Safiya Songhai (Film Maker) is a MFA film student at New York University and a Student Emmy Award Winner. Born in North Philadelphia and raised in Roxbury, MA during the height of gang warfare, Songhai decided to pursue filmmaking to portray people of color in authentic roles that inspire pride and solidarity.

Songhai's work offers a counter narrative to the pejorative stereotypes and caricatured depictions of communities of color. In her work, our people are calculated thinkers, fiercely protective of our kin, immortal spirits intervening in the world of the living. Regardless of the trial, the bonds of our love can never be ripped asunder.

Outside of filmmaking, Songhai also works with children in the Foster Care system, and is the reigning Miss Black Massachusetts USA 2008. She will compete this June for the title of Miss Black USA in the National Competition. Currently, she is working on her first feature film The Bigger Man and several music videos.

Deborah Willis: Chair and Professor of Photography and Imaging, University Professor, Ph.D. 2003 (Cultural Studies), George Mason University, M.A. 1986 (Art History) CUNY, M.F.A, (Photography) Pratt Institute 1979, B.A. (Photography) Philadelphia College of Art 1975. Affiliated appointment with the College of Arts and Sciences, Africana Studies. 2005 Guggenheim Fellow, 2005 Fletcher Fellow, 2000 MacArthur Fellow. 1996 recipient of the Anonymous Was a Woman Foundation award. Has pursued a dual professional career as an art photographer and as one of the nation's leading historians of African American photography and curator of African American culture. Exhibitions of her work include: Regarding Beauty, University of Wisconsin; Embracing Eatonville, Light Works, Syracuse, NY; HairStories, Scottsdale Contemporary Art Museum, Scottsdale, AZ ; The Comforts of Home, Hand Workshop Art Center, Richmond, VA; Re/Righting History: Counternarratives by Contemporary African-American Artists, Katonah Museum of Art,; Memorable Histories and Historic Memories, Bowdoin College Museum of Art; Cultural Baggage, Rice University, Houston, TX. Curated Exhibitions include: Engulfed by Katrina: Photographs Before and After the Storm; Imagining Families—Images and Voices and Reflections in Black. Notable projects include The Black Female Body A Photographic History (with Carla Williams), Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 2002; and A Small Nation of People: W.E.B. DuBois and the Photographs from the Paris Exposition , Amistad Press, 2003; Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers - 1840 to the Present , New York: W.W. Norton; Visual Journal: Photography in Harlem and DC in the Thirties and Forties , Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 1996; Picturing Us: African American Identity in Photography , The New Press, New York, NY, 1994; and VANDERZEE: The Portraits of James VanDerZee , Harry Abrams Publishing, New York, NY, 1993.

Paul Goodnight (Painter) is an outstanding artist who works in many media including acrylic, pastel, and mixed media. Born in Chicago, Goodnight was raised in New London, Connecticut and Boston Massachusetts. Goodnights paintings hang in the Smithsonian and have been exhibited Museum of Fine Art in Boston. They have also been featured on the sets of The Cosby Show, Seinfeld, ER, Living Single, The Fresh Prince of Belair and countless others.

“I find my self anxiously looking forward to discovering new ways of drawing and painting by simply doing what we all do from time to time” said Goodnight, “observe, practice, and document, The trick is being patient enough to allow this process of creating to grow and manifest in me.”

Goodnight studied at Roxbury Community College and Vesper George School of Art and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Massachusetts College of Art. In 1996, Goodnight designed the official commemorative poster for the Summer Olympics and in 1997 he designed a stained glass window for the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta The art of Paul Goodnight has been widely exhibited at gallery’s and museums throughout the United States and abroad. His talented styling has earned him outstanding commissions in the public and private sector.

Ekua (EJ) Holmes (Artist): Rest, renewal, reflection, and relationship are the subjects of Holmes' cut paper and mixed media collages. With a keen eye for design and composition, Holmes uses a vibrant but limited palette and creates an elegant world of everday events and our divine moments within them.

Ekau Holmes attended schools that nurtured her love of the arts and was a student of the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts in Roxbury for nearly 10 years. After graduating from Mass College of Art, she went on to become a gallery owner, art director and graphic designer.

Holmes' creative exploration celebrates humanity through images that transcend the individual and embrasce the universal.

You can learn more about EJ Holmes by visiting www.ejdesignsonline.com.

Robert Freeman (Painter) has been showing nationally for over 20 years, and has been included in the collections of the National Center for African American Artists, Boston Public Library, Brown University and DeCordova Museum, among other institutions.

In addition to numerous gallery shows, his paintings have been featured in exhibitions at DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA, Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA. He earned his BFA and MFA from Boston University.

Known for his vivid and powerful figurative paintings, Robert Freeman has traditionally focused on the interactions between people in his work. In couples and crowds, the characters in his paintings betray their emotions with expressive faces and body language. Skillful, brave use of color and gesture are the trademark of Freeman's work and make his figures nearly abstract.

Keina Davis (Painter) has shown work in museum and galleries throughout the U.S and internationally. Mrs. Davis is a two time recipient of Individual Artist Grants from The San Francisco Arts Commission, the George Sugarman Foundation and The Puffin Foundation.

She is currently exhibiting work at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and has recently exhibited at the African American Museum (Dallas), BAG Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), Hampton University Museum (Virginia), Yawkey Center MGH (Boston), and the Museé Dapper (Paris).

Keina has been painting since she was 7 years old. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from the University of Florida in 1996 and was later given a full merit award for the MFA program at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston/Tufts University. She currently resides in San Francisco with her husband Benjamin.

You can learn more about Keina’s work by visiting www.sivadart.com.

Dana Michel (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR / choreographer / interpreter) is a mover.  Her training scales tip towards athletics.  Before tossing herself into Concordia University’s dance department (Montreal) at twenty-five, she was competitively involved in track and touch football – pivotal in her constructions.  In 2006, her work was shown in Montreal at Le Festival Voix d’Amériques, The International Edgy Women Festival, Festival Vue sur la Relève, and Tangente; in Toronto at Series 808, Dance Immersion and at the Toronto International Dance Festival; and in Europe at the Festival of Choreographic Miniatures in Belgrade, Serbia. Her first solo-on-self, critical path method, was filmed for and is now included on the best-of DVD of “Mange ta Ville”, a program on ARTV (RadioCanada).

A relative newcomer to contemporary dance, Dana has already been recognized for her achievements, winning the James Saya Memorial award, the BBPA Harry Jerome Award, the Best Dance Production prize at the 2005 Montreal Fringe Festival, and the Montreal Hour’s “Year in Arts – Best in Dance”.   Most recently, she was named “Best Emerging Choreographer of 2006” by the Globe and Mail (Canada).

Harrison David Rivers (playwright)
Born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas and educated at Kenyon College (BA American Studies, Dance & Drama) and Columbia University (MFA Playwriting), Harrison has always written – on post-it notes, napkins, in the margins of library books and notebook after notebook after looseleaf notebook.
He has never, however, despite the constant scribbling, thought himself to be a writer.
A far as he's concerned the jury's still out.
Harrison's plays tend toward the epic – simultaneous narratives occurring in multiple real and imagined spaces. People fly, angels fall, old women walk on their hands, babies are born, children jump rope – worlds are made and un-made.
The impossible is not only possible, but probable.
New York productions include: fell, or i sold my wings on ebay (black theater ensemble, columbia university) step (new york musical theater festival), man ascends//or perhaps the sky is falling afterall (the atlantic theater, old vic: 24 hour play festival--with kevin spacey), mouth says move (atlantic stage 2, potomac theatre project summer after dark series 2007), sistahs (collective:unconscious, the underground zero festival), in response to an act of violence (horace mann theater, apropos festival of opportune plays), burning (manhattan theatre source), and bench (the riant theatre, strawberry play festival).

Super Emcee, Producer CORE RHYTHM took NYC by storm with his fierce Debut NAT TURNER RELOADED (Voted #6 on the RAPREVIEWS.COM Top 10 list of 2006) and in a few short years has become a force in the New York Independent Hip Hop Scene. Characterized by powerful thought provoking lyrics over earth-shattering beats, Core is carving out his own niche. He has performed on the same bill with Hip Hop Legends such as O.C., The JUGGAKNOTS, C RAYZ WALZ, WORDSWORTH and many others while has worked in the studio artists such as GRANDMIXER DXT, Core continues to gather the respect of fans and peers alike.

As a producer Core has been making noise as well, first with his Remix of Embedded Records Artist's Bisc 1's "CRUMBS" on tHE STAY UP PROJECT MIXTAPE, then with underground street hustle legend CREATURE on his sophomore effort HUSTLE TO BE FREE, one of those being the lead single "GET UP AND GO". He is currently in the lab working on tracks for HOMEBOY SANDMAN, HIRED GUN, is a contributing producer to the SUBPHONIK/JASON LINDNER BIG BAND Remix project and is poised to release his sophomore effort RONIN this summer.

Johanna Paretzky (Singer): Open Mic Magazine writes: "Johanna has what it takes. If you haven’t heard of her yet, you can guarantee that its just a matter of time before her name and her music are a familiar sound. Blessed with an amazing musical ability and classic beauty, Johanna exudes an incredible amount of star power... [She] is destined to be the next big thing in R&B and will amaze everyone who hears her music. It’s hard to imagine that someone possessing such incredible talent will go unnoticed by the world. Johanna has what it takes to stand out in a crowd of many aspiring artists, and is definitely someone to watch out for."

Known for her sizzling live shows and her knack for stellar songwriting, Johanna is making waves as what many consider the next major female on the mainstream R&B scene. From Los Angeles to the Big Apple, the D.C. area native writes and arranges all of her own music, and is finding her way into the hearts of many as a standout triple threat of talent, sex appeal, and intellect. As an undergraduate at Harvard University, Johanna honed her singing and songwriting skills. She rose to become a premiere vocalist there while she served as president of the world-renown Kuumba Singers of Harvard College, a 100-plus member entourage dedicated to the soulful expressions of Black creativity and spirituality through song.

With a uniquely soulful, dynamic voice that draws comparisons to Amel Larrieux and Mariah Carey, Johanna has worked and performed with the likes of Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah, the Harlem Boys Choir, and Bobby McFerrin, among others. Having sung alongside McFerrin as a featured vocalist in Leipzig, Germany for 15,000 people, Johanna notes: "I've realized that nothing's really impossible. It's all about going where the music allows you to go." The daughter of interracial Jewish parentage, she embraces a dual identity that adds complexity to her story and person. Alongside her multicultural heritage came a love for music at an early age. "My family listened to everything under the sun: from Jazz, Rock, Oldies, Rap to Classical and R&B…I grew up with it all, and today it all influences the music I create."

Fans can now enjoy the release of her widely anticipated debut, "GENERATE", an independent record in every sense of the term, which showcases Johanna's textured rock- and folk-influenced sound, magically blended without the help of big label budgets. Her latest single “Long Gone” has become a surefire underground hit, scaling both Top 10 and Top 25 singles charts in the UK, while several other singles topped most-played charts on XM Radio’s Unsigned Artists Station, Channel 52. Just recently, Johanna won a Finalist Prize by the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest for her songwriting efforts on “Long Gone”, beating out thousands of competitors for the honor. With an unforgettable voice and equally infectious tracks, she ushers in a level of sophistication not often seen in today's contemporary R&B performers. As Johanna’s music continues to win fans around the world, there's much more to come from this powerful and fresh young artist.

Alrick Brown (Filmmaker) is currently a graduate student at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. A writer and teacher, he has found his calling directing and producing narrative films and documentaries often focusing on social issues affecting the world at large. It was after visiting the slave castle of Elmina, in Ghana, that he was inspired to attend film school. For over two years he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cote d'Ivoire. The interactions with the people of his village and his overall experiences in West Africa have informed his creative expression; an expression first fostered by his birth in Kingston, Jamaica and migration to, and upbringing in Plainfield, New Jersey. A fluent French speaker, he graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in English and a Masters degree in Education. Since then he has devoted his energy to changing the world by giving a voice to the voiceless and telling stories that otherwise would not be told.

Alrick's collective work has screened in over thirty film festivals, national and international, and received numerous awards. Three of his films have played Lincoln Center. Recently, he was one of four NYU students featured in the IFC Documentary series "Film School", produced by Academy awad nominee Nannette Burstein. In February 2007 he addressed the Motion Picture Association of America on C-SPAN. At present, he is in pre-production for his thesis film, "Us: A Love Story" and writing his first feature screenplay a thriller titled, "The Shadows."

Founded in 2006, Harvard KeyChange is the first and only co-ed acapella group dedicated to performing and celebrating black music. KeyChange's musical selections include R&B, jazz, hip-hop, neo-soul, Motown, funk, Gospel, and other musical styles of the African Diaspora. Despite the variety of music offered on Harvard's campus, the members of KeyChange realize the need for an acapella group whose song selections and performance focus on the unique interests of the Black Community. Black music is a culture and a bonding force in our community and the members of KeyChange are eager to affirm that culture here at Harvard!

Kristen Jones (Singer) began performing at the early age of 5 years old. Since then she's enjoyed getting acquainted with several different genres, including gospel, jazz, neo-soul, and R&B. Since coming to Harvard she's expanded her musical repertoire considerably, having sung for two and a half years with the Harvard Callbacks, and recently co-founding Harvard's newest acapella group, Harvard College KeyChange, in the fall of 2006. She loves making music, and is excited to be celebrating the unique qualities of Black music by performing for the Black Arts Festival.