I have curated an amazing evening of poetry and discussion with The Bookshop at Esker and Esker Foundation.
We invite you to an evening of enlightening exploration of creativity and expression with captivating poetry performances by Tanecia Cromwell (T and Poetry) and Calgary’s 6th Poet Laureate, Wakefield Brewster, as they respond to Deanna Bowen: Black Drones in the Hive. Joined by author, historian, and filmmaker Cheryl Foggo, the three will delve into a discussion about the importance of Black history, storytelling, narratives, and their impact on society.
About Cheryl Foggo:
Deanna Bowen (b. 1969, Oakland; lives in Montréal) is a descendant of two Alabama and Kentucky-born Black Prairie pioneer families from Amber Valley and Campsie, Alberta. Bowen’s family history has been central to her work since the early 1990s. She makes use of artistic gestures to define the Black body and trace its presence and movement in place and time. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (2016), a Governor General Award for Visual and Media Arts Award (2020), and the Scotiabank Photography Award (2021). Bowen is editor of the 2019 publication Other Places: Reflections on Media Arts in Canada.
About Tanecia Cromwell:
Tanecia Cromwell, known as T.and.Poetry, is a multifaceted Afro-Indigenous artist and public speaker based in Canada. Her family’s roots trace back to historical events such as The Book of Negroes, where her ancestor Jerome fought for freedom and settled in Nova Scotia in 1783. Tanecia’s journey spans from her childhood in Nova Scotia to her experiences in Toronto and Calgary, where she confronted the incomplete narrative of Canadian Black history. Following the events of 2020, she embarked on a mission to educate and advocate for marginalized communities through public speaking and poetry. Her engagements include delivering land acknowledgments, joining organizational roles, and performing spoken word at various events. Tanecia’s passion for sharing history and personal experiences drives her creative endeavors, fostering connections within Calgary’s artistic community. She continues to evolve her artistry and community engagement, welcoming new opportunities for expression and connection. Follow her journey on Instagram @t.and.poetry.
About Wakefield Brewster:
In January 1999, Wakefield Brewster stepped onto his first stage as a poet and spoken word artist. Today, he is known as one of Canada’s most powerful professional performance poets. A Black man raised in Toronto by parents from Barbados, he has resided in Calgary since 2016, and it is in the “New West” where Wakefield has been able to truly flourish as a Poet and as a person. Throughout his career, Wakefield has been published in several anthologies, such as T-Dot Griots (2004), The Great Black North (2013), The Calgary Project (2014) and The Black Prairie Archives: An Anthology (2019). Since moving to Calgary, he has produced two Professional Recordings to his credit, such as da lyrical pitbull (2007) and east2west (2008). He is a three-time Calgary Poetry Slam Champion & Team Captain (2006, 2008-2009), the inaugural Poet of Honour at the 2011 People’s Poetry Festival, a former poet-in-residence at Arts Commons and The Grand Theatre, and a member of the Canadian League of Poets. In 2021, he was named the Peter Gzowski Foundation for Literacy Calgary Poet Laureate from 2022-24, and in the 2021-22 season at Arts Commons, he was a participating artist in the TD Incubator program at Arts Commons under the guidance of Incubator Fellows Contra and Jae Sterling.
About Deanna Bowen: Black Drones in the Hive
Curated by Crystal Mowry
Organized by the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery. Circulated in partnership with the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina.
For more than twenty years, Deanna Bowen’s practice has evolved from its roots in experimental documentary video into a complex mapping of power as seen in public and private archives. Research and exhibitions are rarely mutually exclusive modes for Bowen, in part because her subjects are capable of revealing new perspectives over time. Whether it is through strategies of re-enactment or dense constellations of archival material, Bowen’s work traces her familial history within a broader narrative of Black survival in Canada and the United States.