Schedule
The Return: In Contemplation of Initiation - Iv Amenti
Join Iv Amenti in her one-woman show – In Contemplation of Initiation. Designed as a culmination of the Cultural Week of Action, this show illuminates the three phases of the Rites of Passage live on stage. Iv Amenti leads the audience through the gateways of the rites and returns us all, made new through our commitments on how to uphold our place within our community. In Contemplation of Initiation centers on Iv Amenti’s journey as a 20-year student, initiate, and leader of arts, culture, and indigenous spiritual practices as mediums to find her own voice.
The Return: In Contemplation of Initiation - Closing Prayer
Closeout Dallas’s Cultural Week of Action with a special encore presentation of Iv Amenti’s In Contemplation of Initiation. Stay after the show for a discussion with other Dallas leaders to establish community treaties that reimagine the health of our democracy and our relationships with each other. Join us as we build a community designed to protect both Rites and Rights as we race toward the upcoming democratic elections.
Passage Between: Root Digging & The Digital Map - Youth & Elder Roundtable
Root Digging: A Literary Art Exhibit and Community Conversation, with delmetria millener of #TeenWritersProject, is an immersive experience where teens research and explore the origins and deep-seated influences of social, political, environmental, economic, cultural, and historical systems (S.P.E.E.C.H.) that shape our lives today. Through research, writing prompts, creative exercises, and community conversations, teens examine historical roots, investigate connections between the past and present, and reflect on how these systems influence modern society through creative writing. This exhibit encourages critical thinking and personal insight, and allows teens to dig into the core of societal issues to better understand and respond to them through their writing, which is exhibited in gallery-style on large scrolls.
Introduction of the Digital Map - Led by the South Dallas Parent Coalition, we are reaching out to the elders, educators, knowledge holders, and grassroots organizations to create a digital map of the current movements in our city from the perspective of the people who live here. The map will highlight elected leaders and some of these stakeholders in their districts, and help people find their elected officials and learn what they do. Please submit YOUR information to the GET ON THE MAP by September 12th!
The Departure: Songs for Healing the Community - Icaro
Join Rites Now as they recognize the second day of the Departure Phase, through a series of sacred rituals that signify removing oneself from the community to go on a journey of self, departing from old ways, and refining an understanding of identity. Embrace the Rites and Rights of Passage through the Icaro through an afternoon of medicine songs and healing drums. Traditional Icaros are sung by shamans during sacred plant ceremonies, to solidify the sacred bond between plants, ourselves, and sound to heal what’s deep with us. Join participants of Pan African Connection’s Unbutu Market and drum circle to activate an afternoon of sacred songs that have healed communities throughout generations!
The Departure: An Opening Prayer - Batizado
Celebrate the Afro-Brazilian Martial Art graduation protecting rites and rights with Rites Now and Os Malandros. This ceremony is an effort to help preserve longstanding traditions of protecting Rights and Rites through the arts. Go on a journey through the history of resistance through the art of Malicia, Capoeira, and the sacred rite of Batizado. Experience and learn about the tradition of this Afro-Latino rite of passage as long-time initiates become full members of the Capoeira community under the guidance of 5 Brazilian Maestres. Finish the day by breaking bread with the initiates and Maestres as you embrace the cultural richness of this community.