Incidents at the 22 Hotel
a new performance by Wura-Natasha OgunjiPerformers
Writer, Director: Wura-Natasha Ogunji is a visual artist and performer. Her work investigates the connections between physical actions of the body, memory, history and power. Ogunji’s most recent public performance ‘one hundred black women, one hundred actions’ premiered at Fusebox Festival and was nominated for the 2010 Austin Critics Table Award. www.wuraogunji.com
Visual Designer: Nicole Vlado is an artist, architect/designer and third generation non‐driver from New York City. She creates prints, sculpture, and performance pieces and her work has been exhibited at Anja Hitzenberger’s Changing Room and Medialia Gallery in New York City, as well as Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Tijuana, Mexico. She lives and works in Austin. www.nicolevlado.com
Still Photographer: Sonseree´ Verdise Gibson received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Photography from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. Her work as a photographer deals with portraiture to comment on race, identity, and it’s social effects in American culture. Her aim is to produce work that creates a dialogue within the black community as well as offering other groups the opportunity to flow freely with their own opinions. She is currently living and producing work in Austin, TX. www.sonsereevgibson.com
Lynn Martinez is a native Austinite who enjoys the cultural arts scene. Her exploration of the arts has lead her to work amongst many talented dance and theatre productions around town, including Teatro Vivo’s ‘Petra’s Sueno’, ‘Voces de Vivo’, and ‘Fantasmaville’.
PERFORMERS:
The Porter: Carole Metellus is a multi-disciplinary artist with experience in music, dance, writing, theatre, and most recently, visual art. Her more notable theatrical roles included two characters in The Vagina Monologues, “Beulah” in Katrina, The Girl Who Wanted Her Name Back, “Jeanne” in The Stories of Life, (a work in progress), “Mother” in Funnyhouse of a Negro, “Woman 1” in Death and the King’s Horseman, and most recently “Mad Moon Woman” in The Virgin w/10,000 Arrows. Carole prides herself as a cultural worker whose concerns are to implement elements of culture to art expression.
Unexplained Presence: Ghislaine Jean-Mahone is an expressive talent. She explores healing and joy through her work. She and her husband come together to form Riders Against the Storm . They have been receiving great accolades for their most recent release. Ghislaine has been acting for over 10 years.
Runner/Ife Head: Nicole Vlado is an artist, architect/designer and third generation non‐driver from New York City. She creates prints, sculpture, and performance pieces and her work has been exhibited at Anja Hitzenberger’s Changing Room and Medialia Gallery in New York City, as well as Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Tijuana, Mexico. She lives and works in Austin. www.nicolevlado.com
Runner/Ife Head: Annelize Amelia Machado is an artist. She dances, performs, and explores movement through various practices including Yoga and Kalarippayattu. Since 2008, she has been studying Bharata Natyam under the guidance of her guru Anuradha Naimpally. She is a Hatha Yoga Instructor and dance teacher here in Austin.
PERFORMERS IN THE VIDEO:
Shley Hicks is a musician, actress and visual artist out of Austin, TX. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of North Texas in 2008. Inspired by Afro-futurism and race politics, she is the vocalist and guitarist of the local band Heirloom.
Ghislaine Jean-Mahone: (see above)
Amanda Johnston is a Cave Canem Fellow and Affrilachian Poet. Honors include grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Austin International Poetry Festival’s Christina Sergeyevna Award. Johnston’s work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including Pluck, Callaloo, and the The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South. She is an original ensemble member of The Austin Project Performance Company (TAPPCo) and is the founder of Torch Literary Arts. www.amandajohnston.com
Ari Jones is a fashion design student at the University of North Texas. When not working on projects for class, she divides her time between altering clothing, studying crafts and exploring Austin.
Annelize Machado: (see above)
Originally from Long Island, Jasmine Morrell is a tattoo artist living in the Austin area. Lover of the arts, she plays the drums in Heirloom, draws and paints, and is involved in improv comedy. Othet obsessions are bike riding, cooking/eating vegetarian food, and restoring found items. http://jasminetmorrell.com
Courtney Desiree Morris is a writer and community organizer based in Austin, TX. She is currently completing her doctoral studies in the African Diaspora Program in Social Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. For more of her work visit creolemaroon.blogspot.com.
Nnenna Okeke is a Nigerian-American graduate student at the UT school of public health. Her work focuses primarily on violence and psychological trauma prevention. She is also a current ensemble member of the Austin Project, a writing and performance project for women of color and their allies.
Nicole Vlado: (see above)
what a fantastic (and beautiful) ensemble! so sad to be missing this performance, i look forward to seeing the video.