A VIRTUAL celebration of Black Storytelling: Jan. 22-30, 2022

Photos by Jonathan Pitts-Wiley

FESTIVAL PASSES AVAILABLE!

2022 Guest Tellers and Artists

This much anticipated and highly visible event is the flagship of RIBS programming and reaches a statewide audiences of thousands. Each January for the week of the Martin Luther King Holiday, RIBS tellers, local artists and invited national and international guests bring the best of Black Storytelling to Rhode Island and Southern New England. For an entire week, Rhode Island will experience some of the best cultural arts programming across the state for the 24th year in a row.

Chetter Galloway

Chetter Galloway

Virginia native Chetter Galloway grew up hearing his father tell stories on Sunday road trips. One of his favorite stories was The Talking Skull, a West African cautionary tale where a man loses his head! So, it’s no wonder that his background is rooted heavily in the African oral tradition. Chetter is a graduate of East Tennessee State University with a Master of Arts degree in Storytelling. He has performed at venues such as the National Blacks Arts Festival, National Association of Black Storytellers Festival, National Parks Service, the Smithsonian and collaborated with schools through Young Audiences.

Currently he serves on the Board of Directors for Kuumba Storytellers of Georgia and is a member of Toastmasters International. Chetter is also an avid runner who enjoys creating stories while he’s running! Engaging and entertaining, he invites you to Feel the Rhythm and Live the Story!

READ ABOUT CHETTER

ESHU BUMPUS

Eshu Bumpus

Eshu Bumpus captivates his audience by telling a variety of African, African-American and World folktales leavened with music, humor and mystery.

Eshu is a renowned storyteller, an accomplished jazz vocalist and a master at physical characterization. He has performed on the Exchange Place stage at the National Festival (1998), and performed 36 sold out shows in 13 days at the Smithsonian (1997). After appearing at the 10 Annual Connecticut Storytelling Festival (1991), Eshu was acclaimed as," … a fresh, responsible and knowledgeable voice... distinct and compelling... the hit of the Festival.

Eshu Bumpus' love for working with children began when he was just a child himself. At the age of 12, he began tutoring young children in math, nurturing their understanding and encouraging learning. In 1976, while a student at Hampshire College, he began teaching at an alternative elementary school housed at the University of Massachusetts. He would write stories based on the children's history assignments that they would then perform as plays. It was then that he realized working with children and the arts would be his calling.

In 1980, together with a group of parents and educators , he began an after-school program in Amherst which served four of the town's five elementary schools. This program which emphasized the arts and world cultures, grew into a summer program entitled Adventure Playground that is still operating. In 1982, he created and directed a program called Summer Theater Arts (STARTS) Which evolved into the program we now know as Capacidad. At the heart of the program were the folktales that the children would select and Mr. Bumpus would turn into scripts. Throughout that time, he also became know as a storyteller, visiting schools and offering writing workshops and drama residencies throughout the area. To date, this multitalented artist has presented programs in 26 different states across America.

Among his other interests are coaching chess and working with incarcerated young people and computers. His work with juvenile offenders in Maryland led to a pilot program in which young people learned to build computers.

READ ABOUT ESHU

MARIA BROOM

Maria Broom

Although nationally known as an actress for her recurring roles in HBO’s “The Wire” and “The Corner”, Maria is also a storyteller and dancer with more than forty years of performing and teaching in the US and across the globe. She is a Fulbright scholar and former news reporter for the ABC affiliates in Miami and Baltimore. Currently, she is on the theater faculty at the Baltimore School for the Arts. A native of Baltimore, Maria has received many awards and honors including the Eubie Blake Award, the Sarah’s Circle Award and the 2004 Governor’s Arts Award for Individual Artist. In 2007, she was named, Artist of the Year by Young Audiences of Maryland, Inc. In addition to her work as a performer and educator, Maria is much requested as a speaker and presenter. With a background in yoga, meditation, Homa therapy and dance therapy, she conducts staff retreats, workshops and weekly classes that help people to release stress and feel at peace. Formerly, the diversity coordinator for the Park School in Baltimore, she has been a consultant since 2006 for Maryland Public Television’s Campaign for Love and Forgiveness, sponsored by Fetzer Institute. As a recipient of an Open Society Institute community fellowship grant, Maria established a unique mentoring program in the inner-city schools, and beyond, called the Dance Girls of Baltimore. It is through this vehicle that she passes on the values of self-discipline and thoughtful behavior. In 2007, Maria worked in Poland and Czechoslovakia co-directing the independent film “Soul Immortal” released in 2010.

READ ABOUT MARIA

Antonio Rocha

Antonio Rocha

Antonio Rocha, a native of Brazil, began his career in the performing arts in 1985. In 1988 he received a Partners of the Americas grant to come to the USA to perform and deepen his mime skills with Mime Master Tony Montanaro. Since then he has earned a Summa Cum Laude Theater BA from USM (University of Southern Maine) and studied with Master Marcel Marceau. Mr. Rocha’s unique fusion of mime and spoken word has been performed from Singapore to South Africa and many places in between including 16 countries on 6 continents. Some of the venues include The Singapore Festival of the Arts, Wolf Trap, The National Storytelling Festival, The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution, The National Geographic, The Tales of Graz in Austria, Dunya Festival in Holland as well as many other Storytelling Festivals and educational institutions around The USA.

Antonio has three very entertaining and educational award-winning DVDs, a picture book, and a few awards including the coveted Circle of Excellence Award by the National Storytelling Network.

READ ABOUT ANTONIO

Paul Keens-Douglas (DLITT)

Paul Keens-Douglas (DLitt)

Known as TimTim in the theatrical world, Paul Keens-Douglas is one of the most eloquent and best-known raconteurs and social commentators in the English-speaking Caribbean. Born in Trinidad he spent his early childhood in Grenada where he attended Presentation Boys College.

He holds diplomas in Commercial Broadcasting and Radio/TV Production from Announcer Training Studios and RCA Institutes of New York, a B.A (Honors) Degree in Sociology from Sir George Williams University (Concordia), Montreal, Canada, has done two years post-graduate work at /he University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica and has a wide and varied background in Theatre and the Creative Arts. His work profile includes Barclays Bank Grenada/ Rediffusion Network/Radio Trinidad/ McCann-Erickson (Trinidad) Ltd./ Northern Electric Co. Ltd (Montreal)

A self-published author he has to his credit nine volumes of work, fifteen albums, three videos, sixteen CD’s and two DVD’s. His work has been featured in many anthologies and well-known international publications and has been translated into French, German, and Japanese. A pioneer in the development of the oral traditions and the use of the vernacular as a literary form, he produces the annual Tim Tim Show and Carnival Talk Tent which he started in 1983.

READ ABOUT DLITT

DEREk Burrows

Derek Burrows

Derek is a master storyteller of the oral tradition of The Bahamas. He is a co-founder of the

Mirror of Race project. Derek is also a filmmaker, his current feature-length film, “Before the Trees Was Strange,” was released in 2016 and is used in higher education settings to talk about Race and Culture.

As a storyteller, Derek specializes in Afro-Caribbean and African Diaspora tales; he has been “telling” for over three decades nationally and internationally. Derek’s work as a per ormer, artist, and digital technician, as well as his life story as an immigrant to America facing the question of race, provide the inspiration for this project.

Derek was born in the Bahamas where storytelling was a vital part of the cultural tradition. He studied music at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and for 32 years performed with the International music group Voice of the Turtle, specializing in music of the Sephardic Jews. The Sephardim were expelled from Spain in 1492. The four-member group has traveled the world performing and has 12 recordings of this distinctive genre.

Derek has also performed in many countries as a solo classical guitarist, flutist, and singer. Currently, Derek lives between Mexico, The Bahamas, and the US and continues working as a performer.

READ ABOUT DEREK

Donna "Kokumo" Buie

Donna "Kokumo" Buie

Donna "Kokumo" Buie graduated with honors from North Carolina Central University majoring in Theater with concentrations in Performance and Education. As a writer, StoryTeller and Teaching Artist of over 17 years, she has written and performed original programs focusing on Science, Social Studies and Language Arts. Career highlights include over 10 years with Fulton County Schools Teaching Museum, and featured artist for The Atlanta Symphony, The Atlanta History Center, The High Museum of Art, Atlanta Botanical Gardens, and a local daily television program; World Stories with Mama Koku. Koku is also author of a children's book, Zuri the Fairy Loves Her Hair available at www.MamaKoku.com and Amazon!

READ ABOUT DONNA

RiTA COX

RITA COX

Rita Cox is an award-winning, master storyteller who has performed across North America, in Europe, Brazil, and the Caribbean, on stage, radio, and television. She teaches courses, leads workshops and seminars, and performs for adults and children. She has been on the Board of Storytelling Toronto and has served as chairperson. Her stories have appeared in many anthologies and school readers. She tells stories from the Caribbean, Africa, and around the world. Rita was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1997 and is a recipient of honorary degrees from York and Wilfred Laurier Universities and of the 1995 Black Achievement Award

On Oct 22, 2008, the City of Toronto dedicated a new park in honor of Dr. Rita Cox, community activist, librarian, and renowned storyteller.

READ ABOUT RITA

KALA JOJO

Kala is a folklorist, self-styled musician, storyteller, and touring artist. Kala Jojo brings a lifetime of training and experience to every community event and school residency he encounters. Kala is extremely proficient at connecting his story-art format with school curricula. Kala holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and has taken graduate courses in early childhood development/education. Currently, he is a music teacher at the Harambee Charter School in Philadelphia, PA. His background includes community work, New African drumming classes, Cultural productions, Rites of Passage programs for boys 6 to 14 years old, Storytelling workshops, and ongoing collaborations with educators and artists.

Kala Jojo performs sensitive, interactive, and thought-provoking compositions. Weaving songs and dittys born of African heritage into stories of cultural diversity, healing, conflict resolve, and side-splitting humor. He has delighted audiences throughout the U.S.A. He has an enviable approval rating among the young and older fans.

READ ABOUT KALA

Rudy Cabrera

Rudy Cabrera

Rudy Ru Cabrera aka Rudacious is an Actor/Poet/Storyteller from Providence, RI. Rudy started Acting at 17 with Mixed Magic Theater and has done an array of stage productions from various Shakespeare shows to more modern contemporary theater productions & even doing bilingual Spanish speaking roles. Some may recognize Rudy as “Dimitrius” in the Boston Based web series “The Pineapple Diaries” and recently starred in the 12x award winning short horror film “Deep Redd.” As a poet Rudy has performed nationally in poetry slams representing the Lizard Lounge team in Cambridge, MA and in 2013 his team made the top 8 in the country. Also Rudy has graced the stages of countless schools, fundraisers, conferences and even random hole in the wall dive bars. “I’m just a lover of language. I seek both the witty ness of language to entertain & then the purpose of language to create the emotion or message I want the audience to have! It’s really about connecting words with people for me!”

READ ABOUT RUDY

Joshua Gillespi

Joshua Gillespi

Joshua Gillespie (Asè) has been brought up within the storytelling culture. Witnessing his grandparents the master Storytellers Vusumuzi and Nothando Zulu on and off the stage has sparked a flame in him to carry on the torch. He uses his artistic abilities - Digital Art, Music, Dance, Djembe Drumming & Oral expertise - to captivate audiences. He believes our stories are like seeds from the divine tree of life, helping to guide us and grow us into divine trees of our own.The goal of Joshua’s storytelling is to highlight “Current History” (history currently in the making), Life Lessons, and to inspire his people and all people to aspire to be who they truly are in spite of the trials and tribulations that life throws at them.

READ ABOUT JOSHUA

MUSICAL GUEST: REIGN

REIGN

REIGN is a New England based music ministry with a vision. Their mission; To spread the message of “Faith, Hope and Love” through music, song and testimony. Delivering faith-based themes in the genre of Contemporary Gospel Music that will encourage and uplift the heart of all who will listen. The members consist of; Russell B. Cooley Sr., Rodney J. Elderkin and Lawrence R. Nunes.

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Masankho K. Banda

Masankho K. Banda

Masankho K. Banda learned the fine arts of storytelling and dance from his elders. In their company, he spent many long days and nights listening to stories and dancing to music that captivated his mind, nourished his soul, and strengthened his spirit.

Masankho earned a degree in Theatre and Dance from the College of Wooster in Ohio and Masters in Theology and Culture from Holy Names University in Oakland. After graduating, Masankho chose to devote his life to using dance, storytelling, music, and drumming to inspire people of all ages to work together to bring about peace, social justice, and cultural understanding.

Currently Masankho divides his time between Oakland, CA and Lilongwe, Malawi. Masankho continues to share his stories with audiences of all ages around the world.

For his work around the world and all over the United States Masankho was awarded the “Unsung Hero of Compassion “ commendation by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in May 2001"

READ ABOUT MASANKHO

Ashley Lauren Frith

Ashley Lauren Frith

Ashley Lauren Frith is a violist, song writer, facilitator and educator. She is currently the Director of Racial Equity and Belonging at Community MusicWorks, and core faculty of the LA Philharmonics YOLA National Institute. Focusing on care partnerships, her anti-racism work particularly addresses how racism affects our individual and collective interiority; with an emphasis on how we can enter this work through embodied trauma practice. Ashley was music director, lyricist and composer for Trinity Repertory Company’s production of Jose Rivera’s Marisol in 2019. She is currently composing music for a production with Off The Page Education in NYC. Ashley’s work is held and supported by a contemplative end-of-life practice and yogic training and is driven by deep healing and total liberation for all beings.

READ ABOUT ASHLEY

Kufa Castro

Leandro Castro (he/him/they), better known by his stage name "Kufa Castro", is a Queer Afro-Dominican artist based in the city of Providence, RI. Canta Author, rapper, poet, and playwright. Kufa has produced a discography of three musical albums (Gafa Oscura Vol.1 2010), (Gafa Oscura Vol.2 2011), and (Lo Bueno Y lo Malo 2014). Kufa fuses his history and experience as an afro queer Latinx immigrant in the United States in his music and his poetry. His poetry is the tilling of his experience to keep finding himself, connecting to his community and culture.

As a playwright, Kufa was co-translator of Rhode Island Latino Arts and Trinity Rep’s production of “The Tempest/La Tempestad”, lead translator and adapter of Comedy of Errors/Comedia de Errores for Brown/Trinity’s MFA Program’s class of 2020 and in the summer of 2019 he was the lead translator and adapter of “Much Ado About Nothing/Tanta Bulla y pa que?”.

READ ABOUT KUFA

BIG LUZ

Big Lux

Big Lux is a larger-than-life musician changing the way people see the Violin, and the world. His music reflects a life spread across five continents and multiple war zones, with original compositions taking audiences from Baghdad to Seoul to his hometown of Westerly, RI. Classically trained as a child, he blends Hip Hop, Blue Grass, Jazz, and personal life stories to create an experience for his audience instead of a show. Whether he’s playing a nightclub, a corporate event or a wedding, Big Lux delivers a musical performance you can feel. He is a teaching fellow at Community Music Works, Business Manager of Balliamo Dance Collective, serves on the Westerly RI Planning Board and he is a founding member of the Westerly Anti-Racism Coalition.

READ ABOUT BIG LUX

Nothando ZULU

Nothando Zulu

Nothando Zulu, a Minneapolis resident of over fifty years, has been described as one of the most engaging, captivating storytellers of her time. she has performed for thousands of children and adults for more than five decades. Her stories help to teach, encourage, humor and instill moral values and lessons. Over the years Nothando has used the ancient art of storytelling to interact with her listeners, young and old, male and female and of all ethnic backgrounds. She builds "learning bridges" between individuals by contemporizing the lessons passed on by the ancestors. Nothando pulls from an extensive resource of colorful, funny characters; from her powerful Eagle Story to the diabolic Ananse the Spider to the spicy wit of Aunt Dicey. Nothando blends her unique and rich cultural history into a fabric that is universal and relevant.

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Dr. GCINA MHLOPHE

Dr. GCINA MHLOPHE

Dr. Gcina Mhlophe is an author, poet, playwright, director, performer and storyteller. Influenced by her grandmother’s tales when she was a child, Mhlophe’s written and performance talent has transported her from South Africa to South and North America to Europe, Greenland and Japan. She has performed her stories in theatres like Royal Albert Hall, the Kennedy Centre in the US and collaborated with Ladysmith Black Mambazo on a children’s CD. She again worked with Ladysmith Black Mamabazo and Francis Bebey quartet in a unique production, Africa at the Opera, which toured Opera houses in Germany.

For her work in theatre, she received an OBIE Award in New York for her performance in Born in the RSA. Her autobiographical play, Have You Seen Zandile? would earn her the Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Festival, Sony Award for Radio Drama from BBC Africa, and the Joseph Jefferson Award in Chicago. In 1992 she founded and directed the Zanendaba storytelling company, Johannesburg, RSA. She has received honorary doctorates from the London Open University(UK); University of KwaZulu – Natal; Pretoria University and Fort Hare, for a body of work that has contributed to Literature and helping to preserve the Heritage of African storytelling.

Dr. Mhlophe has worked tirelessly running NOZINCWADI Mother of Books Literacy Campaign since 2001, to help make S. Africa a Reading Nation. The Nozincwadi: Mother of Books, is available as a book which is accompanied by a CD that formed the joyful soundtrack of the roadshow. In April 2012 she was awarded her fifth Honorary Doctorate by University of Johannesburg.

READ ABOUT GCINA

Amina Blackwood-Meeks

Amina Blackwood-Meeks

Amina holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies. Her thesis The Oral Tradition: Displacement, Adjustment, Replacement – Storytelling as a Tool for Wholistic Development is available on the website of the University of the West Indies, Mona.

Amina is an award-winning Writer, Actress, Storyteller, Founder/Artistic Director, Ntukuma, The Storytelling Foundation of Jamaica. She weaves tales from the loom of her practical knowledge of the Caribbean, her life skills as a mother, grandmother, educator, communication specialist, political scientist, social and cultural policy researcher/analyst, and farmer. Her stories cover a range of issues affecting gender, the environment, children, and the direction of human development. Ken Corsbie, Elder Statesman of Caribbean Culture describes her stories as parables for the theatre which are “An outrageous combination of education and entertainment, of glitz and thoughtfulness”.

100% Jamaican/Caribbean
From the traditional to the contemporary, from workshops to performances, Amina delivers confidently bilingual in English and Jamaican. She has traveled with her special friends Ananse, Miss Lady, and Likkle Miss Jing Bang to storytelling festivals and a host of speaking engagements across the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and North America.

READ ABOUT AMINA

APRIL BROWN

APRIL BROWN

April Brown is an educator, ordained minister, poet, singer, and actor living in Providence, RI. She has performed in the United States, Japan, and Israel. Ms. Brown holds a B.A. from The American University in Washington, DC, and an Ed.M. from the University of Rhode Island.

She is the co-director of the Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading. Her passion for arts and culture education manifested itself with experience in museum work with the Smithsonian Folklife and Cultural Heritage and the National Museum of American History, she was the artist programmer for the 2004 and 2008 Folklife Festival, the National World War II Reunion on the Mall and the Celebration of Baseball. Locally, she has worked with Rhode Island Black Storytellers and the National Association of Black Storytellers as the African Marketplace director. Recently, she served as the Local Program Director for Turnaround Arts: Providence.

She has worked in educational systems with a focus on cultural engagement; professional development; and community activism. She has held several community at large leadership positions for arts and educational organizations. She currently serves as a member of the Special Committee for Commemorative Works for the City of Providence.

Over the course of her career, she has used her arts expertise in a variety of applications including pre-K, secondary, post-secondary arts coaching, and training, working specifically with administrations serving low-income students.

For April, arts practice is the way we speak life into humanity and this practice is vital to teach to our young people.

READ ABOUT APRIL

Lebohang Masango

Lebohang Masango

Lebohang Masango is a Ph.D. candidate and holds a Master of Arts degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. She is a writer and an award-winning poet. She is also the award-winning author of the children’s book, Mpumi’s Magic Beads (David Philip, 2018), which is available in all 11 of South Africa’s official languages. The book has been awarded the 2018 South African Independent Publishers Award for Children’s Books, 2019 South African Literary Award for Children’s Literature, the 2019 Exclusive Books IBBY SA Award for Best Writer, and a 2020 gold Pendoring Advertising Award in the Publication Design – Whole Design category. She has co-authored Grow to Be Great: Awesome African Achievers with Dr. Judy Dlamini (Sifiso Publishers, 2020) and Mpumi and Jabu’s Magical Day (David Philip, 2020) with Professor Claudine Storbeck.

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Magnolia

Magnolia

Magnolia is a bilingual actress/teaching artist and she is originally from The Dominican Republic, Migrated to Providence RI at the age of 7. She attended school in Providence RI and was a part of the Arts Magnetic traveled to Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the American Theatre organization. She received the Helen Forman Talent theater scholarship to attend Rhode Island College. She currently holds a bachelor's in Arts. After graduating Magnolia became a local teaching artist in the city of providence working with inner-city youth in the Public schools in collaboration with the Children and Youth Cabinet in trauma-based programs. Aside from her day job as a teaching Artist Magnolia has also worked with many local theaters throughout Rhode Island. Most recently partnered with Rhode Island Latino arts in collaboration with Trinity Repertory theater “Teatro en el Verano” the translated Spanish version of The Tempest “La Tempestad” and most recently a one-woman show entitled “ Dona Fefa”, also has worked with Brown University Playwrights Program Play entitled “Dry Swallow” as Chula. Magnolia has also volunteered at the Manton Avenue Project an afterschool program for elementary schools she served as a mentor and actor in many of the young playwright's productions. She is a certified Arts Community Health worker fellow in the City of Providence. Magnolia strongly believes that

“The arts can change lives, and give confidence to young minds.” She also believes in “telling stories through poetry and storytelling that represent the brown and black community, in an effort to shed light on issues of social justice and systematic change.”

READ ABOUT MAGNOLIA

Lynette (Lyn) Ford

Lynette (Lyn) Ford

Lynette (Lyn) Ford is an award-winning, internationally recognized storyteller and writer. Her storytelling is rooted in the spoken-word traditions of her Affrilachian family and her own creative writing. Lyn is also an Ohio teaching artist and Thurber House mentor, the recipient of two National Storytelling Network Oracle Awards, and a member of the National Association of Black Storytellers Circle of Elders. Lyn enjoys offering workshops as a certified laughter yoga teacher and Creative Aging Project writing and storytelling coach. Read Lyn's poetry in the upcoming publications: I Thought I heard a Cardinal Sing: Ohio's Appalachian Voices, scheduled for publication in March 2022, and the journal Tomorrow and Tomorrow, the spring 2022 "Birth" issue.

READ ABOUT LYN

Chachi Carvalho

Chachi Carvalho

Chachi Carvalho is a multi-talented artist, educator, and frontman for the International Players band. He is a native-born-and-raised Rhode Islander with roots that stem from the islands of Cabo Verde. As an educator, Chachi spends his days as a Student Resource Specialist for the Gateway to College Program at the Roger Williams University School of Continuing Studies in Providence. Chachi serves on the Advisory Council for AS220 Youth and he is the newest appointed board member of the Pawtucket Arts Festival. He is also celebrating the 10th anniversary of his business, Beatbox

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Shanta Nurullah

Shanta Nurullah

Shanta Nurullah was born into a musical family and studied piano and tap dancing throughout her formative years. While in college, she was able to travel to India and study Indian Classical music and the sitar. Shanta has been performing professionally as a musician since 1972, and as a storyteller since 1978. After college, Shanta immersed herself in the Black Arts Movement as a member of the Kuumba Workshop, Kelan Phil Cohran’s Black Music Workshop, and associating with writers, visual artists, dancers, and members of the AACM.

Shanta formed her first band in 1978 and went on to co-found the all-women’s ensembles Sojourner and Samana, the first female band in the AACM. With these groups, and others, Shanta has performed in venues across the country, distinguishing herself as a sitarist and bassist exploring African-American improvisational music. Her current projects include the bands Sitarsys and Classic Black, the duo ShaZah, and Freedom Song Leaders, a vocal ensemble.

Shanta has received an Illinois Arts Council Artist Fellowship and, in 2014, was given the Zora Neale Hurston Award from the National Association of Black Storytellers. She has received grants from 3Arts, the Nevada Arts Council, the American Association of University Women and, most recently, the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Shanta has an original story on permanent display at Brookfield Zoo (IL) and has been a storytelling teacher and mentor for many years.

Currently, Shanta teaches at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music.

READ ABOUT SHANTA

Zahra Baker

Zahra Baker

Zahra Baker is folk and jazz vocalist. Her performance history includes vocalist for "Performance duo: In the Spirit" (with Emily Lansana), Which has been featured at festivals including several (NABS) National Association of Black Storytellers festivals, National Storytelling Festival Jonesborough, Tenn, Texas Storytelling Festival and is delighted to return to the Funda Fest.

Zahra has been vocalist for jazz ensembles, theater companies, social justice activism and healing workshops. She has also, worked as a teaching artist for over 30 years primarily in the Chicago area.

Currently, she is co-founder of Freedom Song Leaders, Classic Black, and is a member of Shanta Nurullah’s Sitarsys.

Recently, she and Shanta conducted interviews and developed a video and live performance that recognizes the contributions, struggles, and dreams of Black Lesbians.

Zahra believes that music and story can connect us to our strongest relationship with all that is Divine.

READ ABOUT ZAHRA

GWENDOLYN J. NAPIER

GWENDOLYN J. NAPIER

GWENDOLYN J. NAPIER - Native of Atlanta, Georgia. Retired Educator. Founder of LuvDrop Productions, the "Heart of Storytelling", Sharing one Story at a time. Known to many as "Miss LuvDrop" the Storyteller.

Storytelling Artist for over 15 years. Performing and Teaching Artist for the Georgia Council of the Arts Registry, Performing Year Round Artist for the Wrens Nest House Museum in Atlanta.

Member of Kuumba Storytellers of Georgia, National Association of BlackStorytellers, Inc. Southern Order of Storytellers, Storying Arts of Minnesota, Northland Storytellers, and an Atlanta Ambassador for the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students. .

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Dylan Pritchett

Photo courtesy of SRP Austin Photography

Dylan Pritchett

Dylan has been a full-time storyteller since 1990. He currently resides in Newport News, VA about 10 miles from his hometown of Williamsburg, VA. His professional career takes him to all of the places storytellers go and are needed!

Dylan….

Shared a 13-year relationship as one of a handful of teaching artists in the John F. Kennedy Center’s “Partners in Education” National Touring Program; a teacher workshop-performance-based program.
10^th President and present Festival Director of The National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc.
Author children’s picture books - “The First Music” & “The Yellow Speckled Black Bird”.
Co-Editor of collection of stories written by African American storytellers entitled Sayin’ Somethin’!
LOVES the art of storytelling for its many transformative powers and LOVES storytellers for their ability to connect to the heart.

Photo courtesy of SRP Austin Photography

READ ABOUT DILLON

Rhode Island Black Storytellers

VALERIE TUTSON

VALERIE TUTSON

Valerie Tutson has been telling stories in schools, churches, libraries, festivals and conferences since 1991. She draws her stories from around the world with an emphasis on African traditions. Her repertoire includes stories and songs she learned in her travels to South Africa, her experiences in West Africa, stories from African American history. In addition, she is gaining quite a reputation for her exciting retelling of age-old Bible stories.

She graduated from Brown University with a Master’s Degree in Theatre Arts and a degree in a self-designed Major-Storytelling as A Communications Art

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ROCHEL COLEMAN

ROCHEL COLEMAN

Rochel Garner Coleman, actor, singer, storyteller, has been performing since he was 9 years old. He travels nationally and internationally sharing stories of Black historical legends such as Nat Love and Cool Papa Bell in shows developed using the research to performance method.

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LEN CABRAL

LEN CABRAL

Len Cabral is an internationally acclaimed storyteller who has been enchanting audiences with his storytelling performances at schools, libraries, museums and festivals since 1976. A great grandson of a Cape Verdean whaler whose grandparents immigrated to America from the islands off the coast of West Africa, Len’s strong Cape Verdean ancestry comes alive in his exuberant retelling of African, Cape Verdean, and Caribbean folktales as well as original stories and tales from around the world.

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V. RAFFINI

V. RAFFINI

V. Raffini, a self-made artist, actress, and teacher from the South Side of Providence has long been committed to the community, teaching Black History, and theatre, telling stories and nurturing the spiritual and creative abilities of youth.

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MARLON CAREY

MARLON CAREY

Marlon Carey is a multitalented artist who is always looking for ways to help build community and inspire people to make positive changes to the world. As a storyteller, he weaves an intricate tapestry with words, using a variety of methods with respect to the Storyteller traditions of old. He is a full-time father of three remarkable children and three cats.

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RAMONA BASS KOLOBE

Ramona Bas Kolobe

"The Watermelon Lady", is a "story wheeler." Miss Ramona brings her traditions of storytelling from her Jamaican and Native American ancestry together with her formal education to create works that open up the treasury of healing and understanding. Watermelon is a fruit of peace, friendship and sharing good times - all around the world!

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LINDA & SUMNER MCCLAIN

LINDA & SUMNER

Both Linda and Sumner McClain love to perform stories together, celebrating life. They strongly believe that through the art of storytelling, poetry, music, and movement we are awakened to the valuable stories of our past and present, creating tremendous potential for wholeness, and making the world a better place for everyone.

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Sylvia Ann Soares

Sylvia Ann Soares

Ms. Soares has worked for many different theater companies in New York, L.A. and Rhode Island including the New York Public Theater, the Negro Ensemble Company, L.A. Shakespeare Festival, Trinity Repertory Company and the Westerly Shakespeare Theatre. She was active in theater in New York and L.A. during the late sixties and seventies and considers herself a part of the Black Theater Movement. She returned to Providence in 1981 and worked as a live-in nurse for several years before deciding to go back to college. She gained her associates degree from C.C.R.I. in 1993 and then enrolled in Brown University’s Resumed Undergraduate Education program. She graduated from Brown in 1995 with a BA with honors in Theater Studies. Ms. Soares is an actress, poet, playwright and activist. Throughout her life, Ms. Soares has been involved in activism and what she calls “entertaining education.” She worked for the Amos House in Providence, RI, helped build a school in Nicaragua through the Providence-Niquinohomo Sister City Project, and has written several poems and plays about slavery in Rhode Island.

-Excerpt written by Gabrielle Fuentes

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Some of our Events

Saturday, Jan. 22

Family Storytelling Concert

SUNDAY, Jan 23

Words and Music

Thursday, Jan. 27

Gumbo Gathering/Community Flavors
Performance by Haus of Glitter

Friday, Jan. 28

Liar's Contest

Liar's Contest

Saturday, Jan. 29

Workshop
Youth Concert
Family Storytelling Concert
Storytelling for Grown Folks

Sunday, Jan. 30

Sacred Storytelling

A COMPLETE EVENT LIST COMING SOON! OVER 25 PERFORMERS AND ARTISTS!

PURCHASE FESTIVAL PASS

Music, storytelling, spoken word and more

Because there are so many ways to tell a story! And in Black Storytelling all these genres have a place. Storytelling is not just “reading books to kids.”

FULL LIST OF PERFORMERS COMING SOON!

FUNDA FEST 24 IS EXCITED TO SHOWCASE

OVER 25 PERFORMERS From Around the World!

Experience the talents of performers from the African Diaspora. Our artists hail from the US, the UK, the Caribbean, and the African Continent.

Chetter Galloway

Storyteller Chetter Galloway is as raconteur of African and African-American stories. Engaging and entertaining, he invites you to Feel the Rhythm and Live the Story! Visit Chetter's Site

Paul Keens-Douglas (DLITT)

An international performer, Paul makes regular tours of the Caribbean territories and metropolitan countries. Watch DLitt