EastSide Arts Alliance and NAKA Dance Theater present:

Power + Imagination

LIVE ARTS IN RESISTANCE (LAIR)

Back and FORTH

Featuring:
Poetess/ARTivist
Nicia De’Lovely

It is a cypher. It is how our bodies, words, music and art manifest our experiences inside and outside of oppressive systems. It is how we transcend, heal, and continue to vision forward our reality/existence on earth.

Join us for a series of experimental performances and conversations with Oakland-based Black artists riffing on subjects such as: making art in a pandemic, Oakland life and dreaming forward in the age of Aquarius. Instigated by Amara Tabor-Smith, these embodied conversations will flirt with magic, failure, rage, and freedom -- all while surrendering to the unexpected creative spirit of the moment.

Oakland, CA native Nicia De'Lovely is an acclaimed published poet, creative, multifaceted artist, anti child-molestation/CSEC advocate, community servant and spirited survivor. She creates provocative survivor-based performances for education and healing of sexual traumas and other offenses committed against our marginalized populace under the production name, "Nicia De'Lovely Presents." In 2019 her provocative one-woman debut show, GET UNCOMFORTABLE, earned her a Best of the San Francisco Fringe Award.

Since 2004 Nicia has sown compassion throughout the Bay Area by holding healing gatherings and reciting at women shelters, community centers, places of worship, grade school campuses and universities. As a former event coordinator for Sony Ent., she lends her skills to non-profit fundraisers, while continuing to host her own empowering community events throughout the year. Her once monthly Pad-bag Pop-up has become an anticipated event, where she invites community to join her in passing out toiletries to our displaced sisters.

In 2018, Nicia was called by her mentor Regina Evans to participate in a significant project designing a healing wall for Conjure and Mend, a safe haven for survivors and Abolitionists of CSEC, co-owned by Amara Tabor-Smith. The experience further nurtured Nicia’s enthusiasm for using multiple textures to create mesmerizing altars and backdrops. Since then, she has added textile artist and scenic designer to her portfolio, with work appearing in local premier productions.

Diego Ortiz / Creative Designs @juanfelipedetodoslossantos