Contemporary Black Canvas

This week on Contemporary Black Canvas we had the pleasure of interviewing physician and poet Irene Mathieu. Irene Mathieu eloquently balances her passionate interests in both the sciences and the humanities. As a child, her parents encouraged the legitimacy and even the fusion of the arts with the sciences and she has truly embodied this […] The post EP 11 Pediatrician & Poet Irene Mathieu appeared first on Contemporary Black Canvas.

On this episode of Contemporary Black Canvas, we had the pleasure of  interviewing filmmaker and founder of Mizan Media Productions, M. Asli Dukan. Asli’s interest in film and speculative fiction began in childhood and has flourished into a vibrant career where she uses film to explore the possibilities of societal transformation. She has written, produced […] The post EP 10 Filmmaker M. Asli Dukan appeared first on Contemporary Black Canvas.

In this week’s episode, we had the pleasure of conducting an interview with Greg Burnham and Marcus Williams, creators of the newly released Tuskegee Heirs comic book series! Tuskegee Heirs focuses on five young, African American pilots following in the aviatic tradition of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen. The legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen […] The post EP 09 Tuskegee Heirs (Marcus Williams and Greg Burnham) appeared first on Contemporary Black Canvas.

This week’s episode features a delightful and engaging interview with poet and scholar Evie Shockley. Professor Shockley grew up in Nashville Tennessee and is currently an Associate Professor of English at Rutgers University. She is the author of the poetry collections the Half-Red Sea, The New Black, and the forthcoming poetry collection Semi-Automatic. She has […] The post EP 08 Poet & Scholar Evie Shockley appeared first on Contemporary Black Canvas.

In this week’s episode,  I am delighted to bring you my lively and engaging interview with the poet and novelist, John Keene. In this wide-ranging conversation we discuss his early artistic pursuits, encouraged by his parents, towards drawing, visual art, and writing, the writers who mentored him, and his long-standing fascination with African diasporic history. […] The post EP 07 Poet and Novelist John Keene appeared first on Contemporary Black Canvas.

In this episode, I interviewed Pascale Boucicaut, a culinary artist, and Adachi Pimentel a photographer, who together form the artistic team behind Dishes of the Diaspora.  Dishes of the Diaspora, a project that was funded by the  Leeway Foundation, documents ten cooks in of African descent in Philadelphia. For this project, Pascale and Adachi join […] The post EP 6 Dishes of the Diaspora with Pascale Boucicaut and Adachi Pimentel appeared first on Contemporary Black Canvas.

In this week’s episode, I caught up with filmmaker, festival organizer, and curator Maori Holmes. Most recently, she is the founder of the Blackstar Film Festival in Philadelphia. Prior to Black Star, she was worked with the Jazzyfatnastees to put on the Black Lily Film and Music Festival in 2007 and 2008. She has directed […] The post EP 5 Filmmaker, Curator, Festival Organizer Maori Karmael Holmes appeared first on Contemporary Black Canvas.

In this episode, I had the honor of  interviewing Washington-D.C. based visual artist Akili Ron Anderson. Akili Ron Anderson is a stunningly versatile visual artist. His work includes breathtaking stained glass, sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, set design, and photography. His art celebrates African people and culture and emphasizes the importance of maintaining cultural and ancestral […] The post EP 4 VISUAL ARTIST AKILI RON ANDERSON appeared first on Contemporary Black Canvas.

In this week’s episode, I had the opportunity to interview sound artists Mendi and Keith Obadike. Mendi and Keith Obadike began experimenting with conventional music, but naturally expanded their endeavors. As conceptual and sound artists, their projects seek to go beyond any and all expectations of sound, music and genre in order to sonically create […] The post Ep 3 Mendi + Keith Obadike appeared first on Contemporary Black Canvas.

In this episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing dancer and choreographer Lela Aisha Jones, whose work infuses her movement with the intellectual and movement traditions of the African diaspora. Find out what led her to her unique and multifaceted form of expression, her favorite recipes, what it means to be the archivist of the […] The post Ep 2 Dancer and Choreographer Lela Aisha Jones appeared first on Contemporary Black Canvas.

POET YOLANDA WISHER Welcome to the Contemporary Black Canvas podcast! In our first episode, we interview Yolanda Wisher, the 2016-2017 Poet Laureate of the City of Philadelphia. Find out what drew her to poetry, whether she prefers to write in rhyme or free verse, and the secret behind the infamous typewriter–all this and much more! […] The post Ep 1. Poet Yolanda Wisher appeared first on Contemporary Black Canvas.

Welcome to our introductory episode. We are about to release some amazing interviews. Make sure you subscribe to the podcast in your podcast app! The post Ep 0 Introducing the Contemporary Black Canvas Podcast and Dr Pia Deas appeared first on Contemporary Black Canvas.