Buckham Fine Arts Project announces new Writer In Residence program.
The Buckham Fine Arts Project, as known as Buckham Gallery, is predominantly known as a visual arts exhibition space in Flint. However it is BFAP’s mission to present high quality contemporary art, both visual and performance, for the enrichment of its surrounding communities. With the launching of the Writer In Residence program, BFAP is looking to tap Flint’s rich spring of contemporary literary arts. BFAP has also identified a lack of representation and is intentionally reaching out to BIPOC writers to be more accessible to a wider audience in our community.
BFAP’s new Writer in Residence program engages literary artists to respond to each of BFAP’s gallery exhibitions in their contemporary literary art form. Each residency will culminate in a publication of writing produced during the project. The selected literary artist will be awarded a honorarium for their work.
BFAP’s new Writer in Residence program engages literary artists to respond to each of BFAP’s gallery exhibitions in their contemporary literary art form. Each residency will culminate in a publication of writing produced during the project. The selected literary artist will be awarded a honorarium for their work.
Buckham is pleased to announce the second Writer in Residence, Natasha Thomas.
Photo courtesy of Lyn Williams
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate with Natasha and promote her literary arts. Buckham is always looking to support artists while providing opportunities to engage with challenging contemporary art and experience new ways of looking and thinking,” explained Buckham Executive Director Michele Leclaire.
Natasha Thomas is a writer, performance artist, political organizer, community strategist, and visual curator with 20 years of experience working in the fields of arts-activism, public administration, public health, holistic wellness, spirituality, and advocacy. She is the current founder/director of The Nadoma Center for Social Justice & Spiritual Transformation and the Genesee County Coordinator for the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health. In both her personal and professional lives, she is guided by the values, principles, practices, and rituals of liberation movements and ancestral wisdom traditions.
Natasha Thomas is a writer, performance artist, political organizer, community strategist, and visual curator with 20 years of experience working in the fields of arts-activism, public administration, public health, holistic wellness, spirituality, and advocacy. She is the current founder/director of The Nadoma Center for Social Justice & Spiritual Transformation and the Genesee County Coordinator for the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health. In both her personal and professional lives, she is guided by the values, principles, practices, and rituals of liberation movements and ancestral wisdom traditions.
Photo courtesy of Emily O. Photography, copyright 2021
BFAP’s first writer for the residency is Shea Phire Cobb, a.k.a. Phire Sis.
Shea Phire Cobb lives and works in Flint, Michigan, where she was also born and raised. She is an artist, mother, author, musician, and founder of The Sister Tour, a platform that promotes female artistry. She began her artistic career by performing poetry during children’s summer programs and organizing poetry showcases in her community. Her books of poetry include Travels in my Car: Dedicated to the Writers Freedom (2018), Honey Tea and Hibiscus: Reflective Heart Poetry (2018), and Ruby in The Rough: A Dedication to LaToya Ruby Frazier (2020), which she co-authored with Amber Hasan. She studied communications at the University of Michigan–Flint and Mott Community College. In 2014, she began an ongoing collaboration with LaToya Ruby Frazier focused on the Flint Water Crisis. With Frazier and The Sister Tour, Cobb has traveled across the country telling the story of her community and the Flint Water Crisis. She has led programs at, among others, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise in New York, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where she also performed an original play, Surviving Womanhood.
In the news:
Flintside: Get to know Buckham Gallery's first Writer in Residence Link
Shea Phire Cobb lives and works in Flint, Michigan, where she was also born and raised. She is an artist, mother, author, musician, and founder of The Sister Tour, a platform that promotes female artistry. She began her artistic career by performing poetry during children’s summer programs and organizing poetry showcases in her community. Her books of poetry include Travels in my Car: Dedicated to the Writers Freedom (2018), Honey Tea and Hibiscus: Reflective Heart Poetry (2018), and Ruby in The Rough: A Dedication to LaToya Ruby Frazier (2020), which she co-authored with Amber Hasan. She studied communications at the University of Michigan–Flint and Mott Community College. In 2014, she began an ongoing collaboration with LaToya Ruby Frazier focused on the Flint Water Crisis. With Frazier and The Sister Tour, Cobb has traveled across the country telling the story of her community and the Flint Water Crisis. She has led programs at, among others, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise in New York, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where she also performed an original play, Surviving Womanhood.
In the news:
Flintside: Get to know Buckham Gallery's first Writer in Residence Link