KETR continues its series of special programs in honor of Black History Month on Saturday with “House/Full of Black Women”. For around eight years, 34 Black women from the Bay Area of California, including artists, scholars, medical professionals, survivors, activists and more, have gathered monthly in Oakland. These meetings include cooking, dancing, and all kinds of serious discussions.
Across these years, House/Full has created a series of performances and activations- including street processions, song circles, and historical narratives. This House/Full Radio Special was inspired by the House/Full of Black Women project, which was conceived and choreographed by Amara Tabor Smith, and co-directed by Ellen Sebastian Chang. It features interviews with sex trafficking abolitionists, personal stories of growing up in the Bay Area, music, and the dreams and personal stories of Black women.
House/Full of Black Women is part of The Keepers series produced by The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson & Nikki Silva), in collaboration with Brandi Howell and Nathan Dalton, and is mixed by Jim Mckee.
This project is supported by The Creative Work Fund, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Kaleta Doolin Foundation, The Texas Women’s Foundation, Susan Sillins, listener contribution to The Kitchen Sisters Productions & PRX.
Amara Tabor Smith is a dancer, choreographer, and the artistic director of Deep Waters Dance Theater. Tabor-Smith’s work, as described by the artist, is Afro Futurist Conjure Art. Her dance making practice utilizes Yoruba spiritual ritual to address issues of social and environmental justice, race, gender identity, and belonging.
Ellen Sebastian Chang is a storied figure in the performing arts, as a director and arts educator whose career spans 45 years. She is a recipient of awards and grants from Creative Capital, MAP Fund, A Blade of Grass Fellowship in Social Engagement, Art Matters, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, NEA, Creative Work Fund, California Arts Council, Mazza Foundation and Zellerbach Community Arts Fund.