Milumbe Haimbe was born in Lusaka, Zambia. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture attained from the Copperbelt University, and also holds a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts obtained from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts in Norway.
Drawing on a background of painting, Milumbe’s current art practices are based in digital illustration, including sequential art as an intermedial process that combines and integrates illustrations and written texts into narratives. She asserts that this process has led to a natural progression into explorations of genres such as comics, animation and graphic novels. Her interests are related to intercultural issues, focusing on the forms of representation of cultural minorities within the context of popular media.
Milumbe has exhibited her work in numerous shows both locally and internationally, including FOCUS 10 – Art Basal in Switzerland, and is an alumnus of the Art Omi International Artist’s Residency in New York. She also exhibited in the Biennale for Contemporary African Art in Dakar, 2014, and is a recipient of the 2015 Bellagio Arts Fellowship Award, as well as the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship Award.
Kyla Searle is an artist, producer and activist. Kyla seeks out inquiry and intersection, inspired by the creativity of the community that raised her in Berkeley and Oakland, California. Her work and practice have been developed through the Institute for Theatre in the Jazz Aesthetic, the Hemispheric EmergeNYC Program, the Institute for Arts and Civic Dialogue, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. She lives in New York City.
Krudas’ repertoire includes Hip Hop Cubensi, Dancehall, old-school rhythms and new rhythms of the entire world.
Odaymara Cuesta and Olivia Prendes were born and raised in Cuba, artivistas, rappers and hip-hop artists, independent musicians, poets, theaters and designers representing women, immigrants and non-white queer people of color as a central part of global change. Formed in Havana in 1999 as a trio, Krudas has become a duo since 2004 and has brought their raw point of view to the world. In 2006 they migrated to Austin, Texas in the United States and have been acclaimed internationally for their representations, recordings, speeches and tours in Europe, North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean to this day. Krudas’ repertoire includes Hip Hop Cubensi, Dancehall, old-school rhythms and new rhythms of the entire world intertwined with their extraordinary and rebellious hard feminist and Afro-Cuban lyrics and their indomitable voices, sounds, dances and energies to empower communities. They are internationally recognized and have been presented throughout Latin America and the United States. In Cuba, raw (kruda) means uncooked, unprocessed, unrefined, natural, real. Cubensi is a word related to native species of Caribbean areas. Krudas Cubensi: Krudas of the Caribbean.
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Odaymara Cuesta y Olivia Prendes son nacidas y criadas en Cuba, artivistas, raperas y hiphoperas, músicos independientes, poetas, teatreras y diseñadoras en representación de mujeres, inmigrantes y personas queer no blancas (o de color, como se dice comúnmente en Estados Unidos) como parte central del cambio mundial. Formadas en la Habana en 1999 como un trío, Krudas se ha convertido en un dúo desde 2004 y le ha traído su punto de vista crudo al mundo. En 2006 migraron a Austin, Texas en Estados Unidos y han sido aclamadas internacionalmente por sus representaciones, grabaciones, discursos y giras en Norteamérica, Centroamérica, Suramérica y el Caribe hasta el día de hoy. El repertorio de las Krudas incluye Hip Hop Cubensi, Dancehall, ritmos viejos y nuevos del mundo entero entrelazados con sus extraordinarias y rebeldes líricas duras feministas y afrocubanas y sus indomables voces, sonidos, bailes y energías para empoderar comunidades. Son reconocidas internacionalmente y se han presentado por toda Latinoamérica y Estados Unidos. En Cuba, cruda (kruda) significa no cocida, no procesada, no refinada, natural, real. Cubensi es una palabra relacionada con especies nativas de áreas caribeñas. Krudas Cubensi: las crudas del Caribe.
Annalise Ophelian is an award-winning filmmaker and the producer/director of the documentary about Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, MAJOR!.
Annalise Ophelian is an award-winning filmmaker and the producer/director of the documentary about Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, MAJOR!. She is a white, queer-identified cis woman, psychologist, and consultant whose work includes Diagnosing Difference (2009). StormMiguel Florez is the co-producer/editor of MAJOR! and is a Xicano transgender musician and filmmaker. He is a graduate of the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project and on the leadership team of the Transgender GenderVariant Intersex Justice Project.
Watch an interview with Annalise Ophelian and Miss Major, the subject of Ophelian’s documentary:
Deb has created the documentary film Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four. In 1997 and 1998 four young, Latina lesbians from San Antonio, Texas were wrongfully convicted and sentenced to prison. All were alleged to have gang-raped two girls. An investigator speculated they were involved in “Satanic-related sexual abuse,” and their sexuality was used against them during the trial. They have been released from prison. This project documents their story.
Deborah S. Esquenazi is a Texas-based documentary film and radio producer, instructor, and video artist committed to using media to reveal social inequities, rally support for important causes, and create probing, powerful documentary work.
Southwest of Salem has received international attention for its investigation into this controversial criminal case, and been mentioned in Forbes Magazine, New York Times, Texas Observer, among others. This film was supported by the Sundance Institute for Documentary Film Program, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Initiative, Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, and Chicken & Egg Pictures.
Deb is also curating a retrospective exhibition on the multi-media of Bruce Jackson, the renowned folklorist, photographer and filmmaker who photographed the bygone era of slave plantation turned prison farm circa 1960’s. She is also collaborating with the renowned Fusebox Festival ThinkEAST project, supported by Artplace America, on an experimental series of teen-led short films that explore issues of Latino identity, criminality, and cultural equity.
Beldan Sezen is an artist who uses drawing, collage, and text. She has given workshops and master classes, participated in comic jams and exhibitions in Amsterdam, London, Berlin, Wiesbaden, New York, Beirut, Istanbul and Aleppo. Her previous graphic novels were Zakkum and #GeziPark. Her graphic memoir Snapshots of a Girl was listed in the 2016 ALA Over The Rainbow list. She has been awarded with the 2015 Astraea Global Arts Fund Award for her Turkey based project Butch It Up!. Her latest book To Separate The Body From The Machine is part of the New York Public Library and The Library of Congress special artbooks collections. Born in Germany to Turkish parents, she currently lives in Amsterdam.
The Estallido Feminista batucada is a collective of lesbians and feminists using art, theater, music, and performance to generate dissident political action.
The Estallido Feminista batucada is a collective of lesbians and feminists using art, theater, music, and performance to generate dissident political action against all forms of domination, oppression and exploitation based on sex, race, class, sexuality, and immigration status.
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La batucada Estallido Feminista es un colectivo de lesbianas y feministas que usan el arte, el teatro, la música y la representación del performance para generar acción política disidente contra todas las formas de dominación, opresión y explotación con base en el sexo, la raza, la clase social, la sexualidad y el estatus de inmigración.
The feminist batucada La Tremenda Revoltosa is a collective composed of 20 feminist percussionists, most of them Afro-Colombian lesbians, who are committed to social transformation.
The feminist batucada La Tremenda Revoltosa is a collective composed of 20 feminist percussionists, most of them Afro-Colombian lesbians, who are committed to social transformation. They believe that the revolution will happen if people take it to the streets and believe that music inspires revolution. Through percussion and its activism in the streets, they advocate for dignity and against oppression, violence and silence.
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La batucada feminista La Tremenda Revoltosa es un colectivo compuesto por 20 percusionistas feministas, en su mayoría lesbianas afrocolombianas, que están comprometidas con la transformación social. Cree que la revolución se dará si la gente la saca a las calles y cree que la música inspira a la revolución. A través de la percusión y su activismo en las calles, aboga por la dignidad y en contra de la opresión, la violencia y el silencio.
Aurora Guerrero was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area to immigrant Mexican parents. Guerrero wrote and directed Mosquita y Mari, her debut narrative feature. Since premiering at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Mosquita y Mari has traveled over 100 film festivals including San Francisco International, Melbourne, Guadalajara, Sao Paulo, and has garnered multiple awards including Best First Feature at Outfest while picking up a Spirit Award and GLAAD nomination for Best Film under 500k. Mosquita y Mari was theatrically released in New York City where the New York Times praised an “an unassuming indie jewel.” Prior to making her feature, Guerrero directed award-winning short films, including Pura Lengua (2005 Sundance Film Festival) and Viernes Girl (winner HBO/NYLIFF competition). Los Valientes (The Brave Ones), slated to be Guerrero’s second feature, has received development support from Sundance, San Francisco Film Society, and Tribeca. In 2012 Guerrero was named a Time Warner/Sundance Storytelling Fellow.
Naomi Jackson is the author of The Star Side of Bird Hill, published by Penguin Press in June 2015. She studied fiction at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Jackson traveled to South Africa on a Fulbright scholarship, where she received an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town. A graduate of Williams College, her work has appeared in literary journals and magazines in the United States and abroad. She is the recipient of residencies from the University of Pennsylvania’s Kelly Writers House, Hedgebrook, Vermont Studio Center, and the Camargo Foundation. (Photo credit: Lola Flash)
Lisa Harewood is a Barbadian filmmaker and writer/director of Auntie, a short developed by the Commonwealth Foundation in 2013 and acquired by National Black Programming Consortium for its AfroPop series. The film has inspired an oral history project, Barrel Stories, which will document and share the experiences of Caribbean parents and children separated by migration. She previously produced a feature film which was nominated for Best First Feature at Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles. She holds an M.A. from Warwick University and trained in Independent Producing at MetFilm School, both in the UK.
