When Art Talks Back: Ekphrastic Art and Poetry
Hijas del Maiz, Daughters of the Corn by Hugo Claudin
We’ve finalized the list of revolutionary artist’s for Linda’s workshop, including artists currently featured at Rowster’s Coffee in the Annamarie Buller-curated show Defiant! Art That Talks Back. We’re honored to present their work at the festival. We’ll share more about the art work after the event.
When Art Talks Back
Ekphrastic Art & Poetry Workshop
June 20th, 2-4pm
Write in response to revolutionary visual art created by local artists. This interactive, sensory-rich session invites participants to reflect on liberation, memory, and imagination through color and metaphor.
Facilitator
Linda Nemec Foster
Linda Nemec Foster is the author of 14 collections of poetry including The Lake Huron Mermaid (a collaboration with co-author Anne-Marie Oomen and artist Meridith Ridl), Bone Country, Amber Necklace from Gdansk, Talking Diamonds, The Blue Divide and The Lake Michigan Mermaid, a 2019 Michigan Notable Book (and another collaboration with Oomen and Ridl). Her books, The Blue Divide and Bone Country were both nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. She has published over 350 poems and prose pieces in such journals as The Georgia Review, Nimrod, North American Review, New American Writing, Witness, and Best Small Fictions. In 2023, she won first prize in the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Contest sponsored by the Paterson Literary Review. Her book, Bone Country, was honored as a Distinguished Favorite in the NYC’s Big Book Award in Poetry for 2024. Foster was the first Poet Laureate of Grand Rapids and founded the Contemporary Writers Series at Aquinas College. Visit her website at www.lindanemecfoster.com
Artists
Hugo Claudin
Hugo Claudín is a Mexican-American painter of contemporary figuration. He was born in Guadalajara Mexico in 1966. As a teenager he migrated to the United States where he studied art at Kendall College of Art & Design. In addition to being a painter, he is a drummer/percussionist and co-founder of the latin band Cabildo. He collaborates extensively with local artists and musicians. He has participated in and hosted many jazz concerts, poetry readings and art shows across the city and at his liberated art space Mexicains Sans Frontieres.
SCOOB the Artist
Scoob the artist, whose real name is Terrell Foy, is a multidisciplinary artist and creative visionary based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is best known for leading “The Trauma Project,” a powerful artistic endeavor that addresses themes of trauma and healing through a combination of visual art and music.
Soso-Akalesh
Soraida Garcia-Godinez also goes by the artist’s name Soso-Akalesh, creates paintings through vivid symbolism and soulful expression. Her artwork serves as narratives for awakening, reflection and understanding. Her piece echoes the urgent call to preserve life and honor our shared humanity. Her work speaks where words fall short, inviting viewers to feel, question, and remember the importance of the sacred law of life.
