Sankofa
Unpack the differences between appropriation and homage through the lens of Sankofa, the Ghanian concept of looking backwards at past lessons to grow with forward motion. Black women songwriters Moyana Olivia and Sharell Bryant join poet Val Rigodon and special guest Valarie Walker in music and conversation that include both original works and covers of Black creators, because it is never taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.
Doors: 7:00pm ET
Tickets:
In person*: $20
Online video (live & recorded): $10
*A two-drink minimum is required to support this venue. Wine, beer, and seltzer will all be available one-site for purchase by donation. Cash and Venmo accepted.
Limited seating is available and will be provided to any who need it. If you do not, please bring a blanket or other item that would keep you comfortable on the floor. No outside drinks but snacks are encouraged!
Valarie Walker, Moyana Olivia, Sharell Bryant, and Val Rigodon.
Moyana Olivia
Moyana Olivia is passionate about making music that makes a difference. Moyana is a member of the Royal Family Music Group Collective in Minneapolis, a co-founder of the FRESHWTR project, and an alum of the 2022 Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project. She is currently majoring in Musicology at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois to study the ways in which Black artists engender social change, restoration, and transformation through music. Her work has been commissioned by the Edina High School Choir Department and featured by the Best Buy Corporation, The View, the National Women’s March Movement, the ACLU, Northwestern University’s Office of Undergraduate Research, KMOJ radio, and many film festivals across the United States.
Moyana has previously performed in the Keepsake House show Foresight and is a 2023 Artist in Residence.
Website | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram | Youtube
Sharell Bryant
Writing from the soul, NYC-based independent songwriter Sharell Bryant ponders universal insecurities, fears and heartache with vital, pop-leaning originality. In November 2021, the songwriter released her debut EP “Turn Me into a Diamond,” bringing together almost a decade of work that offers a poignant reflection of the past, while offering an optimistic lens for the future. In recognition of her songwriting, the title track was awarded a Grand Prize in the "Folk" category of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in 2022.
Val Rigodon
Val Rigodon is a creative writer and an attorney. She was a 2019 Poets House Emerging Poets Fellow and a storyteller for The Moth. She has been published in the Fairy Tale Review and the Kaleidocast. She is a member of Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers. You can find more of her works by looking her up on the internet, and someday, in a bookstore. She one day hopes to live in a house by the sea.
Hear her story on The Moth.
With special guest…
Valarie Walker
Valarie Walker, a native of New York, is an activist, educator, artist, and a three-time winner of the Moth Story Slam. Her story about meeting hero Ruby Bridges aired on the Moth Radio Hour, and the first film she appeared in, “Watermelon Woman,” was inducted into the Library of Congress archives. She uses storytelling to heal, challenge, inspire, and connect.
Valarie has previously performed in the Keepsake House shows A Keepsake Christmas, Foresight, Sounds of the Invisible, and Americana the Beautiful and is a 2023 Artist in Residence.
Hear her story on The Moth.