ArtYard is thrilled to host a special event with award-winning author Aracelis Girmay, popular poet John Smith, the Sister Cities Girlchoir, and multimedia artist Elsa Mora.
Aracelis Girmay is the author of three books of poetry, most recently The Black Maria (BOA Editions, 2016), which poet Rigoberto González describes in the Los Angeles Times as “a blessing to the living and the dead, a tribute to lives lost, a song of hope, perseverance, and gratitude flourishing despite class conflict and racial strife.” Poet John Smith, a long-time Frenchtown resident, will also read at the event. Smith is the author of the poetry collection, Even that Indigo (Hip Pocket Press, 2012).
Sister Cities Girlchoir (SCG) empowers girls by building resilience, leadership, mastery, and connection through a comprehensive choral training academy that invests in the unique potential of adolescent girls to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and transform their communities. The program is research-based, and although a music program is an uncommon girl empowerment tool, SCG is modeled on the powerful impact that investments in the lives of girls make for a city block, a neighborhood, and a city for the world. www.sistercitiesgirlchoir.org.
Elsa Mora is a Cuban born multimedia artist based in New York. She is also the artistic director of ArtYard, an arts organization founded by a group of artists, filmmakers, curators and writers. Mora will be presenting a short animation inspired by Aracelis Girmay's poem, "Elegy." www.elsamora.net.
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