TruArtSpeaks

Re-Verb Open Mic
2022-06-02 18:00 - 20:00, 2022-05-26 18:00 - 20:00, 2022-05-19 18:00 - 20:00, 2022-05-12 18:00 - 20:00, 2022-05-05 18:00 - 20:00, 2022-04-28 18:00 - 20:00, 2022-04-21 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Flava Coffee & Cafe, 623 University Ave W, St Paul, 55104, United States
A free, all-ages space for creatives to share, engage in critical dialogue, and build community with one another; Re-Verb Open Mic takes place every Thursday evening from 6:00-8:00 pm at Flava Coffee & Cafe. Many of our favorite hometown and National artists have stopped into Re-Verb Open mic to share a song, a poem, some comedy, or music with us— we hope you do too!
The sign-up process is first-come, first serve, and we average about 15 available slots per evening. For more information on Re-Verb Open Mic, to know more about the culture of the space, or to inquire about being a feature, please head to our contact page and leave a note!
For more information on Re-Verb Open Mic, to know more about the culture of the space, or to inquire about being a feature, don’t hesitate to contact info@truartspeaks.org.
*Dj JUST NINE will be present every first Thursday as a feature.

Sunday Dinner (Q2 of 2022)
2022-05-22 14:00 - 17:00 | Zoom, Online
Sunday Dinner is a quarterly cultural gathering space for Black Minnesotans to convene, break bread, dialogue, and build collective power through the ritual of Sunday Dinners. This joy-centered and multifaceted event offers Black Minnesotans a space amongst themselves to discuss the current social circumstance within the community, their role in it, and what can be done to improve the social circumstance for Black folx.
About This Second Quarter Event
Hosted by Tish Jones and catered by Soul Bowl MN, Sunday Dinner invites us to a Lorde-style Kitchen Table talk conversation centering on the opportunities to work together to create a healthier social circumstance for Black people in Minnesota.
There will be a musical performance by The Lionness, DJ MV on the decks, breakout rooms for small group conversations, performances, prize giveaways, and more. This event will have limited ticket sales to be mindful of the catering and meals available for distribution, so register now to reserve your seat and be a part of the conversation!
Meal delivery is available only to Saint Paul and Minneapolis residents (with some surrounding suburb support). However, if you are outside of the delivery area and still wish to attend, please choose the appropriate ticket option, as we would love to have your voice, energy, and presence during our gathering!
Register Now for Sunday Dinner

Level Up: Manuscript Writing with Khary Jackson
2022-05-09 17:00 - 18:30 | Zoom, Online
This workshop will be focused on how one might approach the sequencing of their poems in a manuscript. Whether a “full length” or a shorter collection, participants will be able to consider and discuss the impact that a thoughtful and creative poem sequence can have on the reader’s experience.
About Khary Jackson
Khary Jackson is a writer, dancer, and musician. Khary is an alumnus of Cave Canem, the esteemed writing fellowship for Black writers. Khary’s poetry book, Any Psalm You Want, was published with Write Bloody Publishing in the spring of 2013.
General Program Overview
Level Up is a more accessible space for you to continue your development and education as a professional and/or practitioner in your respective area of interest, at an affordable price. Facilitated by artists, arts leaders, and professionals from within the TruArtSpeaks network, there will be a new lead facilitator and topic each session, so please visit the website for the full schedule and come as you need/desire. If you are an artist, organizer, or anything in between and are looking to gain skills in grant writing, lesson planning, using social media to shift the narrative about your community, or if you are seeking to learn best practices as a community organizer or more— this space is for you.
Sliding scale admission is available; please pay what you can and join us as we invest in our community.
Register via Eventbrite

We Are Meant to Rise Virtual Panel Discussion
2022-04-30 12:00 - 15:00 | Zoom, Online
We Are Meant to Rise: The Poetry of Social Movements is a panel discussion featuring Douglas Kearney, Arleta Little, Sun Yung Shin, Michael Torres, Kevin Yang, and moderator Danez Smith on April 30th, 2022, from 12-2p.
Inspired by their contribution to We Are Meant to Rise: Voices of Justice from Minneapolis to the World, edited by Carolyn Holbrook and David Mura, these writers will be closing out poetry month via performance and dialogue illuminates and expounds on the role of art and poetry in social movements. Tickets are free, but registration is required for this online event. Spread the word! This event is powered by TruArtSpeaks and More Than A Single Story.
Register via Eventbrite:

Level Up: Augmented Reality & Social Justice with Adam Davis-Mcgee
2022-04-05 08:00 - 17:00
Details coming soon

Level Up Workshop
2022-03-14 17:00 - 19:30 | Zoom, Online
An affordable professional development series for artists, organizers, and community leaders.
Zooming In: Making Our Values Real Through Both Art And Action on March 14th: The first installment of the Level Up series will explore one of the most pressing questions artists face today: what are our roles and responsibilities in times of great crisis, uncertainty, and transition? How can our art support movement-building work… and do we have more to offer beyond that art? Through shining a light on historical examples of how artists have answered these questions and uplifting some present-day and local examples, we’ll attempt to “zoom in” from these big questions down to some specific actions we can take and practices we can cultivate.
General Program Overview
Level Up is a more accessible space for you to continue your development and education as a professional and/or practitioner in your respective area of interest, at an affordable price.
Facilitated by artists, arts leaders, and professionals from within the TruArtSpeaks network, there will be a new lead facilitator and topic each session, so please visit the website for the full schedule and come as you need/desire. If you are an artist, organizer, or anything in between and are looking to gain skills in grant writing, lesson planning, using social media to shift the narrative about your community, or if you are seeking to learn best practices as a community organizer or more— this space is for you.
Register for your slot. Sliding scale admission is available; please pay what you can and join us as we invest in our community.

Sunday Dinner (Q1 of 2022 ) Hosted by Danez Smith
2022-02-27 15:00 - 17:00 | Zoom, Online
Sunday Dinner is a quarterly cultural gathering space for Black Minnesotans to convene, break bread, dialogue, and build collective power.

About this event

This joy-centered and multifaceted event offers Black Minnesotans a space amongst themselves to discuss the current social circumstance within the community, their role in it, and what can be done to improve the social circumstance for Black folx. There will be music, breakout rooms for small group conversations, performances, prize giveaways, and more.
Hosted by Danez Smith, our first Sunday Dinner of 2022 invites us to a Lorde style Kitchen Table talk conversation centering on the opportunities that we have to work together to create a healthier social circumstance for Black people in Minnesota. What can we do? What do we want to see? What are the resources that we have already?
In addition to these critical conversations, we invite all attendees to lean into Sunday Dinner, Black History Month, and all who came before us by preparing a dish that has been passed down to you by a loved one.
Can’t wait to build with you. For questions, please contact info@truartspeaks.org – thank you!

How We Imagine: Creative Expression
2021-09-25 13:00 - 17:00, 2021-09-18 13:00 - 17:00 | Springboard for the Arts, 262 University Avenue West, Saint Paul, MN, 55114, United States
“How We Imagine: Creative Expression”
Join TruArtSpeaks at Springboard for the Arts on September 18th and 25th from 1-5p for a multidisciplinary arts exhibition and practice space that invites you to explore the limitless ness of your creativity through dance, movement, breath, poetry, visual arts and more. Free food and literature available while supplies last!

Performances & Creative Expression Stations:
Body & Breath: Kinshasha Kambui will lead two all ages, all abilities, movement & breath based that center healing, expansion, and mindfulness—all core components of creative expression.
Hip Hop Dance: Master Hip Hop Dance Artist & Instructor, Herbert Johnson III will lead one youth based Hip Hop Dance lesson and one Adult based Hip Hop Dance session inviting folx to imagine the ways in which creative expression exudes from the body and challenging participants to consider the expressive nature of Hip Hop based movement.
DJ HUH What?!: Will be holding down the 1’s & 2’s creating an atmosphere rooted in Hip Hop exploration of creative expression and artistic freedom. A family friendly set, this will be a mix of movement music and creative genius selected to inspire every listener to think deep and move.
Mainstage: The TruArtSpeaks mainstage will feature poetry and rap performances by ShaVunda Brown, Malik “Juice Lord” Curtis Khary Jackson, Sagirah Shahid, and more. Inviting you to witness cultural practitioners exercising their creativity in real time.
Visual Arts Station: A visual art station for anyone who wants to practice their hand styles, tags, etc. There will also be chalk spray, Hip Hop stencils, canvas and more, all to allow you another entry point into how you imagine creative expression.
Food & Drink: Creativity feeds the spirit; the body must be fed as well. At TruArtSpeaks, we try to ensure that we nourish the whole person as a part of creative and cultural practice when in community with others.
GIF corner: What does creative expression look like to you? Is it a silly face, a series of photos, sharing the art you created with the world, your posse or crew? Create a GIF, tag @TruArtSpeaks and use the hashtag “#TruArtSpeaks” when responding to the prompt: “I imagine creative expression by…” to be featured in our IG, Twitter and social media stories as the day goes on.
WE-WIN INSTITUTE: Through a partnership with WE-WIN Institute, we are continuing a core component of our literacy advocacy by holding space for people to read and engage with books as an access point to creative expression. WE-WIN will be giving away books, making buttons and creating other memorable pieces of art as a part of this exploration of imagination.

Sunday Dinner!
2021-08-29 15:00 - 18:00 | Zoom, Online
Sunday Dinner is a quarterly cultural gathering space for Black Minnesotans to convene, break bread, dialogue and build collective power through the ritual of Sunday Dinners. This joy centered and multifaceted event will walk you through the creation of a dish that Black people made famous in America, Macaroni & Cheese. Or, to be more specific, Queen Drea’s famous, “Black & Cheese!” We encourage you to plan ahead, pick up groceries if you’re interested in making this dish alongside Queen Drea and add any other sides or main dishes to your personal experience in your home kitchen!
To register, view the ingredient list and learn more, visit the registration page here.

The Village Project
2021-06-26 12:00 - 15:00 | ARTS-Us, 1221 Marshall Avenue, Saint Paul, MN, 55104, United States
The Village Project: A Resource Fair for Black Youth & Families on Saturday, June 26th from 12-3p at ARTS-Us. This event will feature free resources in the form of books, meals, body work, mental health resources, haircuts, bus cards an arts & culture stage and more! Save the date and join us as we resource one another through a practice of community care!

Echo Monthly Writing Circle
2021-06-03 17:30 - 18:30 | Zoom, Online
A free, all ages, monthly writing circle from 5:30-6:30p CST every first Thursday of the month, just before Re-Verb Open Mic!

Sunday Dinner
2021-05-23 12:00 - 15:00 | Zoom, Online
Sunday Dinner is a quarterly cultural gathering space for Black Minnesotans to convene, break bread, dialogue and build collective power through the ritual of Sunday Dinners. This joy centered and multifaceted event will offers meal subsidy and delivery (while supplies last), music, breakout rooms for small group conversations, performances and more.
The start of this decade has rendered us somehwat unable to connect with our broader community- Sunday Dinner is designed to bridge that gap and make space for continued connection with our loved ones. Be prepared to show your face, prepare and show your meal (unless opting for food delivery, in that event you would just showcase your meal) and to listen, laugh, learn and lend ideas alongside other members of the Black community in Minnesota.
This iteration of Sunday Dinner is powered by TruArtSpeaks in partnership with the Healing Justice Foundation and Time of Reckoning and presents a unique opportunity for us to take some of our kitchen table talk back to elected officials and policy makers so that they can make change on behalf of our community and what we desire. If you would like to lend your voice, you can opt into a breakout room with the intention of doing so. If not, you can hang back in the main room for guided community conversation and music and more.
Sounds by DJ Digie
