Artist Initiative
ACHF Arts Access
New poems will be written. A reading and four events on race in the arts. Success will be measured by the number and quality of the new poems I will write. Success will be measured by the audience numbers, Youtube and webpage viewings for the reading and the four events on race in the arts. 2: A reading of my new work and eight artists and myself will participate in four performances/conversations about race in the arts. Success will be measured by the audience numbers, Youtube and webpage viewings.
Mura wrote forty new poems during this grant period. The four conversations on race spurred conversations on race among audience members. The poems Mura wrote during this grant have received praise from audience members at readings both in Minnesota and in New York and Miami at the VONA Writer's Conference. The live audience was tabulated by a head count, the broadcast audience was estimated through a look at Minnesota Public Radio's statistics concerning its listeners, and video viewings were logged on Youtube. The fact that Minnesota Public Radio wanted to broadcast the conversation on Alexs Pate is indicative of its positive reception. Audience members were extremely positive and many pointed out that more conversations like this are needed 2: I believe that this project allowed me to write important new poems and artists and audiences to think and converse more deeply about the issues of race and the arts. The evaluation came from verbal audience response. It also came from the fact that Minnesota Public Radio wanted to rebroadcast one of the conversations. The reaction of audiences to my new poems was also part of my evaluation of the work, including several audience members saying my elegy about a young Somali American man who was shot outside the Brian Coyle Center brought them to tears.