RaShaunda Brooks
RaShaunda Brooks is a filmmaker and artist in Portland, OR who creates modern day narratives of Black and Brown people to accurately reflect the truths in their communities. She believesthat the more complex, well-rounded stories of Black and Brown people out there, the more these communities are empowered to also write their own histories and experiences.
Brooks believes when people aren’t given room to express themselves, it breeds chaos and/or stagnation, but personal expression takes time to cultivate. When Black and Brown people are focused on survival, real creative expression cannot be prioritized, cannot thrive.
Organizes under Y.G.B. (Young Gifted and Black / Brown) Portland, is a project coordinator for Open Signal Labs: Black Film fellowship and manages local duo Brown Calculus. These rich connections provide Brooks the room to hold stories of people who often don’t get represented right now in dominant white narrative; to share the lives of those who look like her.
Vaughn Kimmons
Vaughn Kimmons, affectionately known as Brown Alice, is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Chicago and living in Portland. Through music, dance, wardrobe styling and collage art she celebrates Blackness as the cosmic source of sacred inspiration to give voice to the connective power of shared human nuance. She is also the vocalist and songwriter in Portland based band Brown Calculus and Tribe Mars. Willamette Weekly said: “The Spacey Soul of Brown Calculus Should Be Sold In Health-and-Wellness Stores with the duo's brand of R&B part spiritual jazz meditation, part self-affirmation, with Burgos' spacy, keyboard-driven beats pairing perfectly with Kimmons' powerful voice and uplifting lyrics.”
Y.G.B.Portland
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