KayJo Creatives is excited to host the painting portion of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts first ever Juneteenth celebration! We will be painting the outside of clay pots. Our design is inspired by the quilt patterns that enslaved Africans created to encode messages about the Underground Railroad. We are overjoyed to celebrate innovation, art, and freedom.
Enroll your young artist in a hands-on journey through the history and culture of the Harlem Renaissance!
This FREE 4-week virtual series is designed for grades 3-5 and art kits for interactive learning will be delivered to all participants.
Limited space available. Parent participation is strongly encouraged.
February 6, 13, 20, 27 12:30-2:00pm PST
Contact keya@kayjocreatives.com if you have questions.
KayJo Creatives, in partnership with Inlandia Institute and UCR Arts' virtual Third Thursdays program, presents: "Voices of I, Too," a virtual roundtable featuring Black men who will discuss masculinity, relationships, and their own identity.
Roundtable hosted by Keya Vance and Dr. Natalie Graham of KayJo Creatives and discussion led by Frito Marcelin, "I, Too" is part of a legacy of artistic efforts inspired by Langston Hughes’ poem of the same title, particularly the turn Hughes makes in the last four lines: "Besides, / They’ll see how beautiful I am / And be ashamed— // I, too, am America."
Calling all San Bernardino County High School teachers, students, and friends!!! Come listen to professional poets, share your work at our open mic, and learn about the National Poetry Out Loud Contest. Win up to $20,000 for reciting poetry! Register ahead of time to receive the online event info.
Many of us have struggled and are struggling this year to find a way to stay motivated to create work. Others have found surprising new pathways into quiet solitude and into productive virtual writing communities. Wherever you fall inside or outside these descriptions, writing forward is a complex process. We define writing forward in this series as leaning into old writing or scraps of writing, to massage and stretch it in unexpected and innovative ways; exploring new echoes, voices, and images to write new works as collage; and sharpening and polishing our work in preparation to share it with specific audiences.
KayJo Creatives presents Writing Forward: Crafting Revision, a 6-week writing workshop, with co-facilitators Cynthia A. Briano and Dr. Natalie J. Graham.
Each session will consist of a short generative prompt, interactive lesson on revision, and a feedback workshop broken into 2 smaller breakout groups. Participants will complete 6 drafts of new poems, create a publication plan, develop revision strategies, complete a revised manuscript of 8-10 poems, and have a 45-minute one-on-one consultation with one of the co-facilitators.
KayJo Creatives is excited to partner with Greater Blessings, San Bernardino to present, Freedom to Fly: Praise and Paint, a unique, art-filled afternoon of spiritual uplift and painting instruction. This is a one-of-a-kind worship experience for the whole family.
Space is limited, get your tickets today. This event will sell out!
Imagining Home is a 2-day, interactive, multi-genre, creative arts workshop series that is free and open to the public. Not only will participants learn photography skills, they will learn the way photographers use those skills to tell a story about who they are and what they value.
KayJo Creatives is thrilled to partner with Arts Connection, National Endowment for the Arts, and California Arts Council to celebrate the kickoff of San Bernardino County's Poetry Out Loud Program! Contact us to sign up for the rap/spoken word contest or open mic.
Do not let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live. Mae Jemison
3:00-5:00 pm Writing through Words : Poetry Workshop : Learn strategies to write and revise when you don't know where to start or feel like your writing is stuck. Use other writers as inspiration. All levels welcome! Workshop Facilitator, Natalie J. Graham.
5:00-5:30 pm No Beats, Just Bars : Rap/Spoken Word Contest : Poetry is rap. Rap is Poetry. Get on the mic for 30 seconds to win a cash prize! Sign up early, space is limited.
5:30-7:00 pm Open Mic, Poetry Readings, Recitations, and Performances by locally and nationally-renowned performers.
Contact natalie@kayjocreatives.com for more information or to sign up for the rap/spoken word contest or the open mic.
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state and jurisdictional arts agencies. https://www.poetryoutloud.org
Take One: Storytelling and Filmmaking Workshops for Youth is coming to San Bernardino! KayJo Creatives is thrilled to bring this FREE opportunity to the community! During these two workshops school-aged youth will have the chance to collaborate, learn the basics of storytelling, and co-create a documentary short film centered on who they are and who they want to be. Light refreshments provided.
When you reserve your spot, message to tell us your favorite movie!
As a company dedicated to arts, education, and community, we couldn't let a Mother’s Day come and go without acknowledging the undeniable weight that our mothers individually and collectively have carried and continue to carry within our communities. From our company's name to our events to our programming, KayJo Creatives is inspired by the creative energy of mothers. This luncheon features a poetry workshop, music and poetry performances, painting instruction and materials for an 8x10 canvas, and a special gift for all guests. Whether you are a mother, have a mother figure that you're celebrating, or just want to connect and create, there will be activities for all ages and skill levels.
Half-price raffle tickets (in sets of 10) are available online for our $100 raffle, all raffle proceeds go to supporting youth artists in San Bernardino.
Also, a limited number of "Double Up Discount" tickets are available for purchase.
Follow us on FaceBook @KayJoCreatives for more information. Contact Natalie@KayJoCreatives.com for vendor information.
For the last year we've been working to create with San Bernardino's finest! So on 4/20 we are celebrating with some of our favorites! Come vibe with us at The Lab 909. Your ticket includes appetizers, two drinks, paint supplies and instruction.
As we countdown to our 1st Birthday Bash, we'll be celebrating our top supporters who have nothing but love for us and the IE. Shout out to Terri Atlas, Soigné Hair Studio & Barbershop, Amanda Humber, Beautiful Diva Hair Salon, Brenda Fletcher, Cynthia Briano, Chad Sweeney, Kera Vinson, Cindy Rinne, George Hammons, and so many more. KayJo's first year COULD NOT have happened without you.
#createcommunity #honorhumanity #amplifyIE #trapnpaint
We associate some of the most powerful shifts in American society with MLK and the dream he cast forever into the collective conscious on August 28, 1963. We remember him as a compassionate trailblazer and resolute champion of justice and humanity. How has his legacy endured in the hearts of our community? What does MLK mean today? Through the creative interpretation of poets, filmmakers, musicians, scholars, and artists we will respond to the call made more than 50 years ago by Dr. Martin Luther King in his "I Have a Dream" Speech. We are thrilled to feature creatives from the Inland Empire and beyond to celebrate community and honor humanity.
This event will feature a KayJo Creatives Original Short Film, Music Performances, Poetry Reading, and Dinner
Dress Code: Gold & Black
Create It: Paint & Sip is a community arts event where we will celebrate the power each of us have to imagine artful and unique spaces to be ourselves. Toni Morrison says a good story, "creat[es] us at the very moment it is being created." Art is powerful and transformative. As we enter Fall and approach the holidays, this event celebrates the capacity we have to create a pathway forward no matter what the season may bring. #CreateCommunity and #HonorHumanity with us.
As with all KayJo Creatives programming, we seek to #AmplifyIE and will donate a portion of the proceeds to supporting art and young artists from the Inland Empire.
**********SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO BOUGHT A TICKET OR DONATED TO OUR FIRST EVENT "BEGIN IT: POETRY BRUNCH." MESSAGE US ON FACEBOOK OR INSTAGRAM @KAYJOCREATIVES FOR THE PROMO CODE.**********
Goethe's oft-quoted phrase, "Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it;" inspires this celebration of poetry and community. Dr. Natalie J. Graham's debut poetry collection, Begin with a Failed Body was published by University of Georgia Press as the winner of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize, September 15, 2017. In this collection, described by Julia Bouwsma as "truly seeing the body for what it is, including all of the hurt that it carries," Graham handles the hard work of beginning from a broken place. To celebrate the anniversary of the publication and the many voices who respond to and champion the arts, Graham, in partnership with KayJo Creatives, present Begin It: Poetry Brunch. The brunch is the first of a series of events by KayJo Creatives to sustain and support community and amplify voices from the Inland Empire.
The celebration will begin with a southern-inspired soul food brunch, raffle, and poetry readings by Cynthia A. Briano, Nikia Chaney, Dr. Ashaki M. Jackson, Marcus Omari, Isabel Quintero, and Dr. Chad Sweeney. Attendees will also have an opportunity to create their own poems with Dr. Natalie J. Graham, share their work, and receive feedback.
Half of the event's proceeds will support the creation of the Jo Woods Memorial Poetry Prize for high school students from San Bernardino who are aspiring writers.
