4th Annual Stages of Equity Festival

Monthly events, including exhibits, live performances and workshops, are scheduled from January - April 2024 and are free and open to the community. Advance registration is encouraged at www.nhcc.edu/SOE.

The Stages of Equity Festival seeks to create a long overdue paradigm shift in the visual & performing arts that redresses systemic racial inequities in the arts. NHCC’s festival, organized and produced by Kathy Hendrickson, Interim Director of Community Impact, creates an intervention in the history of inequity in the arts by creating a platform that centers the powerful artmaking of people of color. All creative projects, exhibits, workshops, and performances featured in the festival are BIPOC created. The festival’s mission believes foregrounding artists of color provides a mechanism not only for redress but also for social uplift and a sense of belonging and inclusion for BIPOC artists, for the college’s highly diverse student body, and for the college’s diverse community of Brooklyn Park as well as greater northwest Hennepin County.

“We are at a pivotal time in our human history, as arts education, funding and programming are being cut nationwide,” said Kathy Hendrickson, NHCC Interim Director of Community Impact and Stages of Equity Producer. “Stages of Equity is more important than ever to lift up, celebrate, and provide space for Black and Brown voices and stories to be amplified, and for us to process and express these realities together. I am so proud of North Hennepin in taking the lead and ensuring BIPOC voices are heard in our 4th Annual Stages of Equity Festival.

Stages of Equity Event Schedule:

EXHIBITION: PEYTON SCOTT RUSSELL

Artist Peyton Scott Russell combines the traditions of Plein Air painting with Graffiti in a new style he is calling Plein Aire Graffiti. He is disrupting both methods and creating art that expresses the action of painting, performance, and public attention in a pop-up style event. Once finished, the art may stay in place for a few hours or overnight for public viewing and/or drying time. Canvases are reclaimed later and prepped for gallery exhibitions.

Located in the Joseph Gazzuolo Gallery in the Fine Arts Center

• Exhibit Open: December 20, 2023 - January 24, 2024
• Artist's Reception: January 11, 2024, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
• Typography & Graffiti Workshop: January 24, 2024, 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. (located in the Fine Arts Center Main Theatre 

PERFORMANCE: REINCARNATION SOUP

A mythic tale of soup, Saigon, and recycled souls. Journey through the Vietnamese heart in this memory play, a solo performance written and performed Viet Nguyen.

Located in the Fine Arts Center Theatre

• Pre-show “Art Eats:” January 19, 2024, 6:30 p.m.
• Performance and post-show conversation, January 19, 2024, 7:30 p.m.

PERFORMANCE: THE HATMAKER’S WIFE

A play written by Lauren Yee & performed by Ten Thousand Things Theater Company. A young woman moves in with her boyfriend expecting domestic bliss but instead finds discomfort. This whimsical and surreal story bends time and space to redefine the idea of family, home, and true love itself.

Located in the Fine Arts Center Theatre

• Acting & Theater-making Workshop: February 16, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
• Pre-show “Arts Eats:” February 16, 2024, 6:30 p.m.
• Performance and post-show conversation, February 16, 2024, 7:30 p.m.

PERFORMANCE: HIP-HOP DANCE WORKSHOP WITH CORBIN HUNTER

Hailing from Brooklyn Park, MN, professional dancer Corbin Hunter, most recently a backup dancer for Beyoncé and Jay-Z, will lead a dance workshop focusing on hip-hop dance styles. Other artists she has worked with include Ginuwine, Lizzo, and Megan Thee Stallion. Hunter has graced countless award ceremony stages and has starred in music videos for the biggest names in the business. 

Located in the Fine Arts Center Theatre

• Workshop: March 19, 12:30-2:30 p.m.

PERFORMANCE: TU DANCE COMPANY

A leading voice in contemporary dance, performing work that draws together modern dance, classical ballet, African-based and urban vernacular movements.

Located in the Fine Arts Center Theatre

• Pre-show “Arts Eats:” March 22, 2024, 6:30 p.m.
• Performance and post-show conversation, March 22, 2024, 7:30 p.m.

PERFORMANCE: SALSA DEL SOUL

A nine-piece orchestra performing various styles of dance music from the Spanish-speaking regions of the Caribbean.

Located in the Fine Arts Center Theatre

• Pre-show “Arts Eats:” April 6, 2024, 6:30 p.m.
• Performance and post-show conversation, April 6, 2024, 7:30 p.m.