Ingrid LaFleur is a curator, pleasure activist and Afrofuturist. Her mission is to ensure equal distribution of the future, exploring the frontiers of social justice through new technologies, economies and modes of government.
R. Alan Brooks teaches writing for Regis University’s MFA program, and Lighthouse Writers Workshop. He’s the writer/creator of “The Burning Metronome” and “Anguish Garden” - graphic novels featuring social commentary, as well as The Colorado Sun’s weekly comic, “What’d I Miss?”. He also hosts the popular “MotherF**ker In A Cape” comics podcast, which focuses on marginalized members of the geek world, and has written comic books for Pop Culture Classroom, Zenescope Entertainment, and more. In addition, Alan is a musician and noted stage host, regularly emceeing celebrated events, like the DINK Awards Show, and Arise Music Festival.
Quincy Scott Jones has earned an M.A., an M.F.A., and $100 once working as a supermarket clown. His work has appeared in the African American Review, The North American Review, Love Jawns: A Mixtape, and The Feminist Wire as well anthologies such as Resisting Arrest: Poems to Stretch the Sky, Let Loose on the World: Celebrating Amiri Baraka at 75, and Black Lives Have Always Mattered: A Collection of Essays, Poems, and Personal Narratives. With Nina Sharma he co-created the Nor’easter Exchange: a multicultural, multi-city reading series. His first book, The T-Bone Series, was published by Whirlwind Press in 2009 and his first comic, Black Nerd, is coming soon.
Celia Peters is a filmmaker, visual artist, curator and producer. Her work is primarily in the futurist/science fiction realm and centers underrepresented voices, especially Black women. Peters’ focus is on what lies ahead, even with the understanding that time is a construct. She believes that our present day actions ARE our future. She focuses on the future because it is unwritten; “as a Black woman, I am amply aware of the injustices people who look like me have suffered and continue to suffer, even if in slightly different ways. My work is about the possibilities that lie ahead and it gives Black characters agency over their journeys and indeed, their destinies.”
PlatteForum was founded in 2002 to provide opportunities for learning through the arts for Denver’s most vulnerable youth and to expand public access to programming high in artistic excellence. PlatteForum was one of the first nonprofits to offer innovative arts-education programming for youth from historically marginalized communities and introduced the first artist residency program in the Denver area. Through these programs, we match our youth with professional artists in intensive and long-term projects where they may explore relevant social issues, safely take creative risks and develop personal, academic and life skills that stay with them forever. These experiences improve academic performance, prepare youth for post-secondary success and inspire them to create positive social change in their communities.
Robert Franklin II
Robert Franklin, II is an Edu-tainer whose passion for youth, difference, challenge, and opportunity has launched several self-awareness programs, courageous conversations, training, and facilitated experiences. In his work as a youth developer, Robert has worked alongside youth, adults, and families in classrooms, government agencies, and private organizations. In his consultancy and as a performer, "Mr. RAWbert", blends learning, teaching, and connection with all types of audiences - delivering customized messages for multiple communities.
Turner Adornetto
Turner Adornetto is an (early-career) experimental documentary filmmaker also trained as an electrical engineer and science and technology studies (STS) scholar. His work as a filmmaker has drawn heavily on these sub-foci to find new expressions for science and technology in society. Most recently, Adornetto has turned towards energy as a particularly dynamic subject for investigating humanity's entanglement with the technological. His films have screened at Ohio State University's Digi-Eye Showcase (2016), Athens International Film and Video Festival (2017), and Ethnografilm Paris (2020 - rescheduled for 2021).
"A True Change (ATC), established in 2017, is a community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Denver, Colorado. Minorities with lifelong, rooted connections to Denver's low-income communities of color developed and operated A True Change. The mission is to promote stability and guidance to inner-city, at-risk youth, and families. ATC works to bridge the gap between the community and systemic challenges preventing success in vulnerable populations.
Kadampa Meditation Center Colorado, Alexandra Bonano
Kadampa Meditation Center Colorado welcomes everyone and provides a community in which to learn about and practice Buddha’s meditations and teachings as an effective way to solve our daily problems, grow spiritually, and transform our world. We are a not for profit organization founded in 1999, and part of a worldwide network of over 1,200 Centers for modern Buddhism.
Alexandra is an inspiring teacher of Kadampa Buddhism and a Socio-Cultural Anthropologist instructor. For many years she studied and taught the African Diaspora in the United States and Latin America. Meeting Kadampa Buddhism was a life changer, soon after she left university teaching and began volunteering and teaching Buddhist meditation. Alex brings to her teachings a wealth of both understanding and practical application of Buddhist practices.
Toluwanimi Obiwole The Palm Wine Collective
The Palm Wine Collective is a collaborative effort between artists of the African Diaspora in Denver to connect other Black artists and creative entrepreneurs. The Collective was founded to engage Denver and the surrounding areas in a conversation about the diaspora by people directly tied to it, that highlights and amplifies the often underrepresented Pan-African, Afrofuturist, and Afro-Centric voices.
As part of the Youth Employment Academy, Arts Street uses the power of creativity to help youth in breaking the cycle of generational poverty in Denver communities by gaining personal and economic stability through education, arts and technology and employment training.
Tribal Zyphers (Is a creative mentor empowerment program) run by artists and activists that work with youth who are at-risk, giving them creative outlets to express emotions, and explore Self-identity. They believe in utilizing art as a mentor tool to teach world culture transforming perspective. Tribal Zyphers educates on cultural competency through implicit bias and facilitator training workshops. They also empower our youth through the elements of Hip Hop and indigenous culture as a rite of passage, teaching them the importance of connecting to community through entrepreneurship and advocacy.
Young began her intentional artistic journey creating handmade abstract jewelry. Shortly after, came the idea to make custom wood jewelry. Following that experience, she began designing abstracts with gel pens, yarn, metal, paint, and now with digital applications. Her projection as an artist goes far beyond just one specific medium. “I believe my art style to be a pure flow of spirit - an imprint of my unique spiritual DNA. If my soul wants to creatively convey a message, I will use whatever tools, mediums, and/or applications that seem fit to express that energy.”
Gregory Crichlow Chocolate Spokes Bike Studio
A native of Colorado, Crichlow is an Assistant Professor in the school of Architecture and Design at the University of Kansas and is the founder of Chocolate Spokes Bike Studio. The studio was initiated on the corner of 28th and Downing in the Five Points neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. The studio’s intent is to be an engaged community participant through the service, design, and fabrication of the bicycle.
Tilt West is a Denver-based arts nonprofit and a hub for community exchange, critical dialogue, and provocative conversations on art, ideas, and culture. Our live events explore topics at the intersection of creative practice and contemporary social issues. Our publications—the Tilt West Journal and the articles we commission for Medium.com—expand the conversation around these topics.
Headroom Sessions, our partner/collaborator hosts live music sessions, supporting musicians with video, audio, photoshoots, and write-ups for a career kickstart. They provide a space where—whether digitally or in person—community is created, creatives get a professional boost, and the legacy of Denver lives on. During this era of social distancing, they have been hosting educational online panels.
The Reminders are a rare and remarkable musical duo seamlessly blending soulful sounds and roots music with insightful messages and thoughtful lyrics. The group consists of Brussels-born emcee Big Samir and Queens-born emcee/ vocalist Aja Black, a collective creative force that’s hard to beat. Big Samir weaves intricate rhythmic patterns with a bilingual French/English flow, displaying his street-smart credibility in both his lyrics and cool demeanor. This is beautifully complimented by Aja Black's confident delivery, diverse cadences, and unique vocal stylings. The two have an undeniable magical chemistry as they share more than lyrical abilities and stages; the couple shares a partnership in both music and life as Samir and Aja have been married for almost a decade.
