This Friday, February 20th, Black Artstory will take an insightful look at women artists of the black Brooklyn renaissance of the 1980s and 1990s in Remembering Rodeo Caldonia at Pillow Café, 505 Myrtle Avenue between Ryerson Street & Grand Avenue. Writer Lisa Jones and writer/composer/performer Alva Rogers will discuss the black women’s Fort Greene arts collective Rodeo Caldonia in a conversation facilitated by cultural critic Greg Tate. More info on event HERE.

The discussion with cultural critic Greg Tate will focus on the 17-member black women’s performance group that was concerned with addressing their intersectional identities as black women artists. Members of this group included acclaimed artists Lorna Simpson as well as playwright Lisa Jones and singer/actress Alva Rogers and the collective was part of larger black arts renaissance happening in Fort Greene & Clinton Hill in the 1980s, as chronicled in Nelson George and Diane Paragas’ 2011 documentary Black Boheme.  This is the first time the members are convening since the disbanding the group.

A little bit about the participants:

Lisa Jones is an American writer and journalist who worked for the Village Voice for 15 years. She is best known for her “Skin Trade” columns. She also co-wrote three books with Spike Lee and her essays have been widely anthologized. Jones also received a joint choreography and creator Bessie Award for their collaborative work.

Alva Rogers is an artist, playwright & chanteuse whose legendary performances during the 80’s and 90’s made her a much sought-after muse. She is the recipient of grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, The Jim Henson Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer, Franklin Furnace & a New York Dance and Performance Bessie Award. The Joseph Papp Public Theater, Spoleto Festival, USA, The Kitchen, Dixon Place and Heather Henson’s Handmade Puppet Films have commissioned her work.

Greg Tate studied journalism and film at Howard University. Tate was also a staff writer for the Village Voice for many years. His work has also been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Artforum, Down Beat, Essence, JazzTimes, Rolling Stone, and VIBE. The Source described Tate as one of “the Godfathers of hip-hop journalism”. In 1999, Tate established Burnt Sugar, an improvisational ensemble that varies in size between 13 to 35 musicians. In 2010, he was awarded a United States Artists fellowship.