Passing the Mic: The Power in Your Story

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courtesy OMAI

A close-up of Shannon Matesky.

Shannon Matesky

Passing the Mic is an annual intergenerational/intersectional dialogue on hip-hop performance, education and activism, coordinated by the UW Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives. This year’s theme is “The Power in Your Story,” and the featured artist is poet, actor and activist Shannon Matesky, in Madison as part of the new Hip Hop Arts Residency Program. Matesky is part of the final showcase performance at 7 p.m., Oct. 21, Memorial Union Play Circle. Events begin with a showcase featuring the First Wave’s 15th cohort and touring ensemble (7 p.m., Oct. 20, Madison Youth Arts Center) and other performances take place the afternoon of Oct. 21. Find more info and tickets at eventbrite.com.

media release: Passing The Mic (PTM) is an intergenerational dialogue on hip hop arts, education, and activism hosted by the award winning Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in partnership with the DDEEA Diversity Forum, School of Education, Arts Division, Interdisciplinary Artist Residency Program, Jenny Holzer, and the Wisconsin Book Festival.

Oct. 20 showcase: Free and open to the public. Features students orgs from across out youth networks, the 15th Cohort of First Wave, and the First Wave Touring Ensemble. Location: My Arts, 7 pm.  

Oct. 21:

1:30 PM Arts Campus Tour for youth participants.

1:30 PM Promises of Gold: José Olivarez explores every kind of love—self, brotherly, romantic, familial, cultural. Grappling with the contradictions of the American Dream with unflinching humanity, he lays bare the ways in which “love is complicated by forces larger than our hearts.” Central Library. Happening during Arts Campus Tour. Open to the public.

3:00 PM I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times: Taylor Byas. Inspired by The Wiz, this debut, full-length poetry collection celebrates South Side Chicago and a Black woman’s quest for self-discovery—one that pulls her away from the safety of home and into her power. Happening during Arts Tour. Central Library.

7:00 PM - 9:30 PM Passing the Mic Day Two Showcase Features Youth collaborative work, the 16th Cohort of First Wave, and October's Hip Hop Arts Residency Program headliner Shannon Matesky. Location: Union Play Circle. Free and open to the public.

more on Shannon Matesky: The University of Wisconsin-Madison Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) welcomes actress, producer, director, and writer Shannon Matesky to campus on Monday, October 16th through Saturday, October 22nd for a series of engagements, panels, workshops and performances on and off campus.

Following OMAI’s 2022-23 partnership with the Division of the Arts’ Interdisciplinary Artist Residency Program (IARP), the Division of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement (DDEEA) has continued support for a new initiative in celebration of Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary: the Hip Hop Arts Residency Program (HHARP).

HHARP will take place five (5) times per academic year, over the course of 4-10 days. Each residency will feature a professional artist whose work represents Hip Hop and/or urban art culture, with notable accomplishments in their field nationally and internationally. All residencies center Hip Hop and urban arts through academic, campus, and community engagement, providing spaces for interdisciplinary and intergenerational interactions. The residencies will coincide with OMAI’s existing initiatives, such as Just Bust! Open Mic Series, Passing the Mic Intergenerational Hip Hop Theater Festival, Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival, and others. This strategic scheduling will deepen the impact of OMAI’s visiting artists beyond the First Wave Program, offering high impact engagement with campus and local partners.

Shannon Matesky is an interdisciplinary artist and cultural organizer from the Bay Area, CA. She recently made her Broadway Debut in six-time Tony nominated, Aint No Mo’ by Jordan E. Cooper at the Belasco Theater in New York. Shannon has also been seen at Steppenwolf Theater, La Jolla Theater, and in many non-traditional venues. Matesky was a member of the 2018 Directors Lab at Lincoln Center and BARS at The Public Theater in New York, and has been an assistant director at Chicago’s Court Theater and Goodman Theater. 

As a poet, she has featured in venues across the country and has been seen on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, Nylon Magazine, and BET Online. She has taught writing workshops, led panels, and been a featured speaker at many universities. Shannon is also one of the core writers for Chicago’s annual hit, The Fly Honey Show. Shannon is also the author of four solo performances, She Think She Grown, We Gotta Eat, The Saga of the Return, and Heartbreak Hotel: Whitney. For more information about Shannon Matesky’s work, click here.

Shannon will be the featured artist for the 17th Annual Passing the Mic Intergenerational Hip Hop Festival on Friday and Saturday, October 20-21, 2023 (free registration here). In addition to her public appearances, she will be doing a number of engagements on campus with students. She will be in a moderated conversation at the UW Graduate School of Business, Bolz Center for Arts Entrepreneurship, as well as hosting an interdisciplinary creative workshop with students of the First Wave Program and the Studio Learning Community, as well as guest lecturing in the Department of Theater and Drama. Post Shannon’s residency, you will be able to watch an in-depth interview with Shannon highlighting all of her experiences here on UW–Madison’s campus. Please make sure to register for her public events below. All public events are free admission and for all ages. Registration will guarantee you a seat in each venue, as well as sign you up for updates about the remaining HHARP residencies taking place 2023-24.

If you would like to partner with OMAI’s HHARP series, please reach out to omai@cdo.wisc.edu