Amoke Kubat: YO MAMA is in the House

Àmọ̀kẹ́ Kubat's work rises up in a dozen different overlapping directions. In North Minneapolis you'll likely hear her described as an organizer, a puppeteer, a healer, a priestess, a playwright, a counselor, a writer, a teacher, an actress, a curator, a storyteller, and more often than not, a provocateur.

Bio:

Amoke Kubat is an artist, weaver, sacred doll maker, and sometimes stand-up comedian, who uses her art to speak truth to power and hold a position of wellness in an America sick with inequality and inequity. In 2010, Amoke began developing her Art of Mothering workshops, which became the foundation of Yo Mama’s House: a cooperative for women who are artists, mothers, activists, and healers in North Minneapolis. Amoke used her residency to support the development of Yo Mama’s House by building relationships with researchers of African history, race studies, and other fields that might inform her work to reclaim Indigenous African sensibilities.

Notable Mentions:

Creative Community Leadership Institute (CCLI) Established in 2002 CCLI was a community arts leadership development training program developed by Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis, MN. Over its 22 year history the program supported a network of creative change agents who continue to use arts and culture to help build caring, capable, and sustainable communities. When Intermedia closed its doors in 2017 the program was suspended. The program re-emerged in 2021 under the auspices of Springboard for the Arts in St. Paul Minnesota, and Racing Magpie in Rapid City, South Dakota. The program supports the development of strong leaders capable of challenging and disrupting oppressive systems in their communities by approaching their work with a critical lens and commitment to recognizing systems of oppression and normalizing conversations about race and colonialism. CCLI serves Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota artists.

North Minneapolis: Northside is one of Minneapolis’ most diverse neighborhood areas. Prince spent a few important formative, guitar-strumming, piano-tapping years in the area. The local businesses, events and entrepreneurs are bringing a new life and energy to the area with a focus on community-led growth. These changes include a thriving cultural presence, often seen through food and artistic expression.

 Paul Wellstone: (July 21, 1944 – October 25, 2002) was an American academic, author, and politician who represented Minnesota in the United States Senate from 1991 until he was killed in a plane crash near Eveleth, Minnesota, in 2002. Over the years, Wellstone worked with senators whose views were much more conservative than his, but he consistently championed the interests of the poor, the farmers, and the union workers against large banks, agribusiness, and multinational corporations.

Yo Mama's House: Mission: Our philosophy and practice is to empower mothers by disrupting the devaluation of women’s invisible labor and increasing the recognition of the ART of Mothering. It is MOTHERS’ collective legacies of maternal wisdom and know how that informs, nurtures, and sustains women. Healthy mothers raise healthy children, families and communities. Arts

Walker Arts Center: From the Walker Webpage: The Walker Art Center is a renowned multidisciplinary arts institution that presents, collects, and supports the creation of groundbreaking work across the visual and performing arts, moving image, and design. Guided by the belief that art has the power to bring joy and solace and the ability to unite people through dialogue and shared experiences, the Walker engages communities through a dynamic array of exhibitions, performances, events, and initiatives. 

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired Rocking Chair,

Kulture Klub Collaborative: The mission of Kulture Klub Collaborative (KKC) is to provide a safe, consistent space for youth ages 16-24 experiencing homelessness to freely enjoy access to the arts. At KKC, we believe that everyone is an artist. We expose, educate, and empower youth through quality multidisciplinary art experiences. We use art and creativity as a positive force in their lives for personal growth, social justice, actionable compassion, and community improvement. Mama

Center for Cultural Innovations, Ambitious Fund: AmbitioUS is an initiative of the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI) encouraging the development of burgeoning alternative economies and fresh social contracts in ways that artists and cultural communities can achieve financial freedom. Art Center at the University of Minnesota. 

Angry Black Woman and Well-intentioned White Girl. Angry Black Woman & Well-Intentioned White Girl explores the cultural impact surrounding “Minnesota Nice” and the misunderstanding it can cause in interracial interactions. This play “Goes there!” by expressing the daily “unsaids” between black and white women.The accusations and silences reflect our miseducation about each other - the superficial and deep conflicts around our womanhood, ethnicities, rights, power, and constant juxtaposition of roles within the politics of white male patriarchy.

 Minnesota Nice: While there's no official definition, the term typically refers to Minnesotans' tendency to be polite and friendly, yet emotionally reserved; our penchant for self-deprecation and unwillingness to draw attention to ourselves; and, most controversially, our maddening habit of substituting passive-aggressiveness for direct confrontation. Cities Detoxifying Masculinity

Yoruba, Ori: Ori is regarded as an intermediary between every man and the divinity whom he worships. Each individual’s Ori is his personal divinity who regulates his life in conformity with the wishes of the divinities who exist for the general public interest. Whatever has not been sanctioned by one’s Ori cannot be done by the divinities

Mr. Jamar Clark: Jamar Clark was 24 years old when he was killed by Minneapolis police on November 15, 2015. He was at a friend’s birthday party when his girlfriend got into an altercation that resulted in someone calling the paramedics and police. Jamar was near the ambulance as paramedics treated his girlfriend. An onlooker reported that for some unknown reason police asked Jamar to step away from the ambulance. A confrontation ensued between Jamar and two police officers, who attempted to detain him, forced him to the ground, and fatally shot him. Jamar was unarmed, and according to eyewitnesses, was not resisting arrest.

The officers were not disciplined by the department, and no charges were brought against them. Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists and supporters protested for 18 days outside the police precinct, protesting against hiding information, demanding the release of police dashcam and bodycam videos containing material evidence that can settle the truth of police accounts of the incident.