“This is the place my great grandma prayed I never met her she lived long in age.
I stand smiling at this gated fence where love once overflowed in a time where the sun would glow
this is the place my great grandma prayed.
I came to see to feel the glory to stand in the breeze and remember.
I am the seed of seeds this was my need the house where my great grandma soul was freed
I feel her she's in the breeze all about the trees oh how i wish to have met her.
with the closing of my eyes standing at the gate it brings a smile upon my face.
this is a beautiful coming home to the place where my great grandma would pray.”
In Honor of Maggie Brown
Words By: Patrice Sanders
Model: Cassandra Alicè
Creativity was at a all time high.
Model: Simeon Cullens
"Abandoned in an ocean of Dreams." - Ke'Andre Lee
“I’m grateful for the connection and communication we’ve been blessed to have. You have helped me navigate this journey in more ways than you will ever realize...and you continue to do so with love. To my reason, my friend and my fiancé: you have my eternal devotion.” - Maureik Robison
“Nothing makes me happier than knowing I’ve taken the initiative to live in my artistic truth. No longer suppressing my spirit from being authentically free.” -Cassandra Alicé
Gabriella Ndungu photographed by me
Edwin Walker Photographed on Film and Digital.
I been holding on to you for quite some time now.
The hardest part is releasing you.
I know some people come into our lives for seasons, but I wanted you to stay forever.
I’ll remember the way you looked at me and I felt secured.
I’ll remember the moments the world stopped and we were frozen in time together.
You came into my life at the beginning of a new chapter, it was everything that I asked God for.
You said “you’ll always be mine.”
now we’re strangers again.
I release you
-Teithis Miller
I wasn’t always this brave.
there was a time when all i did was fear every single decision i could make, avenue i could go down, thing i could say.
but there came a day where i made up in my mind that i could no longer hold back. that i could no longer live in fear of “what if.”
after surviving facial paralysis, nerve damage, panic attacks/panic disorder, discrimination, abandonment, 3 different types of abuse, and everything else i’ve gone through, i became who i am.
sometimes i feel broke because of all of it. other times i feel strongest because of all of it.
but ALL of the time, i feel like i can survive anything because of all of it.
because that’s what i am. a survivor. and nothing & no one can take that away from me.
The beginning teacher whose words are used as the basis for the dance was a committed educator who was thrown into a highly dysfunctional and disadvantaged school. First year teacher Keeler Kirkpatrick loved her students, but she was not able to connect to all of them. The sense of healing and trauma in Keeler’s narrative is so extreme, movement from Japanese Butoh and Chicago hip hop are used to evoke the joy of good day at school and the heartbreak Keeler experienced when her lessons shattered
“Chicago Butoh” has been funded by University of South Florida system creative scholarship grant and, as discussed in the vision statement in Table 4, the show was intended to have five planned performances in the 2017-2018 academic year. Hurricane Irma altered those plans and Charles Vanover and Bob Devin Jones transformed “Chicago Butoh” into a theatre- based performance that stared Jai Shanae. Jai then stared in the Studio@620 version of the show staged in October of 2018.
At first I wasn't sure that I had the talent, but I did know I had a fear of failure, and that fear compelled me to fight off anything that might abet it.
Gordon Parks
“The best thing in life is a fresh breath of air. Because with every breath we renew our soul, and become one with source. That’s how I see Music. Thats how I see creativity.”
Sidney is a multi-talented artist, and idealist. Never one to stay under a bar or in the box, Sidney’s music is a mix of R&B, and every element Hip-Hop from old school boom bap lyrics, to trap beats and vibes that can keep people on edge. Apart from his music, Sidney see’s himself as a person of heart.
“ I can’t believe the things I do, or even allow myself to create something if it’s not from the heart. Because then it’s not genuine. Then it’s not real to self. It has to impact me first in the way I know it will impact others. Art has such a wonderful impact on the world, and I believe we live in a new renaissance. With that being said, Music is the go to when people want to feel an expression of some sort or when their looking for somebody to relate to or a vibe. That’s why I talk about my life, and my beats have some sort of relation. Music isn’t just words and a beat to me. It’s an adventure from bar to bar, note to note. I want you to be in the world I’m talking about in one song, and go to another room when you hit next and experience a whole new world. It’s a living movie, but auditorial. Just vibe.”
Photographer: Teithis Miller
Artist: Sidney Austin
