EXPATRIATE

I can’t wait to check out Lenelle Moise’s upcoming show Expatriate at the Culture Project. Lenelle Moise is an amazing spoken word poet and performance artist whose work constantly renders me speechless. I first saw her perform over 2 years ago at a feminist retreat sponsored by Hampshire College’s Civil Liberties Policy Project (CLPP). Her upcoming show has been described by The Culture Project as "an engaging exploration of black womanhood, friendship, sexuality, and freedom, celebrating characters in the spirit of Nina Simone, Josephine Baker, and the Hottentot Venus. With only a JamMan loop machine at their feet, real-life rising stars Lenelle Moïse and Karla Mosley make intricate, haunting and stirring music as they weave the story of singing group Black Venus's rise to fame". I am very interested in reflecting on this experience in relation to Passing Strange, and the upcoming For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide. As an "Expatriate" myself in so many spaces, I am so happy about these discourses emerging in places that were previously unaware of their importance, power, and meaning.

Check out Lenelle in action here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_je00C5sfeU