Weaving Art and Community : : A Night of Open Grief

As part of the Interwoven exhibition, six Colorado artists and artivists will share their expressions and experiences with grief and healing in this moving virtual “performance in the round” weaving music, poetry, community, and ritual.

Join in this special evening as we share in the tenderness of grief in all its forms — from mourning to celebration — through art and community.

This online event is curated by Gwendalynn Roebke, poet, artivist, and co-founder of BIPOC Boulder Creatives. The artists will perform from within the Interwoven installation, live-streamed to the audience. The performances will also be shared live on the Arbor Institute FB page.

We invite you to visit the Interwoven exhibition before or after the performance. View more details, open hours and other events here.

RSVP below to join in the full interactive experience. A link will be provided to all registered.

A full program will be sent prior to the event. There will be an intermission during the performance.

Artists and Performers:

Jasmine Abena Colgan
Ájené Robinson-Figuereo
Leila Browne
Alejandra Abad
Gwendalynn Roebke
Constance Harris

Jasmine Abena Colgan is an Ameri-Ghanaian artist, educator, scholar, entrepreneur and civil rights activist who was born in Colorado. Jazz is a master printer with 19th century, historical photographic printing processes including; platinum & palladium, silver and gold. Her artwork is inspired from the contemporary diaspora of mixed culture in the social world; a woman who is black and white, Irish and Ghanaian, African-American, but declares herself a part of the vitilgan race and a woman of colors and has been recognized for her efforts with her non-profit organization, Tough Skin. Colgan has been featured in publications such as PEOPLE magazine and was associated with TEDXMileHigh for Wonder: Women in Art Experience. (top, left)

Ájené Robinson-Figuereo (top, center) is a doctoral candidate studying Philosophy at the University of Colorado Boulder. She primarily works on issues centered around critical race philosophy, bioethics, and sociopolitical philosophy. In both her art and research, Ájené has an interest in examining themes of racial-gender-class justice and its connection to present-day colonial practices. (top, center)

Leila Browne is a bundle of ball moss who makes art with words, music, movement, and color based in Boulder, CO, who has represented Denver as a member of youth poetry team Minor Disturbance at Brave New Voices 2015 and 2016. They are a recent graduate of CU Boulder’s linguistics department and have plans to bring insights from sociocultural linguistics into their art, teach English abroad, and build their best queer life wherever the next few years take them. (top, right)

Alejandra Abad is an interdisciplinary artist born in Venezuela and partially raised in Florida. She creates honest narratives and symbolism based on a visual language that depicts fragmentation, mythology and folklore, with a penchant for dense, fantastical landscapes and abstract shapes. Her recent projects feature conceptual and collaborative pieces that work to break down the barriers between artist and audience. She uses analog and digital processes to create immersive environments that reflect her identity and values. Alejandra is currently pursuing an MFA in Interdisciplinary Media Arts Practices at CU Boulder and is part of the 2020-2021 Engaged Arts and Humanities Graduate Student Scholars. (bottom, left)

Gwendalynn Roebke is a Black/multiracial they/them who enjoys poems, in all forms. They also take poetry to be a thing that exists in all forms, even in less romantic ways. While they are currently a student at CU on track to attend graduate school, their ultimate aspiration in life is to learn as many languages as possible to help organize a cross continental movement against anti blackness/colonialism. Gwendalynn is co-founder of BIPoC Boulder Creatives and co-hosts a monthly BIPoC poetry open-mic at Innisfree Cafe. (bottom, center)

Constance Harris is a NJ native who is currently pursuing her Masters in Dance at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her unique style is the result of over 20 years of experience in a variety of dance genres/experiences ranging from Modern, Middle Eastern forms, nightlife entertainment, improvisation, and styles based in Africanist aesthetics. (bottom, right)