This is a virtual-only program via City of Asylum @ Home. 

The #notwhite collective in-dialogue series features conversations with BIPOC, AALANA, indigenous, and immigrant artists and arts administrators. The series reimagines the past and present history of the arts sector by engaging and presenting the wealth of experience, strategies, and tactics of the global majority, notwhite descendants, inheritors of colonialism, indigenous, and immigrants who navigate a predominantly white arts sector. 

Celebrating and recognizing arts and cultural workers, especially those who tend to be under the radar and forgotten about, the #notwhite collective has featured speakers from southwestern PA as well as national leaders in the arts.

October’s conversation features Shey Rivera and Marquis Burton

The #notwhite collective is a group of thirteen women artists whose mission is to use non-individualist, multi-disciplinary art to make our stories visible as we relate, connect, and belong to the global majority.

Shey ‘Rí Acu’ Rivera Ríos (they/them) is an interdisciplinary artist, cultural strategist, and arts administrator. Their artistic creations explore capitalism, the idea of home, queerness, magic, our relationship with technology, and more. They’ve served in leadership roles at AS220, a nonprofit arts incubator in Providence, RI, and also was a part of the team of the Community Innovation Lab at the Department of Urban Studies & Planning at MIT. Currently, Rivera serves on the board of directors of the Alliance of Artist Communities and is an artist-in-residence at The Wilbury Theatre Group.

Just Buffalo teaching artist Marquis “Ten Thousand” Burton is a spoken word poet, educator and curator. Working with Shea’s Performing Arts, C.A.O.(Community Action Organization), Say Yes Buffalo and other non-profit and educational institutions he has taught young writers to discover their voice through poetry while celebrating their stories for more than a decade. He has represented Buffalo in National Poetry Slams for the past decade and has been the official team coach for 3 years. Marquis has also held the position of curator of poetry talent for the Music Is Art Festival for the past 6 years.