VIRTUAL SPRING MEETING
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Schedule Overview
10:30 am: Presenter Only Meeting
11:45 am: Break for Lunch
12:30 pm: Panel Discussion: Advancing Equity in Artist-Presenter Relationships (more info below)
2 pm: Break
2:15-3:15 pm: Presenter-Affiliate "speed networking"
Affiliate and presenting members will be paired for short, relationship-building conversations. These conversations are intended to rekindle relationships, make introductions, and explore potential for future work together, but should not be “pitch meetings” or booking oriented.
3:30-4:00 pm: All Member Wrap-Up Session
ADVANCING EQUITY IN ARTIST-PRESENTER RELATIONSHIPS
How can presenters enter into supportive and equitable relationships with artists of color and those working in culturally-specific practices? Join Beatrice Thomas, a multi-disciplinary artist, creative producer and equity, diversity and inclusion consultant, Dayna Martinez, Senior Programming Director of The Ordway, and Maia Maiden, Minneapolis-based dancer, choreographer, and scientist, for an in-depth discussion about how artists can advocate for their needs and how presenters can accommodate them (including those who may be beholden to larger institutions that limit their capacity in some ways). The goal of this session is to give both presenters and affiliates actionable ideas to advance their equity work.
Guest Speaker/Moderator:
Beatrice Thomas
Beatrice Thomas, star and creator of Black Benatar’s Black Magic Cabaret and principal of Authentic Arts & Media, is a national multi-disciplinary artist, cultural strategist, social justice drag queen and creative producer. Whether through creative production, consulting or equity, diversity, and inclusion workshops, Mx. Thomas' focus is on uplifting and centering queer, transgender, and POC voices, with special attention to creating queer-inclusive family programming. They are a pillar of Drag Queen Story Hour, serving as director of the SF Bay Area chapter, on the Leadership Team for the national organization, and as a featured drag queen. Beatrice’s work has illuminated the audiences of the deYoung Museum, SF PRIDE Mainstage, CounterPulse, SomArts Cultural Center and KALW Radio, and has shown in galleries across the United States. They also serve on the national board of directors for the Association of Performing Arts Professionals and have been named a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist for 2020.
In advance of our gathering, we invite you to attend Black Benetar's Black Magic Cabaret, streaming April 2 from Utah's Kingsbury Hall. Black Benatar’s Black Magic Cabaret is an eclectic theater spectacle that fuses elements of local performance, magic, and drag performance to bring audiences on a journey through race and cultural allyship in the U.S. Learn more and order tickets here.
Guest Speaker:
Maia Maiden
Scientist by day, dancer by night, Maia Maiden aka Rah Fyah has been a leader in the dance community for over 20 years. Native of South Minneapolis, she has studied all genres of dance primarily focusing on West African, Hip Hop, and Step.
Her work has been featured in Momentum: New Dance Works 2008, the Hip Hop Theater Festival 2008 and Fringe Festival 2008 in Washington D.C., Snapshots: Reflections of Women 2010 and the Catalyst Series 2012. In 2015, she was featured in the CHANGEMAKERS Profile Series presented by Intermedia Arts.
Her passion for cultural representation in the arts has led to the creation of innumerable powerful performances including ROOTED: Hip Hop Choreographers’ Evening, the first and only choreographers’ evening dedicated to Hip Hop dance and its roots in the Twin Cities which showcases high-school level to professional-level choreographers, as well as the multidisciplinary Sistah Solo | Being Brothas, which features solo performances by women and men of color.
With sold-out shows since their inception (2009 and 2011, respectively) and on the Minneapolis City Pages A-List (2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014), ROOTED received a Minnesota Sage Dance Award for Outstanding Performance in 2014. In 2018, The McKnight Choreographer Fellowship program and The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts announced The pantsula group Impilo Mapantsula as McKnight's International Choreographers, and selected Maia Maiden Productions as their residency partner. Impilo Mapantsula, consisting of South African choreographers Vusi Mdoyi, Sicelo Xaba and Sello Modiga, premiered new work as part of ROOTED: Hip Hop Choreographers’ Evening in June 2018.
Maia is the recipient of the 2018 Ordway Sally Award for Initiative-the first Hip Hop artist awarded in any category in the awards 26th year history. This award recognizes bold new steps and strategic leadership undertaken by an individual or organization in creating projects or artistic programs never before seen in Minnesota that will have a significant impact on strengthening Minnesota’s artistic/cultural community.
She has served on numerous fellowship/grant panels and has been recognized with additional many honors including Upswell Fellow 2018, American Express Next Generation Fellow 2019, Star Tribune Fall Arts Changemakers Honoree for Dance and City Pages' People Issue Honoree: Meet the Unsung Heroes of the Twin Cities and 20/20 Springboard Fellow 2020.
Guest Speaker:
Dayna Martinez
Dayna is the Senior Programming Director at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul, MN, the ancestral lands of the Dakota people. In her current position, Dayna curates an annual season of music, dance and family programming, including the annual Flint Hills Family Festival, now in its 21st year. She holds a BA in Music from Avila University and an MA in Performing Arts Management from Columbia College – Chicago. Dayna currently sits on the boards of the Cultural STAR program of the City of St. Paul, and the St. Paul Festival Association.