Thursday, March 26: 6:00-8:00PM Fresh Talk: Stacey Abrams
RSVP HERE
In this Fresh Talk, Stacey Abrams sits down with political strategist Shaniqua McClendon and Well-Read Black Girl founder Glory Edim for a live recording of her hit weekly podcast, Assembly Required. Together they will explore how literature, art, and culture can fuel civic engagement and help shape a more equitable future.
Drawing on Abrams’s work as an organizer and bestselling author, McClendon’s leadership in media and political strategy, and Edim’s vision behind the Well-Read Black Girl community, the conversation will examine the power of storytelling and creative expression to spark collective action. From museums and community groups to digital platforms and podcasts, the speakers will highlight how cultural spaces can help transform ideas into action, encourage social change, and expand what participation in democracy can look like.
Following the conversation, attendees are invited to a salon-style cocktail reception to continue the conversation from 7 to 8 pm.
Friday, March 27, 10:00AM-5:00PM Well-Read Black Girl Festival
Join us for The Living Archive: Art, Memory, and Civic Imagination, a day-long festival that centers women’s creative practices as vital tools for shaping cultural memory and envisioning more just futures.
Presented in partnership with Well-Read Black Girl—an organization dedicated to amplifying the voices of Black women writers and cultivating literary spaces rooted in community, care, and intellectual exchange—this gathering brings together writers, artists, and cultural leaders who approach the archive not as a static record, but as a living practice shaped through storytelling, art-making, and civic participation. In alignment with NMWA’s commitment to elevating women’s voices across disciplines, the festival highlights how creative expression can serve as both personal testimony and collective action.
Across three panels, explore how Black women document their inner lives, preserve collective memory, and engage history as an act of authorship, stewardship, and cultural responsibility. Together, these conversations illuminate the power of women artists and cultural leaders to challenge dominant narratives, foster community, and inspire social change.
Panel descriptions and speakers will be announced in March.