30 years ago when I was 6 years old, my mother anita stewart, a theatre and education major enrolled at the jamaica school of drama, wrote her graduating thesis entitled ‘dubbin theatre: dubpoetey as a theatre form.’ in her paper she theorized dubpoetry by interviewing the pioneers (herself included). her idea was that through dub, jamaican people (descended from enslaved african peoples) could liberate ourselves from colonial and internal oppressions. it is this very essay that I re-discovered 10 years ago that is the foundation of ‘the sorplusi method’ a self-actualization and art creation methodology. fast forward 30 years later and I am about to walk into a room comprised of a cross-generational group of continental and diasporic african frontline workers, artists and arts-educators, using the sorplusi methodology as the framework of the stephen lewis foundation’s inaugural international arts academy. full circle…mom’s birthday is this week. HAPPY EARTHSTRONG MOM. without u there is no me…thankyou and ase as u continue to bring and r/evolution to the world…p.s the dedication at the front of the eassay mom wrote said ‘to trudy-ann (one of my given names by my mother) who needs to understand.’ mom I am slowly deepening my innerstanding :) – d’bi.young anitafrika

Notisha Massaquoi is currently the Executive Director of Women’s Health in Women’s Hands Community Health Centre – The only Community Health Centre in North America for Racialized Women. She is also a lecturer for the Faculty of Social Work at Ryerson University. Her research and publications address access to health care for racialized communities in Canada and anti-oppression service delivery. She is the winner of the IRN-Africa Audre Lorde award for excellence in queer writing and she is the co-editor of the anthology Theorizing Empowerment: Canadian Perspectives on Black Feminist Thought .

the art(is)t shaman project collective

presents

the art(is)t shaman sessions: sacred gatherings at the crossroads of the personal, political, and spiritual in womyn’s heART and lives

hosted by d’bi.young anitafrika, using the principles of the sorplusi methodology: self-knowledge, orality, rhythm, political content and context, language, urgency, sacredness and integrity, the art(is)t shaman sessions seek to investigate and negotiate the ways in which artists engage in rights of passages, culturally and spiritually self-initiate, and create ritual processes in their art-making through (w)holistic practices. featuring local and international artists, the series explores the spiritual role of artists within the community, the role of the storyteller as healer to the community and the process of self-actualization of individual and collective.

including a featured guest in conversation with d’bi., performances and collective knowledge creation, the series connects the personal with the political, the universal with the collective, through its focus on collective healing, while negotiating triumph and trauma among black womben and wimmin of color artists.

scheduled guests include notisha massaquoi – executive director of womens’ health in women’s hands, raven dauda – actor, singer/songwriter, arts educator, ngozi paul – co artistic director of bcurrent, actor, producer, motion – poet, playwright, mc.

the nine months ritual culminates in sacred groundings, the art and (w)holistic health component of the piece of mine festival.

the asp collective comprises of d’bi.young anitafrika, hawa mire, rania el mugammar, natasha adiyana morris and chiedza pasipanodya.

the art(is)t shaman project  collective

presents

the art(is)t shaman sessions: sacred gatherings at the crossroads of the personal, political, and spiritual in womyn’s heART and lives

hosted by d’bi.young anitafrika, using the principles of the sorplusi methodology: self-knowledge, orality, rhythm, political content and context, language, urgency, sacredness and integrity, the art(is)t shaman sessions seek to investigate and negotiate the ways in which artists engage in rights of passages, culturally and spiritually self-initiate, and create ritual processes in their art-making through (w)holistic practices. featuring local and international artists, the series explores the spiritual role of artists within the community, the role of the storyteller as healer to the community and the process of self-actualization of individual and collective.

including a featured guest in conversation with d’bi., performances and collective knowledge creation, the series connects the personal with the political, the universal with the collective, through its focus on collective healing, while negotiating triumph and trauma among black womben and wimmin of color artists.

scheduled guests include notisha massaquoi - executive director of womens’ health in women’s hands, raven dauda - actor, singer/songwriter, arts educator, ngozi paul - co artistic director of bcurrent, actor, producer, motion - poet, playwright, mc.

the nine months ritual culminates in sacred groundings, the art and (w)holistic health component of the piece of mine festival.

the asp collective comprises of d’bi.young anitafrika, hawa mire, rania el mugammar, natasha adiyana morris and chiedza pasipanodya.