Storytelling as Ritual

In celebration of Black History Month, Storytelling As Ritual — Black Art, Faith, Ancestral Ways of Knowing and Systems Change is an artist showcase which will feature a multidisciplinary performance, artist talkback and visual art installation. This event considers the intersections between Black diasporic storytelling traditions, spirituality, faith practices and artistic expression.

Doors open at 6 p.m. to allow time to explore the visual art, with the performance beginning at 6:30 p.m. MST.

The Featured Artists

Kija Lado
Kija Lado is South Sudanese multidisciplinary artist and musician born and raised in Amiskwaciwâskahikan. Blending soulful vocals and honest storytelling, her genre-bending work aims to make both herself and others feel, know, and be known.

Cherelle George
Cherelle George, a dynamic and passionate dancer with over 25 years of experience in the entertainment industry, is a true creative force of nature. As a first-generation Canadian of Trinidad and Tobago descent, she has cultivated a strong connection to her roots, particularly in Caribbean Dance styles such as Folklore dance and Soca Dance. 

Timiro Mohamed
Timiro Mohamed is a multidisciplinary artist and anti-racism educator inspired by the generations of storytellers before her.  She is a visual artist, spoken word poet, and published poetry author and columnist. She's passionate about the uses of art in community development, anti-racist education, and political advocacy, and looks to an Afro-futurist Black feminist praxis to inform her creative process and approach to systems change. She is co-curating this event alongside the CRC.

Raneece Buddan
Raneece Buddan (she/her) is a Jamaican interdisciplinary visual artist who resides in Treaty 6 territory, Amiswaciwâskahikan (Edmonton). She completed her BFA in Art and Design with Distinction at the University of Alberta in 2020. As a Jamaican artist of Afro-Caribbean and Indo-Caribbean descent living in Canada, her work reimagines self-portraiture beyond figurative representation. Traces of the human figure are revealed by finding the figure in materials like wood and prioritizing the intangible parts of our identity - the familial, cultural, and historical threads that make us who we are. 

Abigail Ameley Quaye
Abigail Ameley Quaye (preferred name- Naa Ameley) holds a BFA and MFA from the University of Ghana. Her background in playwriting stem from conventional training in the classroom and through mentorship under renowned Ghanaian playwrights. She eventually developed an affinity to unconventional writing methodologies such as Automatic writing which she is currently researching in and practicing. Naa Ameley believes in the creative fluidity and leverage that plays lend to exploring stereotypes and experimenting with methods of social change through dialogue. Thus, her creativity leans towards enhancing the effectiveness of creative works in challenging status-quo, social reforms and enhancing positive political action.

In-person: SOLD OUT

Link to view online https://vimeo.com/event/4833026/c0fb7b0829