2.3.2022
AFROPUNK Announces Free BLACK HERSTORY: Open Fair
Preceding Black HERSTORY Live at Lincoln Center on February 24 and 25th
Hosted From 2pm-5:30pm in the Lobby of Alice Tully Hall (2/24) and David Geffen Hall (2/25), the Open Fair Includes Showcases From Black Entrepreneurs, a Sponsored Activation by Sephora, Plus, Dancers, DJs, Slam Poetry and More
Taking Over Lincoln Center With A One-Of-A-Kind Experience, AFROPUNK’s Black HERSTORY Live Features Performances From India.Arie, Nona Hendryx, Mereba, aja monet, and Many Others
The Announcement:
AFROPUNK curates events that present the full spectrum of the Black experience, recruiting talented performers while shining a light on the artists and entrepreneurs from the local community. In conjunction with the upcoming Black HERSTORY Live, a 2-day takeover in partnership with Lincoln Center for The Performing Arts, AFROPUNK hosts BLACK HERSTORY: Open Fair, a free event that highlights talented community members and showcases Black-owned businesses. BLACK HERSTORY: Open Fair occurs at Lincoln Center before each day of the takeover, on February 24th (Alice Tully Hall) and February 25th (David Geffen Hall) from 2pm-5:30pm. Fans who attend the Open Fair will have the exclusive opportunity to purchase tickets for the evening’s event at a pay-what-you-can price.
The upcoming BLACK HERSTORY: Open Fair offers local Black artists from various disciplines to show off their skills in a friendly and welcoming environment. Performances range from slam poetry, hosted by artists Anyrah Shaveh and Njambi Morgan and featuring 5 poets per day, an all-woman DJ takeover featuring Vonnie Mack, Kola Champagne, and Nikki Anticss, and dance performances from LADIES OF HIP-HOP and standouts from The Julliard School’s dance program. Along with these performances, community members can enjoy a Jam Session hosted by The Soapbox Presents, check out the products of a host of local businesses (see the full list of businesses below), and a special AfroFuturism experience by the legendary singer-songwriter Nona Hendryx.
Amongst the celebration of Black joy and community, there will be a Sephora booth activation for attendees to enjoy. It will feature Black founders/entrepreneurs, content creators, and artists, and discussions centered around entrepreneurship, turning your passion into your purpose, and Black business. In addition, the activation will be open for people to “step in” to learn more about the speakers. As an industry-leading champion of diversity, Sephora remains guided by their long-standing company values of inclusivity and empowerment. In 2019, Sephora announced their new tagline and manifesto, “We Belong to Something Beautiful,” to reinforce its dedication to fostering belonging amongst all clients and employees and to publicly strive for a more inclusive vision for retail in the Americas.
Since its debut in North America over 20 years ago, Sephora has grown to more than 500 locations across the Americas, all while being a leader in prestige omni-retail with the mission of creating an inviting beauty shopping experience and inspiring fearlessness in our communities. With the goal of delivering unbiased shopping support and a personalized experience, Sephora invites clients to discover thousands of products from a wide selection of carefully curated diverse and inclusive brands. AFROPUNK is proud to be a part of Sephora’s mission to give back to our communities and advance inclusion in the beauty industry through its social impact and equity programming, called the Sephora D&I Heart Journey. For more information, visit: https://www.sephora.com/about-us and @Sephora on social media.
An immersive multidisciplinary experience that includes music, visual art, poetry, dance, and much more, Black HERSTORY Live honors and celebrates Black women in the performing arts. The celebration boasts an illustrious list of Black women who will lend their talents, including Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter India.Arie, Tony Award-winning actress and playwright Sarah Jones, NAACP Image Award-nominated poet and activist aja monet, critically acclaimed artist Mereba, poet, writer, and educator Mahogany L. Browne, singer-songwriter and art-rock goddess, Nona Hendryx, renowned choreographer Ebony Williams (Beyoncé, Rihanna, Ciara), and rising singer-songwriters UMI, Danielle Ponder, and Celisse.
As it continues to redefine the multicultural experience, AFROPUNK has expanded its reach and its mission to include a wide variety of events, partnerships, documentaries and programs that aim to uplift, educate and create space for marginalized communities. This performance at Lincoln Center is the epitome of the AFROPUNK ethos. Each activation will educate, entertain, and inspire.
AFROPUNK has also established a legacy as a safe space for Black alternative culture, offering a haven for attendees to show up as their most authentic selves. The end result of which is always a stunning community of people who respect, admire, and care for one another; it’s an experience unlike any other. AFROPUNK creates an anchor for its growing audience of multicultural youth through its annual music festival and other events in Brooklyn, Miami, Minneapolis, Paris, London, Atlanta, Johannesburg, and more.
With this latest endeavor, the global brand seeks to remind New York why it’s one of the most vital and vibrant cultural institutions in the city and beyond.
View more information about Black HERSTORY Live: AFROPUNK.com | LincolnCenter.org/afropunk
Access the Black HERSTORY Live press application HERE
Stay tuned to AFROPUNK on socials and text “AFROPUNK” to 718-550-6268 to stay in the loop for more announcements.
List of Black HERSTORY Live community businesses:
DEL LUVRA
JUMZ ACCESSORIES
Natty Garden
AlisonKaba
NemiGlow
Shop Akari Home
Adorned by V
UZOART
FOLKUS
Please contact Michelle, Annjie, or Destiny for more info.
The Background:
About the Performers:
India.Arie is an acclaimed singer and songwriter. She has won four Grammy Awards from her 23 nominations, including Best R&B Album. Her album Acoustic Soul debuted at number ten on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Within months Acoustic Soul was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The lead single, “Video” attained commercial success peaking at 47 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and becoming her highest-charting song in the region to date.
Sarah Jones is a Tony® Award-winning solo performer, writer, comedian and activist that has been called “a master of the genre” by The New York Times. She recently made her debut as a director with Sell/Buy/Date, in which she also stars. The film, executive produced by Oscar winner Meryl Streep, world premiered at the SXSW film festival as an opening night selection.Jones is mainly known for her multi-character one-person shows, including Broadway hit Bridge & Tunnel, originally produced by Streep, and the critically-acclaimed play Sell/Buy/Date, which inspired the film. She has also appeared in various film and TV projects, including co-starring (along with Elisabeth Shue, Giovanni Ribisi, and Julie Delpy) in the Netflix series, On the Verge. Renowned as “a one-woman global village,” Jones has given multiple main-stage TED Talks garnering millions of views, performed for President and First Lady Obama at the White House, and gave a performance at The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland as the first artist on its stage normally reserved for heads of state.
aja monet is a surrealist blues poet, storyteller, and organizer born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She’s a recipient of the legendary Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam poetry award. Her first full collection of poems is titled, My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter on Haymarket Books. Her poems explore gender, race, migration, and spirituality. In 2018, she was nominated for a NAACP Literary Award for Poetry and in 2019 was awarded the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Award for Poetry for her cultural organizing work in South Florida. Monet also co-founded a political home for artists and organizers called Smoke Signals Studio. She facilitates “Voices: Poetry for the People,” a workshop and collective in collaboration with Community Justice Project and Dream Defenders.
Mereba is a multifaceted artist with the life story of a rolling stone. Her unique blend of r&b, folk, and hip hop makes space for a new voice found in this wise young storyteller.
Nona Hendryx is a revolutionary art-rock, new-wave goddess, vocalist, songwriter, musician and multimedia artist. Tackling social issues, love and politics, Hendryx’s career spans decades of sound and style evolution. Longtime fans know her as one of the members of the groundbreaking group Labelle and their chart-topping, worldwide hit “Lady Marmalade.” Following her time with Labelle, Hendryx came into her own as a solo artist and songwriter with rock-infused records. Hendryx is also an Ambassador for Artistry in Music for Berklee College in Boston Conservatory and Berklee NYC. She curated and performed in her own production for The Metropolitan Museum, Nona Hendryx and Disciples of Sun Ra in the Temple of Dendur. Hendryx composed music for the revival of the play, Blue, and wrote two compositions for the Broadway debut of Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress. Hendryx’s work was further recognized with a grant from Jazz South Arts to compose music for the play, Young Nerds of Color by Melinda Lopez. Hendryx remains passionate about music, visual art and technology while continuing to be a prolific artist.
Mahogany L. Browne, selected as Kennedy Center’s Next 50 and Weseleyan’s 2022-23 Distinguished Writer-in-Residence, the Executive Director of JustMedia, Artistic Director of Urban Word, a writer, playwright, organizer, & educator. Browne has received fellowships from Arts for Justice, Air Serenbe, Cave Canem, Poets House, Mellon Research & Rauschenberg. She is the author of recent works: Vinyl Moon, Chlorine Sky, Woke: A Young Poets Call to Justice, Woke Baby, & Black Girl Magic. Founder of the diverse lit initiative Woke Baby Book Fair, Browne’s latest poetry collection Chrome Valley is a promissory note to survival and available from Norton/Liveright Spring 2023. As she readies for her stage debut of Chlorine Sky at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, Illinois, she drinks coffee while living in Brooklyn, NY. She is the first ever poet-in-residence at Lincoln Center.
Danielle Ponder is both empowering and a powerhouse. In 2020, NPR described her music as anthemic while compassionate; soulful, while bold and strong. For 5 years, Danielle worked as a public defender where she provided criminal defense to the indigent community. While working as a public defender, Danielle also toured Europe and scored an opening spot with George Clinton. After five years as a public defender, she made the gutsy decision to pursue her No.1 passion — music. This year, she’s had appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers, CBS This Morning, tours with Marcus Mumford, Amos Lee, St. Paul and the Broken Bones and Leon Bridges.
Celisse is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, performer, and spoken word artist. Her deep and varied career has seen her in concert with many notable musicians such as Mariah Carey, Graham Nash, Melissa Etheridge and is a founding member of Trey Anastasio’s Ghosts of the Forest. In addition to her time on tour, she has performed alongside Kesha at the 60th annual Grammy Awards, Jon Batiste on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series, and played lead guitar for Lizzo on Saturday Night Live.
Ebony Williams is a renowned dancer and choreographer, known for her incredible work with artists like Beyonce, Rihanna, Doja Cat, Ciara, Alicia Keys and countless others. She was also featured in the Misty Copeland book, “Black Ballerinas, My Journey to our Legacy” book and in the Boston Globe as one of “Boston’s Black Female Success Stories.”
About AFROPUNK:
AFROPUNK IS THE MICROPHONE OF THOUGHT AND A LENS OF PERSPECTIVE
AFROPUNK is an integrated media platform and global music festival platform giving voice to the unwritten, unwelcome and unseen. AFROPUNK is redefining the modern multicultural experience through its mission to unleash freedom of expression and to honor the power of individuality while strengthening our community. AFROPUNK creates an anchor for its growing audience of multicultural youth through its annual music festival and other events in Brooklyn, Miami, Minneapolis, Paris, London, Atlanta, and Johannesburg, while continually enhancing engagement and promoting conversation through content, commerce, and community.
AFROPUNK is devoted to creating safe spaces for the expression of Black liberation and a Black Future where we love ourselves and each other without preconception. The AFROPUNK tenets serve as a North Star and remind people to check themselves, ego and each other when we enter the shared spaces.
AFROPUNK brought its unique vibe back to where it all started with AFROPUNK Brooklyn 2022, its massively successful return to Commodore Barry Park. Its first Brooklyn event since 2019, AFROPUNK Brooklyn brought astounding headlining sets from Burna Boy and The Roots, plus performances by stars like Lucky Daye, Tierra Whack, Earl Sweatshirt, Doechii, and many more. AFROPUNK is more than a festival, it’s a celebration of life, music, food, and culture in the Black community.
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