The ArtBeat is a community cultural arts event dedicated to showcasing the talents of artist predominately of underserved communities. It features a diverse array of visual art, performances and an environment that promotes creative expression. Attendees can enjoy live music, discover captivating artwork, connect with inspiring artists, uncover unique pieces to take home, and support a mission aimed at fostering an inclusive and thriving local culture. Join us this November to celebrate creativity, connect with fellow art enthusiasts, and support the arts!
The ArtBeat was envisioned by Tawana in 2019 as a platform to create opportunities for herself and fellow artists from underserved communities, where access to the arts is limited. This event aims to uplift and empower artists by providing them with valuable exposure and resources to showcase their talents. By fostering a supportive environment, The ArtBeat not only highlights the rich diversity of artistic expression within the community but also enriches the local culture. The ArtBeat aims to increase the visibility of art in underserved neighborhoods, recognizing that art plays a vital role in building thriving communities.
Additionally, it serves as an inspiration for future artists, encouraging them to pursue their creative passions while building vital connections within the art world and beyond. Ultimately, The ArtBeat contributes to a more inclusive and vibrant community, where creativity and talent flourish.
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WHEN
Every November. This year's event will take place on November 15, 2025!
In American discourse, “Black“ is frequently used as shorthand for African American Identity. However, this usage often obscures the global diversity of people of African descent. Individuals from the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and elsewhere may identify or be identified through the lens of their nationality or ethnicity rather than their racial identity.
Blackity invites critical reflection, on the complexities of race as a social construct. It considers:
- How race is perceived differently across cultural & national contexts
- The limitations of U.S. centric frameworks of Black identity.
- The politics of visibility and recognition within the diaspora
This exhibition aims to expand the narrative of Blackness beyond borders. It is a call to rethink how we categorize, connect & claim identity in a globalized world.
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Visual Arts: Stories Without Borders
The visual artworks in this exhibit serve as both personal testimony & cultural mapping. Through photography, painting, mixed media, and installation, artists explore what is means to navigate Identity through the lenses of race, nationality, and ethnicity. These works challenge imposed definitions, reclaim erased histories, and celebrate nuance of cultural belonging.
Live Performances
Through movement, music, poetry, and ritual, Live performances breathe life into the rhythms and realities of diasporic Black experience. These performances highlight the expressive power of the body and voice as tools of resistance, remembrance, and cultural continuity. Whether it’s West African dancing, Jamaican dub poetry, or a spoken word piece in 3 languages, each performance honors both ancestral memory and contemporary identity.
Cuisine: The Diaspora on a plate
Food tells stories words cannot. This experience invites visitors to explore the culinary traditions that have traveled, transformed and endured across oceans & generations. This culinary journey reveals the historical migrations, cultural fusions and shared ingredients that link communities across the globe. More than sustenance, food becomes a medium of connection, comfort and cultural pride.
Native Tongues: Language as Identity, and Rhthym
Language is seen as identity . This experience highlights Black vernaculars across continents. Through recorded stories, poetic displays and multi-lingual text installations, Native Tongues reminds us that language is more than communication; it’s assertion of self on ones own terms.
Cultural Impact
This exhibition contributes to a broader cultural movement of redefining what it means to be Black in a global context.
Fosters Solidarity Across the Diaspora
By showing the shared threads and the key differences within the diasporic Black identities,. This exhibition promotes transnational dialogue and solidarity.
A Tool for Global Racial Literacy
The theme serves as a powerful learning space for understanding how race is socially constructed and how its meaning shifts across cultural Landscapes.
Challenging U.S. Centric Narratives
The exhibit disrupts the cultural dominance of American frameworks of race and encourages reflection on how Blackness operates across cultures.
By way of bold visuals, personal stories, and symbolic imagery, Blackity offers a dynamic journey across the global Black experience.
Sponsors
Gallery
