Carver to Host Interactive Festival for Radical Self-Care and Creative Courage

Photo by Hakeem Adewumi.
A hiphop-based exhibit and festival to encourage courageous creativity, Phone Home will include Colored Girl Hustle, Riders Against the Storm, singer/ songwriter JP Reynolds from New York City, Michael Love, and Las Krudas.

“We don’t want you to just show up to the march, we want you to dance!” That passionately stated sentiment by Carre Adams perfectly describes the energy behind Phone Home, a current exhibit and creative arts festival coming to the George W. Carver Museum and Cultural Center on Thursday, March 16.

Adams currently serves as the Exhibit Coordinator for the museum and describes the festival as a culmination of years of creative thought and fantasy come true for himself and Jessica Valoris. The two met several years ago in North Carolina at an annual Alternate Roots retreat, he, a visual artist with a background in African/ Afro-American Studies and a bent for social justice and she, the founder of the Xigga Projeck which aims to “connect with Black people trying to stand in their creative purpose.”

Festivalgoers will be able to pick up a variety of actual phones and receive positive messages for moving forward into a meaningful life.

A generous grant from Alternate Roots has enabled Adams to curate Valoris’ vision at the Carver in an explosion of local talent and multisensory engagement that promises to leave an indelible mark on the arts scene in Austin. Importantly, Adams is thrilled to be able to not only highlight local talent, but compensate them, a far too rare occurrence for the Black artists in the city.

Described as a festival “that affirms radical self-care and creative courage”, Phone Home is where social justice and cultural organizing meet…and hang out…and dance. Adams explained that dancing while making social statements is important because “when you dance you are inspired.” Too often, people attend protests or rallies or meetings and leave without the necessary inspiration to actually change our daily lives. Phone Home is an attempt to break that pattern. A wonderful mosaic of vibrant creativity with an undeniable hip-hop foundation, Phone Home aims to be a unique experience that engages the mind, body, and spirit.

Phone Home aims to be a unique experience that engages the mind, body, and spirit.

The festival will feature offerings from local and national artists. The day will kick off with poetry by multiple poets including Drea Brown, notable as the first PhD candidate in African/Africa Diaspora studies in the South. Other features include Colored Girl Hustle, a duo comprised of festival organizer Jessica Valoris and Taja Lindley, hiphop duo Riders Against the Storm, singer/ songwriter JP Reynolds from New York City,  Michael Love, bringing a refreshing contemporary flair to tap dance, and Las Krudas, a Cuban duo that will feature full band accompaniment.

Throughout the exhibit, Phone Home participants will be treated to a unique experience. Unlike a typical two-dimensional museum exhibit, they will be transported to an entirely different space filled with visuals, sounds and messaging that are designed to make them think and actively take-in the world around them. Festivalgoers will be able to pick up a variety of actual phones and receive messaging that aims to give them something positive and helpful to move forward into a meaningful life.

Phone Home is family-friendly and promises to offer something for everyone. Admission is free, but festivalgoers are asked to RSVP on the event website:  https://phonehomefest.splashthat.com/.

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