African Voices

Reel Sisters + BRIC Scriptwriting Lab: Create Strong Female Characters
2024-08-08 - 2024-08-11 | TBA
Reel Sisters + BRIC Summer Scriptwriting Lab (HYBRID)

August 8-11, 2024 @BRIC || August 11, 2024, Venue: TBA
Registration includes admission to Screenwriting Symposium!
Are you seeking a nurturing environment to revise your screenplay? Do you have a project in development and need to refine your first screenplay? Are you interested in creating strong female characters that resonate with audiences?
Reel Sisters + BRIC Screenwriting Lab is a four session course that includes a weekend intensive designed to give independent screenwriters the opportunity to work on scripts for television, film and streaming platforms like OWN, Netflix and Amazon. Join a writers’ boot camp devoted to developing risk-taking narratives and creating scripts with richly layered female characters. The Lab will accept in-person and online applicants.
Writers will work in small groups and one-on-one with veteran writer/producer Lorisa Bates, the CEO of Batesville Media, LLC and former VP of Content Strategy at BET Networks where she was responsible for greenlighting 70+ movies.
You will enjoy a weekend working in a supportive environment of professional producers, directors and screenwriters dedicated to helping you achieve your writing goals. Revise key elements of your feature length or short film script and create a dynamic elevator pitch.
Eligibility + Application: Writers must submit a synopsis (1 page maximum) and short sample of their screenplay (10 pages maximum) with a short bio (2-3 sentences). At the end of the lab, several screenwriters will have an opportunity to showcase an excerpt of their work at a staged reading hosted by Reel Sisters and BRIC in the fall. Writing teams are welcome.
Registration Fee: $225, plus Eventbrite Fees. Slots are limited so register in advance. If you are not accepted, you will receive a $200 refund (the application fee is non-refundable). You will be e-mailed a secure link to send your writing sample and synopsis shortly after you register.
ABOUT REEL SISTERS & BRIC
The Scriptwriting Lab is co-presented by Reel Sisters, the first Oscar Qualifying Festival for short narratives devoted to women filmmakers, and BRIC, the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, and one of the largest in New York City. BRIC presents and incubates new work by artists and media-makers who reflect the diversity that surrounds us. Reel Sisters Film Festival will be held on October 19-20, 2024.
For more information visit www.reelsisters.org | www.BRICartsmedia.org.

Summer Paint n' Sip
2024-07-20 16:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York) | African Voices, 325 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11238, United States
Come out for a soothing summer Paint n’ Sip event! Multi-dimensional visual artist instructor Khuumba Ama will lead this workshop. Participants will create a mandala expressing their summertime vibes. What do you love most about summer?
Let’s have fun exploring our summertime traditions together!
Join us at African Voices to commemorate this important day together through art, community, and good vibes. Price ($30) includes crafts and snacks!

About Khuumba Ama
Khuumba Ama hails from the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor of Savannah, Georgia. She now resides in Harlem, USA. She is a full-time Multi-Dimensional Visual Artist, Poet/Storyteller, Photographer, Curator, Filmmaker, Educator, and Reiki Inspirational Therapist.
She has exhibited and performed nationally and internationally. Khuumba has left her mark in Africa, throughout the Caribbean, as well as the United States.

A Juneteenth Celebration: "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
2024-06-19 13:00 - 17:00 | African Voices, 325 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11238, United States
African Voices’ Art Director, Derick Cross, is hosting a Juneteenth celebration at AV! This is a free community event and open mic.
“Pop up and let your voice be heard!” RSVP for free at this link.

Harlem Family Day
2024-06-15 13:00 - 17:00 | Maysles Documentary Center, 343 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY, 10027, United States
Join Reel Sisters for an afternoon of family-friendly films at our Harlem Family Day celebration! In addition to screening a diverse lineup of short films, there will be a children’s workshop dedicated to teaching young kids the art of filmmaking! No supplies or experience needed.

Featured shorts include Harlem Fragments, directed by Cameron Tyler Carr, and Musica Quarantena directed Lilian T. Mehrel.

Harlem Fragments
Director/Writer: Cameron Tyler Carr Producers: Flor Tejada, Collin Meath, Ben Thompson, Salma Qarnain.
Writers: Cameron Tyler Carr, Wes Andre Goodrich and Danielle Therese Dougé.
Narrative, 17 min.
An Afro-futurist scrapbook storytelling of a Harlem Black family’s beautiful destruction during the 2008 recession. A natural disaster so mesmerizing you can’t look away from the tragedy. Based on true events.

Musica Quarantena
Director/Writer: Lilian T. Mehrel
Animator: Danielle Rhoda
Animation, 3:46 min.
A little girl’s love for her bedridden Papa inspires a town in lockdown to make music out their windows. The film stars Elisa del Genio (HBO’s MY BRILLIANT FRIEND).

Tickets are $8 per person or $6 per person for groups of 2 or more, plus Eventbrite fees. Complete schedule to come soon.

Paint n' Sip: Mandalas For Juneteenth
2024-06-08 17:00 - 19:00 | African Voices, 325 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11238, United States
Come out for a special Juneteenth edition of our Paint n’ Sip event! Multi-dimensional visual artist instructor Khuumba Ama will lead this workshop. The theme is “Mandalas for Juneteenth.” Participants will create a mandala reflecting their own visual celebration of Juneteenth!
Join us at African Voices to commemorate this important day together through art, community, and good vibes. Price ($30) includes crafts and snacks!

About Khuumba Ama
Khuumba Ama hails from the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor of Savannah, Georgia. She now resides in Harlem, USA. She is a full-time Multi-Dimensional Visual Artist, Poet/Storyteller, Photographer, Curator, Filmmaker, Educator, and Reiki Inspirational Therapist.
She has exhibited and performed nationally and internationally. Khuumba has left her mark in Africa, throughout the Caribbean, as well as the United States.

Print n' Sip: Fine Arts Printmaking with Sadikisha
2024-06-07 18:00 - 20:00 | African Voices, 325 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11238, United States
Are you looking for art workshops in Brooklyn? Join us for an evening of creativity and cultural exploration at our Print n’ Paint event! Master fine arts printmaker and visual artist Sadikisha Saundra Collier will guide you through the process of creating your very own African mask print using ink and paper.
Students will experiment with making one or two prints of their own to take home. Complimentary wine will be served. Purchase your tickets here.

About the teaching artist
Ms. Sadikisha Saundra Collier is a native New Yorker, born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, N.Y. She is a multi-media artist but is primarily known and recognized as a Master printmaker. Her work ranges from prints, paintings, collage, computer graphics, and stained glass.
Sadikisha has a Master in Education from Cambridge College in Boston, a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and a Museum and Gallery Management Certificate from California College of Arts and Crafts. Her work is in the collection of Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes, The Honorable David Dinkins, The Honorable former Councilman Al Vann, Whitney Houston, Carver Bank, Thelonious Monk Jr., Valerie Bell-Bey, and a host of others.
Sadikisha has exhibited with such notable artists as Jacob Lawrence, Tom Feelings, Otto Neals, Bob Blackburn, Ernest Crichlow, Ann Tanksley, Ted Gunn, Vincent Smith, Varnette Honeywood and many others. She has also been a 2003 Nubian Women’s Circle of Art Award Honoree and a finalist in two projects with MTA Arts for transit (Utica Avenue A train and Franklin Ave. Shuttle). She was commissioned to design two images for A&B carpets, which were distributed in stores throughout the U.S. Sadikisha also designed 24 bookmarks for A&B books.
About African Voices
African Voices Communications, Inc., a non-profit arts organization, is dedicated to fostering cultural understanding through art, literature and film. Founded in 1992, our mission is carried out through public programs, arts appreciation and the publication of African Voices magazine. The magazine plays a pivotal role in helping writers and visual artists establish careers in art and publishing. Our writers have published work in poetry and fiction anthologies, while others have completed novels and memoirs. The magazine reaches 38,000+ followers via our websites and social media networks. African Voices has earned national respect among the literary community for publishing excellent fiction, poetry and artwork.

Master Class on Writing Strong Female Characters for TV & Digital Media
2024-05-30 18:30 - 20:30 | Zoom
This is a three-week virtual master class. The class meets on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 PM and Saturdays from 1 to 3 PM. See the exact dates below.
Emmy award-winning television veteran writer and film producer Valerie C. Woods will lead our master scriptwriting workshop that will cover the essentials of writing scripts for TV, Film and Digital Media. The six-session workshop will focus on giving you a strong foundation in story and character development. You will learn how to create strong and richly layered women characters as well as the nuts and bolts of writing scripts. Enjoy a nurturing and open creative environment where you will have a chance to write the first draft of your script or develop a work-in-progress. Polish log lines and beat sheets that will help you pitch your project to HBO, Disney or major television and film studios.
Get tickets here. Once you have registered you will be sent information on the process for accessing the class online. You will also be given access to a folder with your first reading assignment and the syllabus.
Class dates are as follows:

5/30/24
6/1/24
6/8/24
6/13/24
6/15/24

ABOUT REEL SISTERS & BRIC
The online workshop is being presented by Reel Sisters, the first Oscar Qualifying Festival for short narratives devoted to women filmmakers, and BRIC, the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, and one of the largest in New York City. Scriptwriting Essentials & Master Class for Writing Strong Female Characters is a Trademark of Reel Sisters. Reel Sisters will be held on Oct. 19-20, 2024 in Brooklyn.
Scriptwriting Essentials is supported by the National Endowment for the Art, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Brooklyn Arts Council, Council members Crystal Hudson and Farah Louis.
BRIC presents and incubates new work by artists and media-makers who reflect the diversity that surrounds us.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Valerie C. Woods is a writer/producer in television and film and is also a publisher, editor, and author. Her most recent work (2019-2020) was as Writer/Co-Executive Producer on Season 2 of the Netflix drama series Sweet Magnolias. She also worked in the same position for Season 4 (2018-2019) of the critically acclaimed television drama series Queen Sugar, airing on Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Currently, she is in development through her MCV Productions banner on a limited series based on Wrapped in Rainbows – The Life of Zora Neale Hurston, the award-winning biography written by Valerie Boyd and A Cowboy to Remember, a romance novel in the Cowboys of California trilogy by Rebekah Weatherspoon.
As one of four instructors trained by acclaimed screenwriter, author and teacher Syd Field, Valerie has served as Creative Director for Syd Field – The Art of Visual Storytelling platform. She also taught as Adjunct Faculty in the Stephens College Low-Residency MFA in TV and Screenwriting program (2016-2020). In Fall 2020, Valerie joined the University of Georgia as a Screenwriting Mentor in their Low-Residency MFA in Narrative Media Writing.

The Black Joy Project: Writing Workshop
2024-05-22 19:00 - 20:30 | African Voices, 325 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11238, United States
Tap into Black joy in an intimate writing workshop led by Kleaver Cruz, the creator of The Black Joy Project, a digital and real-world affirmation that Black joy is resistance.
Kleaver is a Black queer creative, writer and educator who has presented and conducted work across the African Diaspora in places like Brazil, South Africa and The Netherlands, among other countries. On Wednesday evening, May 22nd, 2024, Kleaver will present a workshop, leading students through writing exercises and prompts to inspire well-being, reflection, and, of course, Black joy.

About The Black Joy Project
International in the scale, fist-raising in the prose, and chockfull of gorgeous works by dozens of acclaimed artists, The Black Joy Project does what no other book has ever done. In words and art, it puts joy on the same track as protest and resistance … because that is how life is actually lived. Uprisings in the street, with music as accompaniment. Heartbreaking funerals followed by second line parades. Microaggressions in the office, then coming home to a warm hug and a garden of lilacs. The list goes on.
Black Joy is always held in tension with broader systemic wounds. It is a powerful, historically important salve that allows us to keep going and reimagine new ways of being. The Black Joy Project captures these dual realities to incredible, unforgettable effect.
The brainchild of educator and activist Kleaver Cruz, The Black Joy Project is an extension of a real-world initiative of the same name. It has become a source of healing and regeneration for Black people of all backgrounds and identities. Long overdue and somehow still worth the wait, The Black Joy Project is a necessary addition for any book lover, art enthusiast, or freedom fighter. And begs the question, What does Black Joy mean to you?

Reel Sisters Celebrates Women in Hip Hop & AV's 50th Issue
2024-05-17 17:30 - 21:00 | The Riverside Theatre, 91 Claremont Ave, New York, NY, 10027, United States
Join us for an evening of readings and episode screening of Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip Hop, a Netflix docuseries honoring the powerful women of hip hop music and culture. CR Capers, founder of Harlem Film House & the Hip Hop Film Festival, will lead a discussion with Crystal Whaley, co-executive producer of episode 4 of Ladies First, DJ Franchella, Liza Jessie Peterson, director/writer of Black Love Manifesto, and Evangeline Lawson, photographer and front cover artists of African Voices’ Hip Hop @50th Issue.
Derick Cross, AV Art Director and beatbox performer, will MC the event. The evening will kick off with selected readings from our issue, including a special performance by reg e gaines, a poet, playwright, director, lecturer, and artistic director of the Downtown Urban Arts Festival since 2007. He is the author of four books of poetry and is currently writing and producing The 88, with music by Calvin Gaines.
This event is FREE. Donations are welcome! To RSVP or donate, visit this link.

Book Swap Party
2024-04-20 15:00 - 16:30 | African Voices, 325 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11238, United States
Join African Voices at our Book Swap event! Admission is simple: bring along a favorite book that you’re ready to share with fellow book lovers. All genres are welcome, but in honor of Women’s History Month, the book MUST be by a woman or non-binary author of color. Come prepared to talk about the book you’ll be parting with and what it means to you! Light refreshments will be served.
We can’t wait to see you there!
To reserve your spot, RSVP at the website below.

African Voices Hip Hop @ 50 Community Day
2024-04-13 15:00 - 20:00 | The Venue, 2284 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd, New York, NY, 10030, United States
Join us for a special community day celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip hop! There will be poetry readings, a creative writing workshop, and more. Full schedule to be announced soon!
This event is FREE. Suggested donation is $7. RSVP at the link here.

Sip n' Paint: Women's History Month Celebration
2024-03-16 17:00 - 19:00 | African Voices, 325 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11238, United States
Join African Voices as we raise our glasses and brushes to celebrate Women’s History Month in style! Bring your girlfriends or come solo for an evening filled with creativity, sisterhood, and wine that keeps flowing as we celebrate the achievements of remarkable women — ourselves included! Enjoy a guided painting session in a relaxed atmosphere, led by local artist Gabrielle Lyons, where you can sip on your favorite drinks and connect with community.
Tickets are $25. To purchase, follow the website link below.
Notes: Our space is small, so please note that only ticket holders will be permitted indoors. All supplies, wine, and light refreshments are included. Please arrive on time to ensure enough time to complete your creation.
About the teaching artist:
Gabrielle Lyons is a Brooklyn-based illustrator and multimedia artist with a unique aesthetic influenced by 80s/90s illustrations, african-american spirituality, dark glamour, and magical realism. Her diverse portfolio spans digital art, mixed media, and painting, engaging with socio-economic issues, race, mythical storytelling, and pop culture references.

"Journey" Artist Talk
2024-03-02 16:00 - 18:00 | African Voices, 325 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11238, United States
Experience Journey, an art exhibition featuring the artworks of Sadikisha Saundra Collier through the dynamic lens of the artist herself. On Saturday, March 2, 2024, join us at African Voices Gallery for an Artist Talk and discover rich narratives and intricate details of Collier’s creations. Meet the artist herself and delve deeper into the inspirations behind her compelling artwork. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to view Journey one last time!

RSVP at the website below.
