Water.Bodies.Land brings leading Bay Area artists together in celebration of the black female body – Live At Somarts – July 14 & 15Tickets to go on sale Juneteenth at eventbrite and via the project website
By: Amie Cota The piece, first conceived in 2020 during Covid lock-down, began with Cota's careful selection of previously-published poems by African American women writers including such titans as Maya Angelou, June Jordan, Lucille Clifton, and Amanda Gorman. Cota placed each poem into a musical setting and arranged the resulting "art songs" for string trio and voice. She then invited collaborators Crowell and Klaymoon to choreograph dancers for an evening-length celebratory performance. "The poems are arranged to create a loose story arc," Cota explains. "We explore the themes of 'taking up space,' self-love, self-loathing, mothers, daughters, and lovers. Woven throughout these themes, are the images of the natural world: sea and land. The result is a meditation on the concepts of ownership, care, stewardship, responsibility, and freedom." "These poets and their poems have provided a refuge and a guide for me," Cota continues. "I've long turned to writers in an effort to reclaim clarity in a very confusing word. This work not only honors the black women of my country, it also honors the writers to whom I am so very grateful." Water.Bodies.Land will premiere on July 14, 2023 at San Francisco's SOMArts, with a three-show run. Tickets range from $15 - $35. Available on Eventbrite beginning June 19, 2023. July 14 – 7:30pm July 15 – 3:00pm & 7:30pm To learn more about Amie Cota and Water.Bodies.Land, please visit: http://www.amiecota.com Instagram: @cotaamie SOMArts Cultural Center, located at 934 Brannan St, San Francisco, CA 94103, leverages the power of art as a tool for social change through multi-disciplinary events and exhibitions. Learn more at: https://somarts.org/ Instagram: @somarts End
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