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.
“This residency is specifically designed to engage with writers in our community. It’s an opportunity for literary artists to immerse in their appreciation of visual arts by experiencing the exhibits in the gallery. They then create compositions in response to our exhibitions. This collaboration between Buckham and our literary artist will culminate in a publication featuring their art and images from our exhibitions,” said Buckham’s director, Michele Leclaire.
“This residency is specifically designed to engage with writers in our community. It’s an opportunity for literary artists to immerse in their appreciation of visual arts by experiencing the exhibits in the gallery. They then create compositions in response to our exhibitions. This collaboration between Buckham and our literary artist will culminate in a publication featuring their art and images from our exhibitions,” said Buckham’s director, Michele Leclaire.
Buckham Fine Arts Project is pleased to announce its first Writer In Residence: Shea Phire Cobb.
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.
Buckham Fine Arts Project has a longstanding history in Flint’s arts community. It has however identified a lack of representation and is intentionally reaching out to BIPOC writers to be more accessible to a wider audience in the community.
“Shea is the most amazing person. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with and promote her art. There is so much creative energy in Flint and 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 Leclaire.
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.
Buckham Fine Arts Project has a longstanding history in Flint’s arts community. It has however identified a lack of representation and is intentionally reaching out to BIPOC writers to be more accessible to a wider audience in the community.
“Shea is the most amazing person. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with and promote her art. There is so much creative energy in Flint and 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 Leclaire.