Bloom Virtual Summit 2020
Join us for the first Bloom Virtual Summit, four days of workshops, networking and performances, from July 16 to 19, 2020 -- all to amplify the voices of women artists of color and support them through COVID-19.
Bloom is the annual fundraiser for In Full Color, our award-winning theatrical event featuring women of color sharing their stories, in their own voices. We give Black, Latinx, Asian, Arab, Middle Eastern, Indigenous and other marginalized women access to Authentic Representation. Be a part of the storytelling revolution today!
To get day or week passes, donate to our Fractured Atlas crowdfunding campaign here. Our goal is $1,500, which will help us provide paid work for women artists of color this fall! Learn about previous In Full Color productions or our Mission. Or, just watch the video below! All funds raise in excess of our goal will be donated to Black Lives Matter, in our continued fight against police violence and systemic racism. (For our Juneteenth overmatching campaign, we actually already raised $720 for BLM!)
All backers who pledge at least $10 will also receive a virtual swag bag featuring coupons and other fun items from small and WOC-owned businesses. A special thanks to our swag bag businesses!
UPDATE 7/19/20: Bloom Virtual Summit 2020 was a huge success! We raised $2,581 dollars -- this means $1,500 for In Full Color and, combined with other giving, $1,911 for Black Lives Matter. Meet everyone who made this possible.
If you purchased tickets and missed the event, you will receive recordings and materials. If you missed the event and fundraiser but would like to support, we accept tax-deductible donations all year-round. Donate here.
Summit Agenda
Love My Identity
Talena Lachelle Queen (Poet Laureate, City of Paterson)
7:00 pm EDT
Paterson Poet Laureate Talena Queen helps you discover your true self through poetry! Learn more about Talena’s artistry as you create as well as perform or read your own identity poem.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Talena is the first poet laureate of the great City of Paterson, where she created the city's first ever Poetry Festival. She has been recently appointed to the Grassroots Cultural Arts Commission in the same great City. Talena is an inductee to the University of Washington HALL of EXCELLENCE. She is also the founder/president of Her Best Self a program of the National Black United Fund that fosters leadership qualities in young women. Her most recent endeavor is the recently formed nonprofit Word Seed, Inc. which offers itself as a voice and a service for anyone that writes.
WHAT TO BRING AND EXPECT
Writing supplies (pen and paper or computer)
Skincare for Self-Care
Lunar Rituals Circle
7:55 pm EDT
Lunar Rituals Circle is having artist, actor and IFC alumna Emily Mun discuss how skin care can be a form of mind-body wellness. Join her in an exploration of the difference between the capitalist appropriation of “self-care” and what self-care really means as well as holistic practices and skincare. She’ll also discuss different steps in skin care, different skin types and other healing rituals and holistic practices one can incorporate for health and wellness.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Lunar Rituals Circle brings the power of the voice and holistic health practices together for healing justice. We create spaces for community and solidarity building, as we serve to uplift womxn of color.
Networking Mixer
Facilitated by Venida C. Rodman Jenkins, IFC Board Member & Alumna
8:45 pm EDT
Hang out in a virtual space with other woman artists and entrepreneurs of color, as well as WOC allies of all genders and colors! Share your social media and website links and connect with other workshop attendees and facilitators.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Venida was overjoyed to return to the stage after a long hiatus for IFC17. Her stage credits include a junior high school production of “The Wizard of Oz” where she played Dorothy with her own unique twist…the singing of “Home” from “The Wiz.” She’s also performed in plays with One Accord, a Christian-based music and theatre troupe, and emceed Teaneck’s Terpsichorean Dance Show for the last 15 years. Venida strives to boldly and uniquely use her gifts to spread healing and love, and she encourages others to do the same.
WHAT TO BRING AND EXPECT
Anything you'd like to share with our community!
Heirlooms: Poetry & Inheritance
Dena Igusti (IFC Alumna, Co-Founder, UNCOMMON;YOU)
9:10 pm EDT
How do we live with what we inherit? What is considered hereditary? What defines a lineage, and is it always bound by blood? By disposition? By tragedy? In this poetry workshop, we will write about the things that have been passed down to us, whether that be trauma, policy, identity, socioeconomic status, resilience, and more, and how to write our personal narratives without having them lost in the stories of those before us that we try or try not to honor.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Dena (she/they) is an Indonesian Muslim poet, playwright, and journalist based in Queens, New York. She is the co-founder of multidisciplinary arts collective UNCOMMON;YOU and literary press Short Line Review. She is a 2018 NYC Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador and 2017 Urban Word Federal Hall Fellow. She is a 2019 Player’s Theatre Resident Playwright for her co-written Off-Broadway production “Sharum”. She is currently an Ars Nova Emerging Leaders Fellow of Spring 2020. Her work has been featured in BOAAT Press, Peregrine Journal, and several other publications. She has performed at The Brooklyn Museum, The Apollo Theater, the 2018 Teen Vogue Summit, and several universities across the nation. Her forthcoming collection will be published with Game Over Books.
WHAT TO BRING AND EXPECT
Writing supplies (pen and paper or computer)
Love Your Body NOW!
Daniela Rincon (IFC Alumna)
7:00 pm EDT
Actress, poet and IFC alumna Daniela Rincon helps people of all shapes open a loving dialogue with their bodies. In a world that is constantly telling us we are not enough and asking of us to be perfect and thinner and prettier... How about if we just learn to love our bodies TODAY? Embrace the amazingness that moves us and fuels us and allows us to love and play and laugh. In the world we live in today, loving our bodies is an act of rebellion!
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Daniela is a Mexican-born and -raised actress, self-appointed poet and coffee enthusiast better known to her pets and neighbors as the woman who often recites Hamilton from beginning to end. She studied to be an actress but was born to be an emotional mess. Yet, she tries. Her professional experience touches all corners of the realm, from dubbing baby voices, to making Body Positive YouTube videos, to getting the role of her lifetime (Paraíso, 2014), writing, starring and producing a short film and well... Whatever she can try this week! She sings in the shower, she runs races and she will conquer the world. Just you wait!
WHAT TO BRING AND EXPECT
Writing supplies (pen and paper or computer)
Healthy Relationships 101
Nicole Cañete (IFC Alumna)
7:55 pm EDT
Poet, educator and community organizer Nicole Cañete shares tips and strategies for building healthy relationships, from boundary setting to rethinking how we connect with others.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Nicole is an educator - poet - lover - dreamer. S/he dreams of an anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, pro-people future where the roots of systemic poverty & forced migration are torn out and our world built anew for the generations to come. S/he is grateful to find community, kasamas, and comrades through Jersey City Slam, Solidarity Jersey City, Hudson Pride Center, and other local organizations. He/r homebase is GABRIELA NJ, a Filipina/x activist collective, which is just one of several arms of the movement for National Democracy in the Philippines with a socialist perspective. Also, s/he is a member of Sige!, an LGBTQIA+ Filipinx activist collective in NY. Outside of he/r creative & activist roles, s/he tries to rest from having to be a person LOL. Find he/r poetry at @confetti.trees and he/r collective @gabriela-nj
WHAT TO BRING AND EXPECT
Writing supplies (pen and paper or computer)
Latin Night Dance Break
DJ Ali de León (IFC Alumna)
8:45 pm EDT
Kick your weekend off right by shaking your hips! Or, use this time to relax and enjoy tunes spun by DJ Ali de León, also known as IFC alumna Alicia Rivas.
ABOUT THE PERFORMER
Alicia has a Bachelor’s in Theatre from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She originated the role of Sara in “Henry’s Law: A Play About Bullying.” She’s also performed at Luna Stage as Mercy in “Mercy and the Firefly” and as the female narrator in “Mi Casa Tu Casa” at Dreamcatchers Repertory Theatre. You may also know her as musical artist Ali de León. @alideleonmusic
WHAT TO BRING AND EXPECT
Your dancing shoes!
Getting Organized for the Creative Brain
Summer Dawn (IFC Founder & Director)
9:10 pm EDT
How do you plan 135 events in one year? Organization! Summer Dawn, an award-winning arts company director and professional events planner, will help you learn to manage Time, Tasks, Relationships and Goals. Her proven processes will help you efficiently produce creative events, advance your art and change your life!
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Summer is the founder and director of In Full Color, an award-winning organization that empowers women of color through education and the arts. IFC has received two commendations from the New Jersey State Assembly and the inaugural Jersey City Arts Council's Performing Arts Award.
As a professional events planner and producer, she is best known as the former Director of Events at local restaurant/bar/art gallery LITM. Here, she planned private social events as well as public promotional events.
This multi-tasking maven planned 135 total events in 2018 (109 at LITM alone) and was on pace to do the same in 2019 before she left the bar in June. She is also an actor, director, writer, production manager and teaching artist.
WHAT TO BRING AND EXPECT
Prepare to map out your personal, professional and artistic goals.
If possible, figure out what you think you need the most help organizing!
Changing Your Perspective While in Your Rites of Passage
Dujuana Sharese (in her words Alumna)
3:00 pm EDT
If you change your perspective you will change your life. Changing the way you think while in your Rites of Passage will open more possibilities of a breakthrough in your journey. If we keep doing the same things and getting the same results this workshop is for you. Many of us are afraid to think different because we are stuck in our own way. We remain in our Rite of Passage suspended in pain, angst and turmoil in which we have grown accustomed. We have forgotten that we are supposed to move through our passage. Let's begin our process of practicing different ideologies, different words and different actions. Let's start with this workshop.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Dujuana is a transformed sistah who has been gifted sound and energy by her creator. Through her bounty, she harvests writing, spoken word, poetry, comedy, master of ceremonies, acting, voice over and podcasting. The nutrition she supplies is truthful and comically sobering. If you want to be fed, contact her at dujuanasharesess@gmail.com
Our Words, Our Time: Expressing the Multifaceted Experience of Women of Color Through Creative Writing
Tantra-Zawadi and Shanna T. Melton (Poets, Artists & Educators)
3:55 pm EDT
Explore the ways women of color express self-love, joy, challenges and inspiration through creative writing. We will engage in stimulating dialogue and writing exercises that inspire self-discovery, reflection and authentic communication. This will be complemented by inspiring music of the African diaspora and concluding with love notes of inspiration for future generations of women of color.
ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
Tantra-zawadi, Brooklyn born, international performance poet, is the author of three books of poetry (“alifepoeminprogress” from Chuma Spirit Books, “Gathered at Her Sky,” and “Bubbles: One Conscious Breath,” both published by Poets Wear Prada). She is also an educator, recording artist, instigator with The Senegal-America Project, and a 2020 Brooklyn Arts Fund grantee! To hear her latest house music projects, please visit her TraxSource page or website.
Shanna is an award winning Poet, Painter and Art Educator from Connecticut. She performs, exhibits and creates performance venues for diverse communities. She received the Arts and Cultural Empowerment Award from The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County and she is one of nine leaders celebrated as a 2018 CT Arts Hero by the State of Connecticut Office of the Arts. Visit PoeticSoulArts.net for more information about this artist.
In Full Color 2019
The cast of In Full Color 2019
Video by Doug Stoveken
5:10 pm EDT
Bloom Virtual Summit is a fundraiser that will ultimately help us create the first virtual season of In Full Color, our annual theatrical event featuring women of color sharing their stories in their own voices.
See this storytelling revolution in action by watching last year's production of In Full Color. Learn more about IFC19 here.
Note: The original production featured an opening number, "Jubilation," choreographed by Brandy White of Nimbus and performed by the Nimbus Youth Ensemble on June 6 and June 9. Dancers included Janelle Acosta, Ysabelle Baculod, Zeynep Cag, Brogan Donston, Michael Fuks, Isabella Levin, Adele Mauldin, Leah Murphy, Stephanie Santiago. This footage is not available for the screening.
THE PROGRAM
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Three things I learned before becoming a woman by Rukiya Bluford
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I Am From by Amara Prato
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#NOTYOUTOO! by Cinthya Hernández, performed by Cindy AnaCaona Peralta (TW: sexual assault)
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First-Place Winner by Nancy Méndez-Booth
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Wailing at a Wall by Susannah Goya-Pack
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Anna May Wong: PERSONA by Emily Mun
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By the Light of the Ghetto Moon by RescuePoetix
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My Body by Daniela Rincon
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homecoming by Nicole Cañete
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The Voice by Phyllis Blanford
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Love Vet by Cindy AnaCaona Peralta
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Dear Undocumented Girl by Yarineth Peña Vargas, performed by Liliane Wolf
Unmasking: Who Is Your True Self?
RescuePoetix (IFC Board Member & Alumna) & Nancy Méndez-Booth (IFC Alumna)
3:00 pm EDT
Join writers and IFC alumnae RescuePoetix and Nancy Méndez-Booth for a one-hour exploration to discover your distinctive signature that you can present in professional, creative and social environments.
ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
RescuePoetix™ is a New Jersey native with deep family roots in Puerto Rico. Writing since she could remember, she found her performance voice and fell in love with Jersey City’s underground Arts diversity. She has over fifty original works recorded and developed collaborations from all corners of the world. Releases are available at a variety of online portals. RescuePoetix™ poetry is motivational, uplifting and empowering; designed to connect on a level far deeper than what the eye can perceive. Spinning verses in Spanish and English, her words weave stories of strength, growth, experience and love in its many evolving forms. @rescuepoetix
Nancy is a fiction writer who also teaches writing and Latinx literature and culture. Her work has appeared in Poets & Writers, Latina, Salon, OZY, and VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. Her work has been performed at The Moth, Cornelia Street Cafe, and Midtown International Theater Festival. She is currently developing a one-woman show with support from New Jersey Women Playwrights Program. She is a three-time IFC alumna. @nmenbooth
What Practicing Gratitude Can Do For You
Jacquese A. Armstrong (in her words Alumna)
3:55 pm EDT
In her words poet Jacquese Armstrong will share poetry and her personal experience to illustrate the many ways gracious living can enhance physical and mental health. Participants will have a chance to get in touch with what they are truly grateful for and create Gratitude Boards!
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Jacquese, author of blues legacy (2019), is the recipient of the 2019 Naomi Long Madgett Poetry award and a 2015 Ambassador Award from the State of New Jersey Governor’s Council on Mental Health Stigma promoting wellness and recovery and reducing stigma through the arts. Her works have been published in OC87 Recovery Diaries, midnight & indigo, For Harriet, A Gathering of the Tribes and Ourselves Black among others. Jacquese has been creating and facilitating mental wellness workshops since 2014.
WHAT TO BRING AND EXPECT
The gratitude board is a visual representation of the things you are grateful for. So you may use collage with magazines, glue sticks and scissors, markers, gel pens or anything you would like to draw with. Stickers are also fun. For the poster board, the smaller size would be best for the time frame.
Sunday Funday Cocktail Demo
Summer Dawn (IFC Founder & Director)
4:45 pm EDT
Learn how to make two fun summertime cocktails with Summer, our founder and director! When she's not creating art, she's often been found behind the bar at venues through Jersey City including LITM, where she was Events Director from 2016 to 2019.
Mix along with Summer or bring your own libation of choice and hang out with other WOC creatives and allies!
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
See bio for Summer Dawn above under "Getting Organized for the Creative Brain."
WHAT TO BRING AND EXPECT
To follow along with the demonstration, grab the following items at your next grocery store trip.
Cocktail 1: Tequila (well/rail quality is perfect), jalapeños (3 to 4), pink lemonade, lime juice or fresh lime
Cocktail 2: Blueberries, triple sec, vodka (any quality), white wine (your choice, ideally something balanced like sauvignon blanc)
Quarantine Show & Tell
Aurora Diaz (Founder, The Bettys)
5:10 pm EDT
This virtual get-together will feature creative minds showing and talking about their work during quarantine. Aurora will be showing The Bettys zines and talk about current art projects as well. Join us to share your work or get to know others' work. All are welcome.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Aurora Diaz is a multi-dimensional craftswoman and creative strategist born in and based out of the New York City Tri-state area. Aurora’s passion and curiosity for the arts is impressively expansive, from clay to art advocacy to curation. Aurora strives to forward the arts through her crafts work, like through her current project Bodega Flower, and innovative creative strategy. Aurora graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art-Ceramics from New Jersey City University, May 2020.
She is the founder, director and curator of The Bettys feminist art collective. Through this platform, Aurora has collaborated with over 250 creatives in innovative outlets virtually, online and in real life. The Bettys Zine, a collection of visual work of non-male artists which is single-handedly curated, published and produced by Aurora, is archived at the Thomas J. Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Special Collections and University Archive Collections at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, the John M. Flaxman Library at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago and other libraries and institutions committed to documenting significant contemporary feminist art projects and zines.
WHAT TO BRING AND EXPECT
Writing supplies (pen and paper) and whatever creative work you'd like to share!
One-Day Passes & Full-Week Passes Available!
To join the Bloom Virtual Summit, all you have to do is donate to our Fractured Atlas crowdfunding campaign here.
There, you'll be able to make a donation in any amount you choose for various rewards including day-passes and full-week passes. Your tickets will be emailed to you!
Got questions? Reach out to us at summer@infullcolor.org.
Need Help Choosing Your Day?
With our week passes, you don't have to choose which day you'd like to attend -- but if you must choose, we have four questions that can help you figure out which of our brilliant experts can help you take your next big step. Check out our quiz: How can you change your life?