As Madison reacts to the police-involved shooting of Willy Street resident Tony Robinson over the weekend, audiences will have an opportunity to attend a series of events that feature UW students of color.
Line Breaks is a joint effort organized by the UW's Division of Diversity, Equity & Achievement and the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiative (OMAI) and students in the First Wave Hip Hop and Urban Arts Learning Community. First Wave is a collective of spoken word poets, emcees, dancers, singers and actors who have a passion for using performance as a form of activism.
The festival started as a lecture and performance series with spoken word and hip-hop theater artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph. In the last nine years, it has grown to be one of the most important annual events for cultural conversation and outreach. The subjects of each creative piece address personal struggles, current events and community issues as the students see and experience them.
"A lot of the themes deal with issues of young people of color living in this city and coming from communities across the country where they face all of these challenges," says Willie Ney, executive director of OMAI. "There's no other festival like [Line Breaks] in the city, particularly because of the diversity and the relevance with what's happening in Madison right now."
Ney adds that art can be a positive vehicle for expression and facilitate healing in troubled times. "These [pieces] are timely, and the art is a reflection of what's happening in the lives of our community and our students."
With this in mind, Ney cautions that the material addressed in the shows may not be suitable for children.
Natalie Cook, a senior in the First Wave program, will have her show, Manikin, performing at Line Breaks this year.
Set in a series of vignettes, the show explores gender relations between black men and black women living in the contemporary United States. She says her goal was not to tell one story, but to be truthful about her own experiences as well as those of other community members. "I wasn't trying to present fiction. I wanted this play to hold up a mirror to its audience," she says.
Cook credits the OMAI program for giving her the room to create and present work that feels relevant to her life. "Being in the First Wave classes and being in this community the last four years have definitely helped me to become a better artist," she says. "[First Wave] has provided me with spaces where I'm able to showcase my art."
Line Breaks Festival runs Wednesday through Tuesday. Performances are in Promenade Hall at the Overture Center for the Arts, panel discussions in the Multicultural Student Lounge in UW-Madison's Red Gym and art exhibitions in the UW-Madison Education Building.
