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North Hennepin Community College Places BIPOC Artists in the Spotlight

By Minneapolis Northwest CVB on Feb. 09, 2023

Stages of Equity is a free 2-day visual and performing arts festival that raises up the powerful work of BIPOC visual & performing artists by inviting these creators to engage with students and the broader NHCC community on the North Hennepin Community College campus.

Now in its third year, organizer/producer Dean of Fine & Applied Arts, Global & Cultural Studies Kathy Hendrickson has knit together two days filled with workshops and performances featuring Minnesota based artists. www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiA0fzlk0H0

“The seeds of this festival comes from the students when our theater students attended a workshop at the Kennedy Center Theater and felt they didn’t see themselves as people of color well represented,” Hendrickson explained. “The letter they wrote to our theater department as a plea for action enlivened us to change our source material in the arts and set a standard of selecting 50% of our theater programming to include artists of color and women. In 2020 we launched Stages of Equity virtually to great excitement and interest. This year’s lineup intertwines performance, education, and community in a powerful format.”

Stages of Equity

Thursday, March 23rd kicks off the festival with a graphic design workshop followed by a guitar workshop by the world-renowned Congolese musician Siama Matuzungidi. Following a complimentary box lunch in the Fine Arts Center lobby, native hip-hop artist Tufawon performs from 3-4 p.m. followed by an on-stage conversation. A free community dinner will be served following Tufawon’s performance.

Stages of Equity