Black women artists based in the United States who center their work in stories and narrative – and are focused on issues related to systemic racism and criminal justice reform – have until September 22 to apply for the new BAC Artivism Fellowship.
The fellowship, presented by the Broadway Advocacy Coalition (BAC), will support a group of women over the course of six months and will culminate in a digital presentation of their work. There will be regular virtual gatherings of the fellows, BAC staff, and mentors over the course of six months. At the beginning of the fellowship, fellows will be provided with a calendar of activity and will be expected to attend all sessions.
The fellowship is designed to support artist-activists using their tools to have an impact on the world around them, providing financial support, mentorship, networking opportunities and education workshops. It will begin in December and run through May 2021. The Broadway musical “Wicked” is the lead sponsor.
The nominating committee for the fellowship includes Zakiyah Ansari, Amber Iman, Andy Jean, Imani Mflame and Liza Jessie Peterson.
Zakiyah Ansari is a parent organizer and advocacy director for the New York State Alliance for Quality Education. “I believe no one has the right to tell somebody their experience is wrong, and that’s why stories matter on all these fronts,” she has said in an interview. She said she is working to creating “a pipeline of intergenerational Black and Brown parent and youth organizers. You start building confidence in communities by empowering each other.”
A founding member of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, Amber Iman made her Broadway debut as the High Priestess of Soul, Nina Simone, in “Soul Doctor.” She played Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds in the national tour of “Hamilton.” She made her television debut as Shay in the hit HBO show, “High Maintenance.” She is most proud of her first, award-winning short film, “Steve.”
Andy Jean is a New York-based Stage and Film Costume Designer who has worked at the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, and Santa Fe Opera. Her shows include “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord,” “One in Two,” “Siblings Play,” “Amen Corner,” “Rags Parkland,” “Good Grief,” “Othello,” “Wig Out!,” “Playboy of the West Indies,” “A Doll’s House” and highly acclaimed “What to Send Up.”
Imani Mflame is the lead organizer of the Community Defense of East Tennessee Participatory Defense Hub in Knoxville. She has been reported saying at a Knoxville City Council meeting that “racial justice looks like liberty. It is freedom from persecution and the freedom of movement and to life. It is the freedom to be who you are unapologetically.”
Liza Jessie Peterson is best-known for her one-woman show “The Peculiar Patriot,” which is based on her experience teaching in prisons and which she toured nationally to 35 jails and penitentiaries. She started as a poet with the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, which later turned into Def Poetry. Her spoken word poems “Ice Cream Fiend” and “Waitress,” which both were aired on the HBO show, “Def Poetry Jam.”
Founded in 2016 by members of the Broadway community as a direct response to the nation’s pandemic of racism and police brutality, the Broadway Advocacy Coalition is a multidisciplinary organization which unites artists, legal experts and community leaders to create lasting impact on policy issues from criminal justice reform to education equity to immigration.
Applications are due by September 22 at 11:59 p.m. ET. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/BAC-artivism.