Can sharing resources and ideas in collaborative working practices help artists realign notions of “value” and “worth”? How do performers, particularly collaborative performers, cultivate regenerative modes of exchange, alternative forms of value, and a cultural commons rooted in solidarity? Voicings: Value Creation and Collaboration / Access to Experimentation and Building An Audience of Listeners, Amplify’s next in-person Alternate Currents panel discussion, on Wednesday, May 17th at the Ashton at Millwork Commons brings together panelists Dereck Higgins, Jacoby, Keiria Marsha, Ameen Wahba, and moderators Mary Elizabeth Lawson and Anna McClellan for a deeper dive into the role collaborative performance practices play in building communities and modeling new paradigms of value creation.
Please RSVP to join the conversation. Face masks are not required but always welcome. And don’t forget to visit the Alternate Currents blog to read up on the topic before the discussion.
www.amplifyarts.org/alternate-currents
Alternate Currents incubates artist-led responses to the systemic challenges we face by centering creative research, collaboration, and critical dialogue both on- and off-line. Together, the Alternate Currents Blog, Discussion Series, and Working Group hold space for critical discourse around national and international issues in the arts that have a profound impact at the local level.
Free and open to all. Alternate Currents programming is presented with support from the Sherwood Foundation, the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.
About the Panelists:
Dereck Higgins is a self taught music maker. Multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a bass player. Experience playing everything from classic rock to reggae to punk to jazz to electronic to improvisation and more. Dedicated to the moment of music making, listening to allow the music to speak. Big record collector as well. Inducted into the Nebraska Music Hall of Fame. Three time OEAA winner, multiple nominations. Had a show segment (Higgs Corner) on Adult Swim for 5 years. Some bands past and present: David Nance Mowed Sound, Digital Sex, Son Ambulance, RAF, 3gypt, Skuddur, Hotlines, InDreama, Chemicals, Norman & The Rockwells, Icky Blossoms, Hotlines, Norman & The Rockwells and many more. Has toured the USA, Europe and Japan. He has performed on stage with Mark Burgess (The Chameleons UK), Tatsuya Nakatani, Soul Asylum, Toxic Reasons, Preston Love and many others. Dereck also does visual art, specifically collage and has had exhibits.
Jacoby is a multifaceted artist - a singer, writer, producer, dancer, and more - based in Lincoln, NE, who uses art as a vehicle to explore humanity, express emotion, enter conversation, and celebrate life. Through performance he encourages spaces for thought, joy, healing and discomfort.
Keiria Marsha Lowe, known professionally as Keiria Marsha, is an American R&B singer/songwriter , from Omaha Nebraska. Keiria grew up with a visionary mind. She grew up creating music, art, visuals, writing and recording. She started performing on stages as young as four years old. Keiria’s passion for music, art, and social justice led to the creation of CCVisions (Collaborative Creative Visions). Through CCVisions, Keiria Marsha has created events such as Pull Up and Vibe Music Festival, Pull Up and Vibe Open Mic Series, Pull Up and Vibe Podcast, Melanin City Classics and etc. A native to North Omaha, Keiria prioritizes outreach work in her community through volunteering with different organizations such as Elks Lodge, FABRIC Lab, The Black Agenda Alliance, and many others.
Keiria also sits on the boards for the Healing Roots Garden and Our Light Inc programs and participates as a Landbank ambassador. Keiria is extremely excited to be making her debut performance at the Omaha Community Playhouse theater in the show The Little Shop of Horrors. “I love to connect with my audience in a way thats sends them home happy & inspired.” Keiria has a forever growing love to send good vibrations through her music while also sending positive messages. Keiria stands firmly on following your dreams, there will always be eyes and ears to see and to hear.
Ameen Wahba is a multidisciplinary artist and therapist from Omaha, NE. Primarily working in sound and music, he has also experimented within curating, installation, video, and culture work initiatives. He is currently an Inside/Outside fellow at The Union for Contemporary Art.
About the Moderators:
Mary Elizabeth Lawson is a musician, singer of songs, and writer based in the Midwest. She performs under the stage name, Mesonjixx. Alongside music and performance Mary works in arts and culture as an independent contractor and grassroots organizer. She is interested in building new worlds with artists and destroying systems of supremacy and hierarchy – not only in the world around her but also her inner world. She believes that we all are worthy of having our needs met, and that we don’t have to die trying to meet them.
Anna McClellan is a songwriter born and based in Omaha, NE. She records and releases music under her given name. She is currently in school to become an electrician, teaches piano lessons part time and works at a coffee shop. Forever interested in getting closer and closer to the hearts of matters, examination and excavation of self are central to her work.