Ethiopian-born, New York-based actor, producer, and playwright Antu Yacob will be featured for the final edition of Black Space by the Jersey City Theater Center on Sunday April 25. Antu was born in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia and raised in California and Minnesota. Her work is focused on women of the African Diaspora. (NJ.com)
Last month, the Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) began its new talk series, “Black Space,” an ongoing series of intimate and candid conversations exploring the experiences of black artists in the world today led by Ashley Nicole Baptiste, JCTC’s associate artistic director.
On Sunday April 25, Baptiste will initiate an in-depth conversation with actor, producer, and playwright Antu Yacob. Yacob is an Ethiopian-born, New York-based actor and has also worked extensively in the Bay Area and the Twin Cities. The talk takes place at 2 p.m. EST on Facebook Live and as a Zoom webinar.
“As our city gentrifies while retaining its diversity, and indeed as the world is changing in fundamental ways, being right in the middle of these conversations is essential,” says JCTC’s artistic director, Olga Levina. “For us as a theatre company dedicated to sparking conversations that lead to deeper respect and understanding, we know we need to create a safe place to listen and learn and collaborate.”
Yacob’s work focuses on women of the African diaspora. On the acting faculty of Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, her short film “Love in Submission” tells the story of two Muslim women from different backgrounds who meet for the first time when their worlds collide through a mutual third party. You can follow Yacob on Instagram @antuyacob and Twitter @AntuAbdi for updates.
Past talks for Black Space included Jersey City visual artist K. Brown, who talked about her love for art and Jersey City; and a discussion with nine black artists in different fields and different cities including Portland, Jersey City, New York, and London.
“I want to create an intentional safe space where black artists from around the world can come together and have a human-to-human exchange about art, race and life,” says Baptiste, an actor and a veteran youth theatre educator with the JCTC Youth Theatre and the Stories of Greenville initiative. “This series is about expansion, and pushing past pre-conceived notions of blackness.”
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Related:
In Pictures: Antu Yacob Performs “In the Gray” at United Solo Theatre Festival
In the Gray: A One Person Ethio-American Show by Playwright Antu Yacob
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