), podcaster, and storyteller best known for his on-screen work on the Fox series, CALL ME KAT. In addition, he hosts two podcasts on SiriusXM's Stitcher: Rubirosa, a limited series about the life of Porfirio Rubirosa, and a weekly show, Brown Enough (to be released in September). Rivas is simultaneously authoring a book, BROWN ENOUGH that is slated to release on October 11, 2022. He is a Ph.D. Candidate in Expressive Arts for Global Health & Peace Building from The European Graduate School and a Rothschild Social Impact fellow. Rivas resides in Los Angeles, CA. Find him on IG @christopher__rivas.
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ART SAVE THE VOTE is a collective of artists creating content to educate and inspire young people driving votes to the 2020 election. We’re currently developing sketches, music videos, dance videos, and even an IGTV interview series! The way we win this election is if younger generations show up to the polls. We’re using our strengths as artists to do everything we can to make that happen. For more information including how to join, email artsavethevote@gmail.com or message us on Instagram: @artsavethevote.
Feel Good Action harnesses the incredible power of micro-influencers on social media to turn Viewers into Voters. We are a diverse team of Media Makers, Game Developers, Artists, Data Wonks, Strategists, Academics, Advertisers, Lawyers, Activists, and Students. FGA is a values-based media organization. We produce and distribute inspirational media that creates action to advance social justice and environmental sustainability. We are driven by the desire to restore Democracy, heal the planet, and build equitable communities. For more info visit feelgoodaction.org.
Pro Bono ASL is made up of both hearing and Deaf American Sign Language interpreters. We are queer and LGBTQIA+ allies. We are Deaf-parented, have ASL as our legacy language, and are parents of Deaf children. We are immigrants, first generation Americans, adult descendants of enslaved Africans, life long Californians and recent transplants. We are Interpreter Training Program students and graduates, and community-raised interpreters. We are Black, Indigenous, Latinx and People of Color along with white allies. We are full time interpreters and lifelong protestors. We provide ASL access pro bono, as well as professional interpreting services and community support. In addition to our pro bono work, we also provide ASL interpreting services for the community as paid professionals, and are prepared to accommodate assignments both in-person, as well as through Video Remote Interpreting (VRI). Whether it be through promoting the Deaf ecosystem or sponsoring Deaf organizations and their activities, we work as advocates for, and allies of, the traditionally marginalized Black and Brown Deaf community.