BRAVE NEW VOICES FESTIVAL
BNV 2020 is Virtual!
The Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival, powered by Youth Speaks, is the only festival of its kind. Every year, over 500 young poets, their mentors, and the nation’s leading artists and cultural workers convene in a different U.S. city for 4-5 days of arts education, artistic expression, and civic engagement. This year is our first year producing a virtual festival giving us the ability for even more youth to participate and a bigger audience.
Congratulations to the 2020 Brave New Voices Slam Champions: Team St. Louis. 2 years in a row!
The 2020 Brave New Voices International Poetry Festival has selected #BREATHE as our theme this year. This theme is to honor those who have lost their lives at the hands of racism, anti-Blackness, transphobia, homophobia, fatphobia, ableism, police corruption and the various forms of hatred that fill our world. As a family and community, we will not remain silent or still in the face of these atrocities, and especially now, in a global pandemic, COVID-19 that amplifies those -isms, we must use our collective voice and the work we all do year round and bring that to this year’s celebration.
This year we will convene virtually, which comes with a new set of challenges, but also unique opportunities. This year, we will come together and show the world this is how we #BREATHE. A virtual action will be announced in a follow up communication that is directly connected to this year’s theme.
- Brave New Voices Squad
PUBLIC EVENT
Black Opulence | Friday • July 24 • 2PM
Black Opulence is a showcase celebrating Blackness and the wealth and treasure our ancestors afforded us. Festival participants should come to enjoy a curated night of Black excellence and storytelling through art. Artists of all mediums will showcase their incredible artistic offerings in a #BLACKOUT like never before.
BRAVE NEW VOICES SPONSROR
Speical thank to Lightswitch for providing lighting to all participating teams.
Lightswitch is a collective of internationally-recognized lighting, media, and visual designers committed to changing the way people experience the world. Our dedicated team serves our clients from full-service studios all over the globe, united by the core values that inform everything we do.
