Writing from Art: A Creative Workshop

Screenshot from Chaos and Order Website
Partial image of Beauford Delaney's Untitled (1947)
Oil on Masonite
Minneapolis Institute of Art

Each year, postgraduate Arts students from the University of Kent Paris School of Arts and Culture host and curate a Masters of the Arts festival, where Kent students and the wider Paris community come together to create, commune, and explore ideas.

Pallas-Amenah Morgan is serving as the Writing and Literature Liaison for this year's festival, the theme of which is "Chaos and Order." She reached out to me to ask if I'd be interested in hosting a writing workshop or panel discussion during the week of the event. To present the theme, she said the following:

We often fear change, but the disruption of truths, ideals, and the status quo have produced some of the most transformative movements in history. We will curate events and workshops that encourage embracing chaos as an opportunity for personal, artistic, and social growth.

Morgan presented several ideas for a workshop, focused on writers she'd heard me talk about during an Entrée to Black Paris walking tour and my presentation entitled "Black Paris and the Myth of a Colorblind France." She said I could present information about my chosen topic and that participating writers would then create, then perform, a short story or a slam poem about the topic.

When I read the theme - Chaos and Order - I knew immediately that I wanted to host a workshop about Beauford's life and art. I told Morgan that Beauford painted to bring order to the mental chaos that increasingly reigned in his mind and eventually overtook his life, and I also mentioned that several Wells International Foundation interns have written prose and poetry inspired by his work. She agreed that this would be an excellent idea. 

I went on to select four Beauford Delaney works – two figurative and two abstract – that workshop participants will be asked to contemplate. They will share the writings inspired by these works at The Creative Workshop: Writing through Art, which will be held on June 10 from 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM.

The festival will be held during the week of June 7-11, 2022. For the full line-up of events, which includes an art exhibition, a keynote presentation, and film screenings in addition to workshops,click HERE.

The Creative Workshop: Writing through Art event will be take place at 11, Cité Falguière in the 15th arrondissement. Cité Falguière is an historic enclave where artists such as Amadeo Modigliani, Constantin Brancusi, and Chaim Soutine once had studios. Beauford's dear friend, Charley Boggs, once lived at Number 5 on this street.

If you're in Paris and would like to attend this workshop, RSVP here.