Filibusters 

Wednesday September 4th | 6-9pm

Black Gotham Experience | 192 Front Street NY, NY 10038

Black Gotham Experience is excited to present an evening talk with Kamau Ware titled Filibusters. Kamau and three others from New York State will participate in the Netherlands Visitor’s Programme that includes a talk at the City Archives of Amsterdam on Tuesday September 10th. This evening, Kamau will share some of the material that connects New York City and the Netherlands with special attention to the impact of the African Diaspora on both spaces.

There will be refreshments from 6 to 6:30pm before the talk starts.

Who is Fort Greene? Walk 

Wednesday August 28th 2019 | 7:30-9pm

Walk meets at the corner of Rockwell Place and Fulton Street in Fort Greene, BK.

Who Is Fort Greene? is an ongoing investigation of the historical and imagined past of Fort Greene, informed by the public square and the often unseen stories of Black residents and women from the 19th century to the present. For this project, Ware collaborated with poet Cyrus Aaron and used historical research and interviews with contemporary and once residents as source material for an interlocking set of artistic experiments including walks, photographic portraits, a poem cycle, video, and public discussion, all meditating on the project’s central question, Who is Fort Greene?.

Who is Fort Greene? was commissioned by BRIC as part of their BRIC Open Festival in April 2019.

Black Gotham Experience is excited to present the first Midnight Espresso Series in New York City and the first in over 15 years. Co-founders, Kamau Ware and Nate Mitchell team up for an evening celebrating the legendary Pittsburgh playwright August Wilson.

About the Midnight Espresso Series 

The Midnight Espresso Series, affectionately referred to as the M.E.S., was an event produced by the bridgespotters collective in Pittsburgh, PA. The series is a synergy of the arts and nightlife celebrating creative legends of the African Diaspora. Kamau Ware and Nate Mitchell ran the series from 2000 to 2003 and are excited to bring it back to life.

TEST

Born to immigrant parents from Chile and Bolivia, South America in Van Nuys California; Bleu Rose rode the wave of her unstable but always adventurous childhood. Constantly moving and not having stability helped nurture Bleus adventurous side into a life full of color. At the age of 17, Bleu Rose had her first taste for the stage performing at a high school talent show. At the age of 18, Bleu moved to Hollywood to work freelance in order to figure out what career she wanted to pursue. During this time, she found time to be a voice for the trans community, working with different organizations to educate and organize. Working with the Trans Latina Coalition as a case worker in LA gave her insight to the needs for people of the trans experience working in LGBT specifically transgender spaces. She left California with a dream to pursue her entertainment career as an actress and artist. She always dreamed of living in New York City. Arriving in NYC she automatically started booking work for such shows as Tales Of the City, POSE and Orange is the New Black. In addition, Bleu Rose is working on music in the genres of Hip Hop and Pop. Her story is still being written and only time will tell where all roads lead…..

Shannon Shird is a writer, producer and cultural worker from Baltimore, MD living in Brooklyn, New York. Shannon’s work exists at the intersection of social justice and the arts. She has curated public art, gallery shows and produced educational events for many artistic organizations including Brooklyn Arts Council and 1Future where she’s organized mixed media cultural projects around race and gender justice and peace and nonproliferation in NYC, South Africa and Japan. Shannon has served as producer for award-winning, documentary films, Black and Cuba and COMPLICIT. She currently serves as producer for upcoming documentary short, Bloom: The Essential Journey and writer/producer for BodyMore a film adapted from her short story, “Unfinished” She holds a masters in international affairs from The New School and a bachelor’s in history from Smith College.

Follow Shannon on Twitter & IG @MissShird.

Julian is a Style Savant that was born in Teaneck, New Jersey with a strong undeniable passion for fashion. After receiving his degree from Drew University in 2013, he went on to become the assistant buyer and merchandiser for the Nicki Minaj Collection at Kmart. Julian’s overall contributions to the brand were evident in his mission to disrupt the fashion landscape with innovative products and successful merchandising strategies. After his tenure working for the Nicki Minaj brand, he was able to branch out and secure positions with various fashion houses like, Reed Krakoff, Kate Spade, Eileen Fisher, & currently Brooks Brothers. Julian has fearlessly traveled different avenues in fashion and entertainment with a career touching on different fields consisting of: marketing, merchandising, designing, and now styling. His diverse experience within the fashion industry exemplifies his passion for learning and his mission to disrupt any space he occupies with style and grace.