The creative self is instrumental to healing and taking agency in a complex world. During the MegaWellness Creative Retreat, members of the MegaBlack Arts cohort invite you to experience creative practice as an entry point to self liberation. Through a series of explorations in movement, dance, music and poetic writing, we will work to find new alignment in our bodies, spirits, voices and minds, grounding ourselves in the potential of creative power.

This event is sponsored by the City of San Francisco’s Dream Keeper Initiative.

Session Descriptions:

Such is our soul
Lead by Joanna Haigood

This session activates W.E.B. DuBois’ book The Souls of Black Folk through movement, song, and in creation and collaboration with others. The workshop will resource elements of DuBois’ seminal work to explore identity, community, and connection to the body.

Tapping into our voices
Lead by Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr.

Vocalizing our truths and our emotions never gets the space warranted for true expression. We will warm up the resonators which give us clarity to speak and voice our experiences. We will vocalize with piano stretching and flexing the inner vocal life. Then we will explore Langston Hughes' Poem “I, Too” and harmonize to “Singing America.”

Where do we come from, and where are we going?
Lead by Aidaa Peerzada

Where do we come from, and where are we going? During this session, participants will practice generating poetic imagery and creating poetry that expresses what defines their sense of home and then moving forward crafting a vision for what they hope defines their future.

IntuitivFlo
Lead by Flo Dabokemp
This session will guide you back to your most intuitive self and empower your expression using holistic movement practices rooted in building and strengthening the relationship with your body and its energy.


What is the Dream Keeper Initiative?
Inspired by Langston Hughes’ poem of the same name, the Dream Keeper Initiative is a new, citywide effort to reinvest $120 million over the next two years from law enforcement into San Francisco’s Black and African American community. This initiative is part of Mayor London N. Breed’s roadmap for reforming public safety and addressing structural inequities in San Francisco.