HONORING SACRED WATERS
GATHERING AFRICAN WISDOM, CREATIVITY AND POWER FETE
IN-PERSON EVENT
AUGUST 8-11, 2024
ST. CROIX, VI
VIRTUAL EVENT AUGUST 17, 2024 6:00 PM
HONORING SACRED WATERS
GATHERING AFRICAN WISDOM, CREATIVITY AND POWER FETE
FUNDED BY PRESENTED BY
HONORING SACRED WATERS
GATHERING AFRICAN WISDOM, CREATIVITY AND POWER FETE
SPONSORS
ABOUT
THE EVENT
Interdisciplinary gathering of experts honoring the evolution of ancestral philosophy and sacred intelligence in the continued path for freedom, justice, racial and cultural equity.
The invited participants will comprise knowledge circles of exchanges to inform a multidisciplinary connection of African thought from the transfer of knowledge and skills from pre-colonial understandings to the present, highlighting the deep connection of water, freedom, creativity, spirituality, and empowerment The continued expansive reimagining and, interlocking of African thought and praxis from our root cultures to the present are “el Fundamento”- foundation of our creativity and ability to transform, create and recreate The knowledge circles will include traditional leaders, cultural historians, scholars, creative artists, researchers, and other visionaries addressing how the intersectional and transformative understanding of water from the sacred to practical aspects, have forged freedom initiatives, authentic humanitarianism, spiritual systems, and social justice racial and cultural equity movements essential to the present and our future.
HONORING SACRED WATERS
GATHERING AFRICAN WISDOM, CREATIVITY AND POWER FETE
OUR PROGRAM:
Thursday, August 8th
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Meet and Greet Reception
Cane Roots Art Gallery, Christiansted Hosted by Sonia Nahar Deane, Director
Welcoming Remarks: Senator Samuel Carrion, St. Croix, VI.
Friday, August 9th
6:30 AM - 7:30 AM
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Continental Breakfast at The Frederiksted Hotel
Ceremony Introduction
• Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, President and Founder, Creative Justice Initiative, El Barrio/Puerto Rico
Ceremony Opening Performances
• Iya Amma McKen, Yemaya Priestess, Brooklyn
• Baba Philbert Armenteros and Bata Ensemble, Cuba/Puerto Rico
• QM Dr. ChenziRa Davis Kahina, Per Ankh Tawi Priestess, Bamboula Ankhsamble, St. Croix, VI
• Okomfo Nana Afia Fofie, Jamaica Akan, Edo, and Artist, Jamaica
• Silvana Magda, Candomble Sacred Movement, Brazil
The itinerary for Honoring Sacred Waters: Gathering African Wisdom, Creativity, and Power Fete is subject to change.
HONORING SACRED WATERS
GATHERING AFRICAN WISDOM, CREATIVITY AND POWER FETE
OUR PROGRAM:
Friday, August 9th
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
10:00 AM - 10:10 AM
10:10 AM - 12:30 PM
Buses to Great Hall, University of VIrgin Islands (UVI)
Opening Remarks
• Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, President and Founder Creative Justice Initiative, El Barrio/Puerto Rico
Round Table 1: African Wisdom Framing Conversation
Facilitator: Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, President and Founder Creative Justice Initiative, El Barrio/Puerto Rico
• Dr. Kevin Dawson: Innate Knowledge and Skills, Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture of the African Diaspora, California
• Dr. Jorge L. Chinea: Diasporic Marronage: Colonial and Intercolonial Repercussions of Overland and Waterborne Freedom Flights, Puerto Rico
• Baba Onifádé Olówu: Ancestral Knowledge and Marine Research, Trinidad y Tobago
• Dr. George F. Tyson: Maritime Marronage from St. Croix to Puerto Rico: 1734-1848, St. Croix, VI
• Dr. Babatunde Lawal: The Gẹlẹdé Spectacle: Art, Gender, and Social Harmony in an African Culture; The Role of Creativity Then and Now, Nigeria
• Dr. ChenziRa Davis Kahina: Restoration of Bamboula Sacred Traditions of Arts, Maroon Legacy & Beyond; St. Croix Maroons and Our Ancestral Legacy, St. Croix, VI
12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
Circle Conversation
The itinerary for Honoring Sacred Waters: Gathering African Wisdom, Creativity, and Power Fete is subject to change.
HONORING SACRED WATERS
GATHERING AFRICAN WISDOM, CREATIVITY AND POWER FETE
OUR PROGRAM:
Friday, August 9th
1:15 PM - 2:00 PM
2:15 PM - 4:15 PM
4:30PM - 5:00 PM
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
8:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Lunch
Roundtable 2: Claiming Sacred Spaces
Facilitator: Melanie Maldonado, Founder and President - Puerto Rican Organization for the Performing Arts (PROPA), Puerto Rico
• Dr. Maricruz Rivera Clemente, Founder of Corporación Piñones Se Integra (COPI), and Co-Founder of Corredor Afro, Piñones, Puerto Rico
• Lester Nurse, Clinical Psychologist, Cangrejero and Historia, San Mateo de Cangrejos
• Jesús Cepeda Brenes, President of the Rafael Cepeda Folkloric-Cultural Foundation, Inc. and the Rafael Cepeda House Museum, San Mateo de Cangrejos
• José Cepeda Martínez, Musician, Folklorist, Professor, Afro-puertorican culture advocate, and Historian, Puerto Rico
• Professor Olassee Davis, Environmentalist, Ethnobotanist, Cultural Historia, UVI Professor, Writer, Naturalist, Virgin Islands
• Chipo Baker Afamefuma, Biotechnologist, Dancer and Cultural Ambassador, Ayiti
• Dr. George Tyson, Public Historian, Leading Authority on Virgin Islands History, St. Croix, VI
• Sonia Nahar Deane, Founder and Director of Cane Roots Art Gallery, Christiansted, St. Croix, VI
Summary & Closing Day 1
Bus pickup
Dinner at Museum Center for the Arts (CMCA)
Creative Performances & Arts Exhibition at CMCA
The itinerary for Honoring Sacred Waters: Gathering African Wisdom, Creativity, and Power Fete is subject to change.
HONORING SACRED WATERS
GATHERING AFRICAN WISDOM, CREATIVITY AND POWER FETE
OUR
PROGRAM: Saturday, August 10th
7:00 AM - 8:15 AM
8:15 AM - 9:00 AM
9:15 AM - 12:30 PM
9:15 AM - 11:00 AM
1:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Continental Breakfast at The Frederiksted Hotel
Buses to Great Hall, University of VIrgin Islands (UVI)
Roundtable 3: The Sacred Arts of Knowledge;
Circle A: Sacred Arts
Facilitator: Isis Rakia Mattei, ESQ, Attorney, Writer, Lucumi Priestess and Creative Justice Board Chair, New York
• Iya Amma McKen, Chief Devotee Yemonja, Brooklyn
• Baba Philbert Armenteros, Ritual Musician and Band Leader of Los Herederos de Philbert Armenteros, Cuba/Puerto Rico
• Maria Oshun Tokun Stiles, Artist/Yoruba, St. Croix, VI
• Diogenes Ballester, Arteologist and Multimedia Artist, Puerto Rico
• Chipo Baker Afamefuma, Biotechnologist, Dancer and Cultural Ambassador, Ayiti
• Silvana Magda, Dancer and Producer, Brazil
• Okomfo Nana Afia Fofie, Jamaica Akan, Edo, and Artist, Jamaica
Circle B: Creative Expressions
Facilitator: Dr. Mayra Santos Febres, Author, Poet, Novelist, Professor, Lead Researcher and Director, PRAFRO UPRRP, Puerto Rico
• Ase Adama Delphine Fawundu, Artist and Educator, Brooklyn and West Africa
• Celso González, Mosaic Master, Architect, Visual Artist and Curator, Puerto Rico
• Gerville Larsen, Architect, Designer and Founder of Art Gallery Taller Lajas, St. Croix, VI
• Andrea Wells, The Chief Cultural Officer (CCO) of the National Cultural Foundation, Barbados
• Melanie Maldonado, Founder and President - Puerto Rican Organization for the Performing Arts (PROPA), Puerto Rico
The itinerary for Honoring Sacred Waters: Gathering African Wisdom, Creativity, and Power Fete is subject to change.
HONORING SACRED WATERS
GATHERING AFRICAN WISDOM, CREATIVITY AND POWER FETE
OUR PROGRAM: Saturday, August 10th
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Lunch at UVI
Sacred Wisdom Roundtable 4: African and African Diaspora Wisdom into the Future
Facilitator: Olga Chapman Rivera, Communication Specialist, Publicist and Chief Go-Getter at BRAAVE, Puerto Rico
• Dr. Kevin Dawson, Professor, Researcher and Author, California
• Dr. Jorge L. Chinea, Professor, Researcher and Author, Puerto Rico
• Dr. George F. Tyson, Public Historian, Leading Authority on Virgin Islands History, St. Croix, VI
• Baba Onífádé Olówu, Babalawo and Divine, Son of the Caribbean, Trinidad y Tobago
• Dr. Babatunde Lawal, Professor of African and African American Diaspora Art, Nigeria
• QM Dr. ChenziRa Davis Kahina, Per Ankh Tawi Priestess, Bamboula Ankhsamble, AST Speaks, Anuperankh, Creatrix, St. Croix, VI
Summary Session and Gathering Closing - Culminating Gathering | Summary & Closing Day 2 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
• Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, President and Founder Creative Justice Initiative, El Barrio/Puerto Rico
Buses to Hotel Buses to Reception
Closing Reception Hosted by the 175th Vi Emancipation Commemoration Committee 5:15 PM 6:00 PM 7:00 PM - 9 PM
The itinerary for Honoring Sacred Waters: Gathering African Wisdom, Creativity, and Power Fete is subject to change.
"We are forever grateful for your courage and support. Your work and commitment will keep our water power alive for generations." Creative Justice Initiative team
OUR PARTICIPANTS
OUR PARTICIPANTS
GATHERING AFRICAN WISDOM, CREATIVITY AND POWER FETE SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Dra. Marta Moreno Vega | Ruth Figueroa Couvertier | Nestor Clemente | Miguel "Miguelito" Quiñonez | Sandra García-Betancourt | Ashley Queen | Jorly Medina Flores
BRAAVE TRIBE COLLAB TEAM
Olga Chapman Rivera | Héctor Ramos Jr. | Erwin Lopez
COLLABORATORS:
QM Dr. ChenziRa Davis Kahina | Senator Samuel Carrión | Museum CMC Arts | Cane Roots Gallery | University of Virginia Islands | The Frederiksted Hotel | Cottages by the Sea | Alba's Restaurant | Queen's B Catering
https://bit.ly/honoringsacredwaters