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Artist Description As this project is dependent on funding, HAC has not yet secured the
<br />artists that will lead each poetry workshop or program. The following
<br />list includes artists with whom HAC would prioritize initial discussions
<br />and consider for contracting serv ices. W illiam Dav is, the primary
<br />collaborator working with HAC staff to implement this project, has
<br />strong relationships with these artists and many others in the
<br />poetry/spoken word community. His artistic expertise and
<br />inv olv ement in the project will ensure HAC can successfully curate
<br />and contract artists for the workshops, performances at Last Fridays
<br />& the Art W alk, and the re-imagining of the Poet Laureate program.
<br />Ultimately, the artists with whom HAC contracts will depend on grant
<br />funding, artist av ailability, program focus areas, and budget.
<br />1. W illiam Dav is Jr. is a former Hillsborough Poet Laureate (2016-
<br />2018), current member of HAC Board of Directors, the host of
<br />Hillsborough's Last Fridays & the Art W alk "Poetry Prose Showcase",
<br />a father, basketball coach, teacher, writer, poet, spoken word artist,
<br />and the owner of W riter's Block Publishing. W illiam's passion for the
<br />power of poetry and spoken word has brought much-needed energy
<br />to Hillsborough. He is helping to shape the trajectory of our
<br />community and is a strong adv ocate of reaching youth and div erse
<br />audiences through this art form. He will collaborate with HAC to help
<br />present this project and to help re-imagine the Poet Laureate
<br />program as a whole.
<br />2. Christopher Massenburg, better known as Dasan Ahanu, is a
<br />public speaker, organizer, curator, educator, poet, spoken word
<br />artist, educator, songwriter, and emcee, and loyal Hip Hop head born
<br />and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is co-founder and managing
<br />director of Black Poetry Theatre, a Durham based theatre company
<br />that creates and produces original poetry and spoken word based
<br />productions. As an activ e participant in poetry slam, Dasan has
<br />competed regionally and nationally as a founding member and coach
<br />of Durham, NC’s own Bull City Slam Team. Dasan has performed at
<br />HAC's Last Fridays ev ents twice in the past year.
<br />3. Khalisa Rae is an award-winning multi-hyphenate poet, educator,
<br />and journalist based in Durham, NC. She is best known for her
<br />community activ ism and nonprofit management as the co-founder of
<br />Poet.she (Greensboro), the Inv isibility Project, and Athenian Press-
<br />QPOC writer’s collectiv e, resource center, and bookstore in
<br />W ilmington, NC. As a former English professor and public school
<br />teaching artist, Khalisa’s passion lies in uplifting women and youth
<br />through community engagement. She has serv ed as an outreach
<br />and program director for v arious nonprofits, as well as a teaching
<br />artist, and is always looking for a way to giv e back and serv e as a
<br />mentor.
<br />4. Gary Phillips, a life-long North Carolinian born in Appalachia and
<br />long-term resident of Chatham County, was the 2016-2018 poet
<br />laureate of Carrboro, North Carolina. He is a writer, naturalist, and
<br />entrepreneur with a special interest in conserv ation and land-
<br />protectiv e strategies. He is a highly-respected community leader with
<br />a unique background and passion for poetry.
<br />DocuSign Envelope ID: 186FF265-BEAA-4CC2-8D65-72C0A02D685E
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