Event Schedule

Let’s Dance! Indigo Arts Alliance is throwing our annual Indigo Poppin’ Dance Party The Jewel Box! We encourage anyone/everyone who loves to groove to join us at Jewel Box on Friday, December 6th from 10pm-1am for this Y2K themed party. It’s giving brat summer, meets BRATZ Dolls, meets Destiny Child concert y’all! Featuring DJ Ben Spalding, Indigo’s 2022 Fall David C. Driskell Fellow on the decks, we can’t wait to close the cover on 2024.

With a suggested cover of $5, all proceeds will go to support Indigo Art Alliance, helping us to activate our mission of Art + Activism.

Join us on Sunday, October 20th from 12 to 3pm, in a workshop guided by Indigo Arts Alliance October artist in residence, Julia Arrendondo. 

In this three-hour workshop, participants will explore the tools and processes of zine-making and collage in a hands-on, cut-and-paste style. Rooted in DIY aesthetics and an intuitive approach to image-making, Excavating the Personal Archive invites attendees to explore the significance of personal ephemera and how it can tell our unique stories through creative preservation. While this may sound like a creative spin on ‘scrapbooking,’ the workshop frames these techniques within the context of fine art, offering a deeper perspective on personal storytelling through collected materials. Participants are encouraged to bring personal ephemera—such as ticket stubs, photographs, or newspaper clippings—to incorporate into their projects. Recognizing the sentimental value of these items, there is no requirement to share these items with others unless participants feel inspired to do so. All other materials will be provided. Registration is limited to ten participants. Light refreshments will be available, and conversation is warmly encouraged throughout the session.

Join us on Saturday, October 19th from 12pm – 3pm for a beading workshop with Indigo’s final Artist-in-Residence of 2024, Jay Katelansky!

Katelansky’s work questions how Black bodies, including their own, navigate space in the United States. Addressing questions such as: What does safe mean? How does it feel safe? Is safety a place? Is it a person? Is safety an unattainable condition? Who gets to be safe? Are you safe? Katelansky’s current focus and interest has been on making work that explores both the historical impact of disco on queer and Black communities through Gloria Gaynor’s anthem “I Will Survive” and the contemporary need for respite from the current state of violence and disparity for these same communities.Text and literature forms the foundation of their practice, even when text isn’t present or visible in the final product. Most of their art starts with their personal practice of writing or reading whether it be poetry, fiction, memoir, song lyrics, or a fast scribble in their notes. Katelansky is deeply influenced by craft, sounds, and poetry, as well as everyday objects like billboards whose purpose is to convey a simple message and how these objects interact with and alter the spaces they inhabit.

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT

Indigo Arts Alliance’s continual partnership with Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is in its second year, presenting “Deconstructing the Boundaries: The Land Fights Back,” a symposium and public art commission. The partners commissioned two indigenous artists/IAA July Artists in Residence, Anna Tsouhlarakis and Shane Perley-Dutcher, to create a permanent public art piece that amplifies Indigenous wisdom, artistry, and presence. The symposium, curated by IAA, will incorporate the art commissions while focusing on environmental justice in urban and rural spaces and why it is critical that Black and Brown experiences and knowledge be centered.

Click the link to see the full schedule, learn more, and RSVP.

Join Indigo Arts Alliance June Artists in Residence, Minoo Emami and Kifah Abdulla, in a participatory lecture about how they used art as a tool for activism. Shaped by her life in post-revolutionary Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, including enduring eight years of city bombings, Minoo Emami’s artwork captures the resilience and challenges of women navigating such environments. Kifah Abdulla is a multidisciplinary artist, who uses painting, installation, sculpture, performance and writing to express his passion in art. His identity, origin, philosophy and the story in life’s journey shaped his way in art making.

 Attendees will have the opportunity to learn directly from each of these artists as they use their creativity as a vessel for empowerment and upliftment through their work. Audience members should expect to participate in small movements, gestures such as clapping, stomping, etc.

Click the link to see the full description, learn more, and RSVP.

To commemorate Juneteenth, the Indigo Arts Alliance (IAA) is bringing back one of its founding programs, The Welcome Table, an intergenerational symposium celebrating the cultural and culinary traditions of worldwide historical social justice movements. This event will take place at Indigo Arts Alliance. The gathering will feature art workshops, movement and meditation, cross-cultural history, community-building, and cooking led by local and national activists and cultural workers.

As IAA honors its fifth anniversary–a half decade marked by programs that support Black and Brown artists, as well as foster cultural exchange and promote social justice through the transformative power of the arts–it felt appropriate to bring back The Welcome Table, a gathering that Indigo first sponsored in 2019. Participants are invited to eat, talk, enjoy, give thanks, and just BE–all in a healthy, healing multiracial setting that creates space for everyone, and for the personal narratives that have informed, and continue to inform, our lives across continents and cultures.

Click the link to see the full schedule, learn more, and RSVP.

Join Indigo Arts Alliance’s Spring Artists in Residence Thania Petersen and Krina Patel in exploring how they merge research, visual arts and community into their creative practices. First, Krina Patel will lead a printmaking workshop, followed by an Artist Talk with both AiRs. We’ll conclude the evening with a dinner prepared by our AiRs and a dance celebration.

The making and sharing of food as an invitation to friendship and as a restorative practice is key to laying a foundation of love. The Open Table Party is a practice where everyone is welcome to join the table to eat together, share, and talk in an atmosphere that is informal and intimate.

Co-presented by Indigo Arts Alliance and Portland Ovations.⁠ “E C H O E S” is a site-responsive composition project that endeavors to encapsulate the breath, sorrow, and beauty of Portland, Maine’s intricate history and its relationship with its Black community. With the iconic Abyssinian Meeting House as the focal point, DBR will unveil an original work, inviting local artists from diverse disciplines to remix and respond to the piece.

All events on Saturday, May 11 are free and open to the public & No RSVP needed

• 3-5:30 pm – Tours of Eastern Cemetery (Spirits Alive + The Prince Project
• 5-6:30 pm – Indigo Arts Alliance Studio Activation + Performances (DBR + More)
• 6-8:30 pm – Newbury Street closed for E C H O E S
• 7:30 – 8:30 pm – E C H O E S performance at the Abyssinian Meeting House

Click the link to sign-up for e-mail updates about this program.

You don’t want to miss this! Join us for Indigo Arts Alliance’s 5th annual spring fundraiser “Spring is in the AiR,” at Maine Studio Works, Portland, ME, on Thursday, April 11th from 6 to 8 pm. It’s our hottest party as we mark our 5th anniversary!
Featuring electrifying performances including a special guest performance by one of our AiRs, an Indigo Poppin’ dance party, and delicious diasporic cuisine, all in support of our Artist Residency programs. By year-end, we’ll have hosted 66 Artists-in-Residence from 21 countries, amplifying Black and Brown voices in the arts.

Don’t miss live music by Jennifer Rachele and Stu Dias of Kouchera, a performance by Afro Brazilian Dancer/Choreographer Maestra Isaura Oliviera (AiR Alum ‘21), and an Indigo Poppin’ Dance Party with Mosart212. Indulge in bites from Black Betty’s Bistro!

Tickets available on Givebutter, with options for single entry or VIP experiences. Can’t attend? Support us through our online donation options or join our IAA Auction (more details and launch planned for mid-March!) ⁠A raffle will also take place at the event featuring special tours, limited-edition swag, and more. So bring your cash to buy your raffle tickets!⁠

All proceeds directly support our Artist-in-Residence programming. Snag your spot at the most exciting celebration of the season!

Co-presented by Indigo Arts Alliance and Surf Point.⁠
⁠
On the heels of recent travels throughout a combined 11 countries in Africa, speakers will discuss the importance of the Art of the African Diaspora, also referred to as the Black Diaspora, whose global impact on culture and society around the world can no longer be denied. You are invited to listen in as our three scholars share observations about both traditional and contemporary art in Africa – art, food, music, and business innovation, which are creating a cultural tsunami on the continent and abroad.
⁠
About the speakers:⁠
⁠
Kemi Ilesanmi – Cultural Strategist, IAA Circle of Advisors, Surf Point February 2024 Resident⁠
Marcia Minter – IAA Co-Founder, IAA Chief Officer Strategic Growth, Surf Point Alum 2021⁠
Daniel Minter – IAA Co-Founder, IAA Artist Director, Visual Artist⁠

Join SOIL Gallery and Indigo Arts Alliance for a special Zoom event: Voices + Visions: An Artist Conversation with Rosalba Breazeale, Hector Nevarez Magaña, and Raquel P Miller. This engaging virtual dialogue is a centerpiece of our Seeds in the SOIL exhibition, offering a unique opportunity to delve into the creative intersections and shared narratives of the distinguished artists from IAA’s Black Seed Residency program.

Event Details:
* Date: Thursday, February 22, 2024
* Time: 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm PST (7:00 pm – 8:30 pm EST)
* Location: Online via Zoom

Join us for a lumen printing workshop with our current David C. Driskell Fellow Rosalba Breazeale! Discover the magic of lumen printing, a unique photographic process that uses sunlight to create stunning images.

During the workshop, Rosalba will share their expertise and guide participants through the process of making their own lumen prints. Learn how to coat paper with light-sensitive chemicals, arrange objects or negatives on the paper, and expose it to sunlight to create beautiful, one-of-a-kind images.

Please bring a few objects that have significance to you and can fit on an 8″ x 10″ piece of paper. This could be a specific flower, jewelry, a lucky object or anything in between! Natural, translucent and reflective material (glass, metal) may make particularly interesting photographs! Please feel free to bring extra objects to share with other participants.

Wear warm clothes as we may spend some time outside, if weather permits! Exposure time will likely take at least an hour. While we wait, Rosalba will give a short artist talk and we will share stories about our precious objects.

No prior experience is necessary, and all materials will be provided. Whether you’re a seasoned photographer or just curious about alternative printing techniques, this workshop is a fantastic opportunity to explore your creativity and learn from a talented artist.

Join Indigo Arts Alliance for a culminating performance by Pape Ibrahima, widely known as Kaolack of Kaolack Arts Company. Sankofa is a Twi word from the Akan Tribe of Ghana that loosely translates to, “It is not taboo to go back for what you forgot (or left behind).” This performance is an expansion of Kaolack’s MFA thesis work. Within his field of dance he aims to create spaces that push proximity, cross borders, and tell stories. His work is focused on pushing the boundaries of space and time and fully embodies the spaces in which he inhabits. Supported by local dancers, and our Local Mentorship Artist in Residence, Veeva Banga. This performance will take place at the Indigo Arts Alliance studios on October 19th at 6pm.

Join us at the Indigo Arts Alliance studio for a weekend of dance! Our Fall 2023 Mentorship Artists in Residence, Pape Ibrahima, widely known as Kaolack of Kaolack Arts Company and Veeva Banga will be hosting a two-part dance workshop! You don’t want to miss this special opportunity to learn the versatility, range and diversity of Contemporary African Dance by these incredible teachers. Taking place on Saturday and Sunday October 7th & 8th from 1pm – 3pm, this two-day workshop is open to all! Free and open to the public, we encourage attendees to participate in both days of the workshop, if possible. No previous dance experience is required, this workshop is intended for all ages! Recommended clothing is comfortable, and allows for stretch and easy movement as attendees will be moving and grooving!

Dinah Johnson, author of Indigo Dreaming is coming to Maine as a part of this year’s Beautiful Blackbird Children Festival! Join us at Indigo Arts Alliance on September 23rd at 1PM where there will be a read aloud of Indigo Dreaming and hands-on activities for all ages. Guests will also receive their very own copy of Indigo Dreaming. Be in the studio with us as we explore this beautiful story of family, heritage and tradition.

Dinah Jonson is the author of Black Magic, Jaiir Dance!, All Around Town: The Photographs of Richard Samuel Roberts, H Is For Harlem and several other books. She is a professor of English at the University of South Carolina.

Khan pays homage to the cultures of the African Indian Ocean World, foodways and healing practices before European colonization. She continues her engagement with a 15th-16th century, Central Indian cookbook: The Book of Delights/Delicacies. Khan reimagines the cosmopolitan worlds with the Sultan canceled. Khan has created original lino-prints, ceramics, animations and sounds, all within a bold alternative story.

Her project will reignite visual and auditory senses for the duration of her installation. More importantly on a macro level, Khan reminds us of the indigenous and global majority cultures that constitute our world; and on a micro level, she magnifies what it means to be a Pakistani-North American.

Sarah K. Khan creates multimedia content about food, culture, women, and migrants. Her most recent bodies of prints, ceramics and films are inspired by a 15th-16th C cookbook from Central South Asia, called the book of delights. With multiple group and solo shows, Khan’s work has shown nationally and internationally, and held in college, museum and private collections. A recipient of fellowships and residencies (most recent a Kohler Arts/Industry), Khan continues create with upcoming residencies at the Women Studio Workshop and Anderson Ranch in 2023 and 2024, respectively. 

Siddhartha V. Shah is the John Wieland 1958 Director of the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College where he oversees the museum’s collections, acquisitions, exhibitions and programs, as well as a variety of initiatives aimed at deepening engagement with the community both on and off campus. He works closely with faculty members across disciplines to make the Mead’s resources available for their courses, research and creative work; with students to foster their involvement with the museum as interns, educators, artists, scholars and visitors; and with area schools and community organizations to expand programming in the region. 

This program is free, open to all, and takes place at the Indigo Arts Alliance Studio in Portland, ME.

This program is the first symposium in a multi-year collaboration between the two organizations. Indigo Arts Alliance assembled a curated panel of thought leaders and workshop presenters to discuss how Black and Brown communities have always held spiritual, traditional, and cultural relationships to the land. Conversations, demonstrations, and interactive workshops will present experiences from multidisciplinary artists, cultural workers, and members of the local, national, and global community.

Immerse yourself in the artwork and processes of our July Artists-in-Residence, Diedrick Brackens and Jordan Parks! With this Open Studio event, we invite members of our community to witness their process, ask questions, and engage in the world through their creative lens.

This program is free, open to all, and takes place at the Indigo Arts Alliance Studio in Portland, ME.

Nets have been made to snare and capture fish and game, cradle our bodies in the form of hammocks, and to hold and carry our possessions over distances. In this workshop we will learn to make a basic net using natural materials. Students will leave the workshop with one to two small nets and the knowledge to expand into larger netted projects.

At the heart of Indigo Arts Alliance’s mission is our Artist Residency programs, which provides a creative environment for the production of artwork in all media across disciplines to global and local Black and Brown artists. We activate our mission by creating opportunities for critical feedback, relationship building and increased awareness of creative practices and resources.

This program is free, open to all, and takes place at the Indigo Arts Alliance Studio in Portland, ME.

Immerse yourself in the artwork and processes of our June Artists-in-Residence, Arianne King Comer and Danielle Arroyo! With this Open Studio event, we invite members of our community to witness their process, ask questions, and engage in the world through their creative lens.

Danielle’s work during her residency has been deeply rooted in her experience healing from a recent, ongoing breast surgery that saved her life. As a part of her artist talk which will close the open studio, her surgeon Dr. Diane Stoller, Director of the High Risk Breast Program at Mercy Hospital, will lead a discussion revolving around breast health and BRCA1.

This program is free, open to all, and takes place at the Indigo Arts Alliance Studio in Portland, ME.

Get your hands dirty during this special two-day workshop that centers healing through storytelling, facilitated by our June Artist-in-Resident, Arianne King Comer. She encourages participants to consider how intergenerational exchange plays a role in their lives, and how our collective creative practices can raise awareness of the water and the endangerment of our natural resources.

Starting on Saturday, June 24th from 12-3pm workshop participants will develop personal symbologies and learn traditional batik style fabric printing and dyeing. We will reconvene the following Sunday, June 25th from 12-3pm to then use the fabric to create a small, hand sewn quilted piece.

This workshop is free, open to all ages 12+, and takes place at the Indigo Arts Alliance Studio in Portland, ME. No prior sewing or dyeing knowledge is required.

In honor of the release of eir debut poetry collection, Judas & Suicide, we will engage in talking, reading, and writing about the intersection of religion and mental health for Black and Brown people. The poems we’ll be delving into will contain content about suicide and religious related trauma, so please take care of yourselves as needed. 

This program is free, open to the public. We will have a limited number of books available for sale.

Immerse yourself in the artwork and processes of our May Artists-in-Residence, Meghna Signh and Deepanjan Mukhopadhyay! With this Open Studio event, we invite members of our community to witness their process, ask questions, and engage in the world through their creative lens. Following the open studio session, there will be a special closing presentation by Meghna and Deepanjan.

This program is free, open to all, and takes place at the Indigo Arts Alliance Studio in Portland, ME.

At the heart of Indigo Arts Alliance’s mission is our Artist Residency programs, which provides a creative environment for the production of artwork in all media across disciplines to global and local Black and Brown artists. We activate our mission by creating opportunities for critical feedback, relationship building and increased awareness of creative practices and resources.

Click to view the event brochure!

The symposium aims to deeply engage artists and the arts in helping people and communities better understand and grapple with the history and legacies of slavery and forced migration in their lives today.  By providing a platform to discuss and enact how art can be integrated with other forms of research and knowledge-making, Art in the Wake will explore the profound role of creative expression in uncovering buried histories and expanding and creating new archives.

Presenters include Margaret Brown, Valnízia Bianchi (Māe Val), C. Daniel Dawson, Meadow Dibble, Paul Gardullo, Rachel Elizabeth Harding, Juana Alicia Ruíz Hernández, Alexandra James, Kate McMahon, Ed Johnetta Miller, Gabrielle Miller, Daniel Minter, Marcia Minter, Chris Newell, Johanna Obenda, Meghna Singh, Nyugen Smith, Gary Tyler, Clotilda Descendants (names to come. Lunch and dinner provided by Chef Jordan Benissan.

About Partner Organizations:

Center for the Study of Global Slavery at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) researches and interprets slavery, revealing its deep global connections and impact as well as recognizing the resistance and resilience of people of African descent in making freedom while resisting the dehumanizing practices of slavery, racism, and its afterlives. Through international, innovative, interdisciplinary collaborations the CSGS promotes, expands, and works to change both the research and practices of museums and other public humanities institutions around the history and legacies of racial slavery and the slave trade as well as the freedom-making practices of those who were enslaved and their descendants.

This monthly cypher series encourages and centers global majority peoples to exercise their creative minds in a freestyled jam-like musical space that’s rooted in the communal aspects of Hip Hop culture.

Curated by Signature Soul and community friends, February’s Freestyle Friday is presented as a part of the Parable Path Maine Initiative. Participants are invited to engage in freestyle exercises and interactive materials that will help expand on the concept of “change” based on the chapters in Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower. You are welcome to rap, sing, dance, DJ, play instruments, create art, or just catch a vibe during a session. No registration necessary.

Parable Path Maine is a framework for community organizing and artistic engagement based on Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower. This initiative is led by multi-hyphenate musician Toshi Reagon, Bowdoin College’s Joseph McKeen 2022-23 Visiting Fellow, and is supported by Maine Humanities Council, Indigo Arts Alliance and Bowdoin College. 

This second installment of Voices + Visions will feature our 2022-23 David C. Driskell Fellows: Brian J. Evans, Benjamin Spalding, and Kevin Xiques. These three artists will discuss their relationship with the body, constructing personal narratives, and their familial histories. Shining a light into Brian, Benjamin, and Kevin’s experiences as IAA residents and beyond, this artist conversation will give insight into their process and explore what projects they’re looking forward to.

Voices + Visions is an ongoing conversation series that highlights the similarities, creative intersections and distinct voices of our alumni artists in residence. 

Co-hosted with Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, this reading and discussion will feature MWPA’s 2021 Bryan Fellows: Liz Iversen, Christina Richardson, and Ning Sullivan, alongside 2022 Bryan Fellows: Wendy Newell Dyer and Maya Williams.

In honor of the legacy left to us by the beloved ancestor Ashley Bryan, these Fellows will share their original writing. Through conversation about their work and approaches to writing in uncertain times, they are forging connections amongst each-other and our community.

Led by Toshi Reagon, Bowdoin College’s 2022-2023 Joseph McKeen Visiting Fellow, this community sing-along will teach participants songs from Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower the Opera. We invite you all to gather with us to explore the beautiful restorative power that resides in our collective voices. Participants who are able to attend the performance at Merrill Auditorium, April 14th will be invited by Toshi to lend their voices at key points from their seat in the audience.

Songs of The Living is presented as a part of Parable Path Maine, a framework for community organizing and artistic engagement based on Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower. This initiative is led by multi-hyphenate musician Toshi Reagon, Bowdoin College’s Joseph McKeen 2022-23 Visiting Fellow, and is supported by Maine Humanities Council, Indigo Arts Alliance and Bowdoin College. 

We are called, chosen, and dangerous. With a classical sound, view, and impassioned perspective, John Graves presents his musical retelling of the story of Moses, a man exiled from royalty and chosen to save a dying nation. Graves uses creative and indelible means to illuminate how seemingly unequipped we are, yet extraordinary in the face of God.

Sponsored by Indigo Arts Alliance, Moses is presented as a special Black History Month event.

Join us for a conversation featuring: Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Rachel Elizabeth Harding, and Toshi Reagon. Together, these three groundbreaking creatives will fuse their wisdom, spirit, and minds in a dialogue centered around the beauty and power of intergenerational exchange.

Mother Voices is presented as a part of Parable Path Maine, a framework for community organizing and artistic engagement based on Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower. This initiative is led by multi-hyphenate musician Toshi Reagon, Bowdoin College’s Joseph McKeen 2022-23 Visiting Fellow, and is supported by Maine Humanities Council, Indigo Arts Alliance and Bowdoin College. 

Voices + Visions is a new and ongoing conversation series that highlights the similarities, creative intersections and distinct voices of Indigo Arts Alliance’s alumni artists-in-residence.

The first installment will feature our inaugural David C. Driskell Fellows: Rachel Gloria Adams, Heather Flor Cron, and Veronica Perez. These three artists will discuss their relationship with craft, the land, and their familial histories. Shining a light into their relationships with craft, the land, and familial histories, participants will learn more about their process and what projects they’re looking forward to.

Who/what/how would you be if you didn’t have to choose your identity from the ends of binaries?

Presented in partnership with the Sea Free Science Team, this workshop will explore how to connect to Sea Free: a parallel universe where humans evolved without binary identities. Together we will hold space for introspection and a chance to connect with yourself and the world around you in new ways.

Following this workshop, participants will be invited to contribute artwork for an upcoming exhibit at Engine in Biddeford in August/September of 2023.

Toshi Reagon, Bowdoin College’s Joseph McKeen Visiting Fellow, 2022-2023, will share an evening of music and conversation centered on racial justice, climate justice, gender justice, and faith. These themes, which will guide her work as a fellow, are culled from Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower, a dystopian speculative Afrofuturistic fiction piece providing commentary on climate change and social inequality. 

Reagon will be joined by Judith Casselberry, Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Bowdoin College, Samaa Abdurraqib, Executive Director of Maine Humanities Council, and others in a discussion of the significance of Butler’s work, contemporary societal challenges, and the importance of community.

An Evening With Toshi Reagon is part of Parable Path Maine, a framework Reagan is bringing to Bowdoin during the course of her fellowship that is based on Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower. For the Parable Path Maine initiative, the McKeen Center will be working alongside Indigo Arts Alliance, and the Maine Humanities Council for the next two years to bring the work of Butler to libraries, correctional facilities, and community organizations across the state.

Our Fall 2022 International Artist in Residence, Renata Felinto will present a special performance art piece celebrating the Brazilian religion of Candomblé. Stemming from West African spiritual practices, AMOR-Tecimento: Nourish the Earth’s Stomach will pay homage to Candomblé’s tradition of the veneration of spirits known as orixás. This performance is an exploration of the various ways in which one may establish and renew our spiritual energy, also known as axé. Propagating our relationship to our material bodies and the earthly body, Renata will lead participants through a powerful experience that calls forth healing and spiritual nourishment.

Join us in-person for Ritual Research, an artist talk with our Fall 2022 International Artist-in-Residence, Renata Felinto.

This talk will take attendees on a journey into Renata’s process as a researcher and further explore artists of African descent and their impact on the larger visual art world. Through the visual arts, she uses research to forge deeper connections with spirituality. As an artist, researcher and educator, Renata focuses on issues surrounding the Black female identity, the reverberations of displacement, and how contemporary issues are in dialogue with history.

Presented in partnership with the Center For Maine Contemporary, join us in-person or online for a conversation between renowned artists Daniel Minter and Eneida Sanches, moderated by esteemed scholar Henry John Drewal.

The dialogue between Minter and Sanches will touch on their unique connections despite vast geographic distance. Minter was born in the American Southeast while Sanches was born in the Northeast of Brazil. The artists will speak about their respective sources of creativity, as well as the deep love and respect of indigenous African spiritually and culture embedded in their works. 

Part of the third annual Beautiful BlackBird Children’s Book Festival, Indigo Arts Alliance will host a discussion surrounding the past, present and future of the Black American Experience, inspired by the New York Times Magazine’s award-winning book “The 1619 Project: Born on the Water” by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson.

Moderator Marcelle M. Medford will guide panelists through reframing of American History and explore ways in which audiences of all ages and backgrounds can engage in building a future of hope, celebration and freedom. 

Audience members are invited to shape a future of hope, celebration and freedom. Through the lens of art, history, politics and academia, this panel conversation will ignite the sparks of creativity, questioning and pride in our complex identities.

Presented by our Summer ’22 David C. Driskell Fellow, Brian J. Evans and commissioned by Meetinghouse Arts Gallery, Do, Process: An Offering/Sharing of Embodied Authenticities is a creative arts framework tasked with generating work grappling with the first three words of the preamble to the United States Constitution: “We, the people…” A multi-disciplinary offering/sharing to engage audiences in community-driven art focused on creating spaces to process. Utilizing dance, spoken word poetry, videos, songs, and photography, this offering/sharing will serve as a snapshot in to Evans’ Fellowship process and his great admiration for the arts ability to bring about restorative justice and solutionary change.

Presented in partnership with Mayo Street Arts, join us for a work-in-progress libretto reading of Post Pardon: The Opera, written by our current Artist-In-Residence, Arisa White.

With its concern for gendered and ecological violence, Post Pardon is the transgenerational apology needed to repair a Black woman’s soul. Adapted from Arisa White’s eponymous poetry chapbook, published by Mouthfeel Press in 2011, Post Pardon was inspired by poet Reetika Vazirani who killed her two-year-old son and then took her own life in the summer of 2003. As a device to non-judgmentally enter the interior landscape of a woman who contemplates murder-suicide, Post Pardon employs Caribbean mythologies and West African cosmologies to explore the concept of inherited sorrow.

Featuring local artists and actors, Arisa’s reading of this text will focus on the libretto as a poetic literary form and the inherent musicality of language to amplify the ritualistic, performative, and evocative nature of the lyric. A moderated discussion and Q&A will follow.

Join us for The Fugitive Creative: A Practice of Residing in Your Own Humus Soil, a generative workshop led by our current Artist-In-Residence, Arisa White and Signature MiMi.

Arisa will lead participants through a generative workshop that imaginatively engages the mind, body and spirit in mapping out its humus—the “dark organic matter” that nourishes your boldest and daring ideas. Through somatic + centering exercises, deep questioning, and reflective writing, folks will become aware of their fears, inhibitions, and the social expectations that stifle their creativity. Followed by a Sole Planting exercise, led by MiMi Signature, attendees will make foot paintings to serve as visual expressions of how they want to step into the world.

Together we will conceive of practices and design prompts that free and express their inescapable selves. Participants are asked to dress comfortably and to bring a yoga mat or blanket to lie on. All writing levels are invited, no experience is required.

Presented in partnership with SPACE Gallery, join us for this double feature of Neptune Frost. Multi-hyphenate, multidisciplinary artist Saul Williams brings his unique dynamism to this Afrofuturist vision, a sci-fi punk musical that’s a visually wondrous amalgamation of themes, ideas, and songs that Williams has explored in his work.

Co-directed with the Rwandan-born artist and cinematographer Anisia Uzeyman, the film takes place in the hilltops of Burundi, where a group of escaped coltan miners form an anti-colonialist computer hacker collective. Set between states of being – past and present, dream and waking life, colonized and free, male and female, memory and prescience – Neptune Frost is an invigorating and empowering direct download to the cerebral cortex and a call to reclaim technology for progressive political ends.

Presented in partnership with Bates Dance Festival, join us for Rhythm and Pattern: A Conversation with Daniel Minter and Reggie Wilson. This program brings together visual artist, co-founder and Artist Director of Indigo Arts Alliance, Daniel Minter in conversation with choreographer Reggie Wilson, moderated by Marcia Minter, co-founder and Executive Director of Indigo Arts Alliance.

Minter and Wilson have been engaged in generative dialogue on the overlaps that inform both of their practices for nearly three years, connected through their relationship as Artists in Residence with the Lynden Sculpture Garden. This conversation will present a unique opportunity to experience a sneak peek into the minds of two important African American artists working in very different mediums yet connected by history— past, present and future.

As the co-founder and author of the book and movement, MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora, our current Artist in Residence, Adama Delphine Fawundu invites the public to a hands-on workshop where participants will be able to explore their personal narratives in the form of bookmaking. Each participant will leave with a unique hand made book.

Taking place LIVE on Zoom, join us for a virtual conversation between the iconic visionary, Dr. Deborah Willis and our June Artist-in-Residence, Adama Delphine Fawundu. Together, they will discuss the use of photography archive in the development and expansiveness to the canon of art history.

This in-person fundraiser and film screening is in support of More Women Surf+, co-Founded by our Winter 2021 artist-in-residence, Pamela Chèvez. More Women Surf+ is a collective of women empowering other women+ and diversifying the cold water surf scene. They create a welcoming space for bipoc, trans and non-binary folx through community-based events, surf lessons, and creative projects.

This program will feature drinks, small bites, and an exclusive film screening of Bangla Surf Girls by filmmaker and director, Lalita Krishna. Tickets start at $20.00 with all proceeds going to More Women+ Surf. Funds will be used towards the creation of a surf club where girls from under-represented communities can find a space to learn and enjoy the benefits of surfing.

Join us in-person for an artist talk and Counternarratives workshop led by our May Artist-in-Residence, Alexandra Bell. During this hands-on workshop, participants will review a newspaper article and share their proposed edits in the spirit of Alexandra’s Counternarratives series where she edits New York Times articles to reveal biases and assumptions about race and gender. Workshop supplies will be provided and all skill levels are welcome. High School students are encouraged to participate.

Our April 2022 Artist-In-Residence, Tanya Crane will present on her creative practice, current works and dynamic social engagements. The workshop will begin in her artist talk, grounding participants to create their own jewelry using donated materials from the community and of participants. All supplies, and materials will be supplied. All skill sets are welcome.

Radical Jewelry Makeover has been traveling nationally and internationally to communities since 2007, educating jewelers of all levels about mining and material sourcing issues involved in jewelry making through a fun, fast paced, community-based project. Thus we are excited to welcome “Radical Jewelry Makeover” to Portland, Maine.  

Presented in partnership with the Institute For Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design, join us for a panel discussion with the three IAA alumni Artists-In-Residence featured in the exhibition “Visions for our Future; Echoes of our Past: Dianne Smith, Nyugen E. Smith, and Carl Joe Williams.”

Moderated by Dr. Myron Beasly; IAA’s Board member and Associate Professor of American Studies at Bates College, this panel will weave the various threads of these interdisciplinary artists’ work into one unified picture. Together we’ll dive deeper into how the exhibition examines, deconstructs, and re-invents new ways of making in order to accurately reflect global communities.

ReMapping New England is a historical recovery project aimed at inscribing these effaced narratives both in the built environment and on a dynamic digital landscape in an effort to re-member our communities in all their diversity and radically shift public consciousness toward truth. 

Presented in partnership with Atlantic Black Box, this fourth installment of our ongoing series will feature Indigo Arts Alliance’s 2022 April A.I.R, Tanya Crane and The Haus Of Glitter collective as they dive deep into the various ways in which art, history and legacy speak to each other in order to change the collective understanding of the history of New England. Moderated by the Founder & Executive Director of Atlantic Black Box , Meadow Dibble.

Presented in partnership with Black Public Media, Maine Film Center, and Maine Public Television, join us for a community conversation about the new film, Revolution from Afar.

Moderated by award-winning radio journalist, Hana Baba, this virtual panel discussion will engage questions of identity, art, activism, and the work of individual and communal efficacy. Panelists include the film’s director Bentley Brown, artist Khadega Mohammed, and our 2012 AIR Alumni, Nyamuon “Moon” Nguany Machar.

You can tune into the television broadcast of the film on Maine Public Television, April 7th at 9pm EST and April 9th at 2pm EST. You can also stream the film on demand at worldchannel.org beginning April 4th.

Presented in partnership with Khmer Maine, this evening will feature a small reception, ceramic art auction, and special in-person film screening of the documentary “Yary Livan: Khmer Traditional Ceramic Artist.”Directed by Vibol S. Sungkriem, this film tells the story of Master Yary Livan, one of three remaining Khmer master ceramicists in the world who is on a mission to preserve and save a dying art through community engagement and education.

Following the screening, there will be a Q&A with the artist and filmmaker, moderated by Khmer Maine President, Marpheen Chann. All proceeds from the art auction will go to support Khmer Maine and Indigo Arts Alliance.

Join us for this in-person fundraising concert to support Indigo Arts Alliance’s AIRs (Artist-In-Residence), featuring an opening performance by alumni Artists in Residence: VIVA and a very special performance by international blues legend, Guy Davis.

Indulge all of your senses with delicious hors d’oeuvres, cash bar and wonderful company as we celebrate highlights from our amazing programs with a taste of what’s to come next. Tickets are priced at $100.00 with all proceeds going to Indigo Arts Alliance. Limited seating available.

Part of our ongoing Seeking Resonance series, Indigo Arts Alliance and Portland Ovations invite you to experience Step Afrika!

So much more than a dance concert, Step Afrika! blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities, traditional African dances and an array of contemporary dance and art forms into a cohesive, captivating experience. This dance company employs a  blend of technique, agility and pure energy to make each performance unique, leaving audiences with their hearts pounding every time.

Part of our ongoing Seeking Resonance series, Indigo Arts Alliance and Portland Ovations invite you to experience Sphinx Virtuosi: Tracing Visions!

The nation’s most dynamic, exhilarating professional chamber orchestra, Sphinx Virtuosi is dedicated to increasing racial and ethnic diversity in classical music. The exquisitely curated program “Tracing Visions”, challenges and evolves the “classical canon” by illuminating a new pathway for listening, sharing and expression through voices rich with history, conflict and celebration. Their dynamic program includes works by composers Xavier Foley, Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery and more.

Led by Veronica Perez, our 2021 David C. Driskell Fellow, this workshop will be a guided, in-person braiding session that encourages us to dig deeper into our relationship with our hair. These braiding circles open up new ways of seeing, honoring identities, and fighting for collective liberation through community gathering and conversation.

Participants’ braiding contributions will be incorporated to create a larger installation art piece that will be in a final exhibition at the CMCA in the summer of 2022, as recordings of people’s hair stories will be embedded into sculptural pieces created by Veronica. 

All materials will be supplied. Ages 16+.

Presented by Indigo Arts Alliance in collaboration with Embody The Rhythm , this workshop will dive deep into the art of Djembe drumming. Led by drumming Master Namory Keita, participants will have a chance to learn this specific percussive style with the traditional Doundoun family of drums.

‬

Whether you are a beginner just starting down the path of drumming or a seasoned player ready to grow your skills, Namory’s infectious joy for playing and teaching will inspire. Participants are encouraged to bring their own djembe drum if they have one, or reserve a drum ($5). A limited number available so please reserve early. This workshop is open to all ages 16+.

Hosted by Marco Soulo and Almondbuttersmooth, Freestyle Friday is freestyle cypher series that encourages healing through collaboration and genuine expression. Indigo Arts Alliance is partnering with Signature Soul and Modern Day Circus to present the upcoming livestream for this ongoing series. Each installment of Freestyle Friday prioritizes strengthening relationships between BIPOC creatives and cultivating spaces for growth. Through the art of being present, the goal is to create a space of community, expression, and healing.

Join Indigo Arts Alliance for African From The MaineLand. The program will consist of a community discussion and an intimate screening of the documentary I Come From Away: An Immigrant in Maine, featuring our 2020 Winter Artist-In-Residence, Nyamuon Nguany Machar (aka Moon). This special event is planned to take place in-person at the Indigo Arts Alliance 60 Cove Street Studio in Portland, ME.

Directed by Charles C. Stuart, I Come From Away: An Immigrant in Maine tells the story of Moon’s journey towards finding “The American Dream” in the whitest state in America. Through her eyes, this film shines a light on the experiences of Portland, ME immigrant community, detailing their successes and their burden of continuing racism.

This event is free and open to the public, ages 16+, but space is limited. Stay tuned after the screening for a community discussion moderated  by the film’s director, Charles Stuart with Moon Machar and Portland’s city Councilman, Pious Ali.

Join Indigo Arts Alliance and Portland Ovations in collaboration with The Immigrant Welcome Center on November 18th at 7pm EST for “Music From The Sole: “Partido”, the next installment of our ongoing Seeking Resonance series.

Co-created by Leonardo Sandoval and Gregory Richardson “Music From The Sole: “Partido” blurs the line between a dance and music performance, exploring the convergence of percussive dance and live music with contemporary urban styles in African-American and Afro-Brazilian culture. This performance will take place at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center.

Join Indigo Arts Alliance and Portland Ovations in collaboration with The Immigrant Welcome Center on November 4th from 7-8pm EST for “Cartography,” the newest installment of our ongoing Seeking Resonance series.✨

Created by Kaneza Schwab and Christopher Myers, Cartography invites you to hear the stories of young refugees and asks us all to consider what part we play in the lives of young people who set out into the unsure waters of their futures. Through this multimedia theatrical work, witness a world alive with movement and migration as the effects of climate change, war and poverty give shape to where we have come from and where we are going.

Cartography will take place at the Merrill Auditorium in Portland, ME and is best suited for those 12 and up. Family audiences are welcome. Click on the link in our bio to purchase tickets.

Indigo Arts Alliance and our partners at Atlantic Black Box invite you to join us virtually for this third installment of our ongoing ReMapping NewEngland conversation series.

This upcoming panel will feature Indigo Arts Alliance’s 2021 Fall Artist-In-Residence,  Antonio Rocha in conversation with Dr. Rachel Harding, Associate Professor of Indigenous Spiritual Traditions in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Denver and Dr. Kate McMahon, Museum Specialist, Center for the Study of Global Slavery at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

​​Together, these brilliant minds will discuss the Afro-Atlantic histories and events inspiring Rocha’s current work in progress. Topics will include the Malaga ship and the destruction of Black communities at the turn of the century, Environmental Justice, African Diasporic Spirituality and more.

Join Indigo Arts Alliance’s 2021 Fall Artist-In-Residence, Maestra Isaura Oliveira for an Introduction to Brazilian Orixá Dance!

A multidisciplinary artist and a Cultural Educator, Maestra Isaura’s expertise is in African Brazilian Cultural Dance. Her practice is dedicated to studying and teaching the African roots of Brazilian Sacred & Popular Dances, Rhythms, Chants, and Performance-Rituals, in addition to studying modern and contemporary dance techniques. In this special dance class, participants will be given an introductory lesson to movements of Brazilian Orixá Dance with live drumming lead by local Guinean artist Namory Keita.

Maestra Isaura will be the guest instructor for Marita Kennedy-Castro’s dance class Embody The Rhythm, held at the Dan Gymnasium at Breakwater School, 856 Brighton Avenue in Portland, ME.

Masks are required for classes at Embody the Rhythm and physical distancing is encouraged. Tickets are available on a sliding scale basis from $20-$25. Space is limited.

Join Indigo Arts Alliance’s 2021 Fall Artists-In-Residence, Antonio Rocha & Maestra Isaura Oliveira for this FREE interactive lecture/demonstration, in partnership with Mayo Street Arts. 

During the program Antonio & Isaura will share their creative practices. Using movement and storytelling to narrate history and ancestrality, they’ll give participants insight into the work they’ve been developing during their residency at Indigo Arts Alliance. There will also be an exclusive preview of a brand new project, written and performed by Antonio about the history of a ship called Malaga built here in Maine!

This event is open to the public and will take place at the Mayo Street Arts theater located at 10 Mayo Street, Portland, ME. All performance levels are invited, as no dance experience is required. 16+. Space is limited.

All patrons and staff attending events will need to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative test (administered by an authorized provider with your name included on the test) within the past 48 hours, along with a matching photo ID. Proof of vaccination can be your physical vaccine card/official record, or a photo of such documents. Proof of a negative test result can be physical or digital. Children under 12 are exempt from this policy.

In participation with Freedom & Captivity, Keita Whitten, licensed therapist, healer and performer will be presenting a Somatic Liberation Dance Wave Experience from 5 – 7pm EST on Tuesday, September 28th at Indigo Arts Alliance’s 60 Cove Street studio. This special event is a continuation of the Somatic Abolitionist Community Dance Performance documented in July. 

For this final part of the series— Movement as Healing and Wellness; Good for the Soul, Body and Mind, participants will be actively engaged in movements led by Keita Whitten. Participants will engage in a 90-minute workshop concluding in a 15-minute meditation. Movement will be grounded in exploring the question, “what does liberation and freedom feel like in your body?” 

This event is free and open to the public, ages 16+. Space is limited.

In conjunction with the free screening of Black Art: In the Absence of Light, join Indigo Arts Alliance and The Portland Museum’s PMA Films for A Live Virtual Conversation between legendary Black Art: In the Absence of Light filmmaker Sam Pollard and Indigo Arts Alliance’s Executive Director and Co-Founder Marcia Minter.

Join Indigo Arts Alliance and The Portland Museum’s PMA Films for a free screening of Black Art: In the Absence of Light on Wednesday, September 8th. 

David C. Driskell served as the Elder Advisor to Indigo Arts Alliance. His mentorship, advice and support helped to affirm and inform our unique model. Now, you can take a deeper dive into his groundbreaking work as a mentor and curator with the extraordinary documentary Black Art: In the Absence of Light, which focuses on his life and career, often through the eyes of the generations of artists, collectors, and scholars that he influenced.

This screening will be held at Hannaford Hall, 88 Bedford St. on the USM campus in Portland. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the film starts at 6:30 p.m. The film is preceded by a live musical performance by Kafari beginning at 5:45 p.m. and an introduction by Indigo Arts Alliance. Walk-ins will be accommodated based on day-of seating availability.

Join us at 6:30pm on Thursday, September 2nd at Fox Field, Kennedy Park for an evening of community, art, and abolition! We will project works from the Art on Abolition online exhibition while enjoying ‘Songs of Freedom & Captivity,’ a mixtape curated by Samuel James. There will be speakers, organizations tabling about their work, and ample opportunities to get involved! 

Speakers will include Marcia and Daniel Minter of Indigo Arts Alliance, Skye Gosselin of Maine Youth Justice, Bobby Payzant of Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, Michael Kebede of the Maine ACLU, and performances by Ali Ali and Myles Bullen.

Tabling organizations will include the Maine ACLU, Maine Youth Justice, Maine Inside Out, Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, Maine People’s Housing Coalition, the Maine DSA, and Maine Access Points. 

PLUS: Gateway Community Services will be offering COVID-19 vaccines and testing on-site! 

Freedom & Captivity is a statewide, coalition-based public humanities initiative to explore and promote abolitionist visions and organizing in Maine during fall 2021. The public launch will be held on Fox Field, Kennedy Park in Portland, ME, on September 2, 2021, at 6:30 pm.

Daniel Minter, painter, assemblage artist, 2021 Joyce Award recipient and co-founder of Indigo Arts Alliance will host an in-person collage and mixed media workshop exploring how we develop and transform the cultural landscape of the African diaspora.

Participants will draw on transatlantic themes found in African symbology, masks forms, and iconography that appear in Driskell’s artistic practice. These concepts are prevalent in African American culture and across the Americas.

As there is limited space please register by August 13.

Participants will be guided on a 90-minute walk through the city’s Old Port neighborhood, led by ABB Education Coordinator Seth Goldstein. The tour, which highlights Portland’s rich African heritage, will conclude at Indigo Arts Alliance. Here, participants will have the chance to create their own woodblock prints from the Portland Freedom Trail Markers designed by artist Daniel Minter.

Join Indigo Arts Alliance and The Portland Museum of Art in person at the Bernard Osher Foundation Auditorium from 6 – 7:30pm as we honor David Driskell’s love of the natural world through facilitated discussion between environmental activists, farmers, scholars, and artists. Panelists representing Maine’s African Diaspora will discuss the importance of understanding Black people’s relationship to the land, past, present, and future, starting with re-contextualizing our histories and exploring the resurgence of younger generations taking up the cause to correct the false narratives that have obscured Black people’s experiences with the environment and environmental activism.

Panelists include Samaa Abdurraqib (Maine Humanities Council), Phillip Dube (The Trust for Public Land), Cheryl Townsend Gilkes (Colby College), Daniel Minter (Indigo Arts Alliance), Amara Ifej (Maine Environmental Education Association), and Dawud Ummah (Ummah Enterprises).