Join the National Black Arts Festival for an intimate collector-centered conversation exploring the art of collecting work from the African diaspora. Part of NBAF’s Creatively Speaking conversation series, Beyond the Frame looks beyond market value to examine why collecting matters: preservation, legacy, and cultural stewardship.

The conversation features Atlanta-based collector Kimberly Fisher, who alongside her husband, Dr. Dameon Fisher, has built a collection centered on the preservation and advancement of African American visual narratives. The conversation is facilitated by April Wright, NBAF Director of Individual Giving.

This public gathering offers collectors, aspiring collectors, and art lovers a welcoming space to engage in a meaningful dialogue about collecting and the importance of supporting artists of the African diaspora. Space is limited. Please RSVP below.

Join the National Black Arts Festival for an evening of bold ideas, honest assessment, and forward vision as we chart the trajectory of Black theatre across regions, institutions, and generations.

This edition of Creatively Speaking brings together two visionary leaders shaping the field today: Kelley Girod, Director of New Works at the Apollo Theater, and Stephanie McKee, Executive Artistic Director of Junebug Productions. The conversation is facilitated by Addae Moon, Associate Artistic Director of Theatrical Outfit.

The discussion begins in the South, exploring the rich legacy of Black Southern theatre as a space for storytelling, resistance, and community truth telling. From grassroots ensembles to movement-based companies, Southern Black theatre has long nurtured artists and narratives that challenge and redefine American culture. From there, the conversation expands nationally, examining the current state of Black theatre across Broadway, regional institutions, and independent stages, asking where breakthroughs are happening, where barriers remain, and what must shift to ensure Black theatre continues to thrive from local communities to the largest platforms in the country.

This program serves as a companion to NBAF’s collaborative staged reading of Echoes of The Storm: 20 Years After Katrina, presented with Spelman College on March 20 and 21 at the Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation and the Arts. Together, the reading and conversation underscore theatre’s role as a living archive of Black memory, place, and possibility.

Registration required below.

Join NBAF as we gather visionary artist’s and thinker’s Carrie Mae Weems, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, & Dr. Daniel Black in a discussion moderated by Errin Haines to explore a defining question for this moment: Who gets to shape the story of this nation? This conversation examines America as an unfinished composition, a story continuously reframed by creativity, cultural memory, and imagination. Through a dynamic dialogue at the intersection of art, history, and identity, the panel considers how Black voices have expanded, challenged, and co-authored the American narrative, and what it means to claim authorship as the nation enters its next chapter.  

Who Gets To Sing America is supported by Georgia Humanities, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, through funding from the Georgia General Assembly. NBAF’s Creatively Speaking conversation series focuses on art, culture and ideas.