We are
By Housing Works Bookstore & Cafe
“Upon my aunt’s death, she handed the baton of responsibility to me to continue honoring our ancestors, by learning and preserving Vodou’s cultural traditions. The world psyche is awash in distorted perspectives of Vodou and its practitioners. As a storyteller, my endeavor is to stoke the collective imagination and keep alive new ways of seeing. I am accountable to those who came before, the living and to those who follow to keep our narratives of the black diaspora heard and seen. Vodou Roots is my love story.”
“As a child, my fascination with “the spirits” began with the seasonal visits of my aunt, Tante Rose Marie. She was our family griot, the SANBA… Unbeknownst to my strict Christian parents, whenever she came to visit “Tatie” also connected my sisters and I to songs, dances, and rituals of a taboo Vodou culture.” – excerpt from “Vodou Roots: A Love Story Musical” Podcast.
“Vodou Roots” is a storytelling/podcast performance that sojourns through otherworldly tributaries of myth, memory + magic. Régine carries the audience through tales of her Haitian heritage, personal + anthropological research, through an engaged and dynamic mixed-media experience.
This event will feature guest appearances from practitioners, artists, historians and community members from Brooklyn, NY all the way to Benin, West Africa. “Voudou Roots” aims to changes the narrative about Vodou, and shares what religious/spiritual freedom looks like in a free afro-futuristic black woman’s body.
Produced by Régine Romain in the BRIC Podcast Fellowship.
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Régine Romain is a photo-anthro-journalist, performer and educator of Haitian descent, who fuses her interests in travel, culture and music to explore both spiritual and tangible worlds.
Romain has 20 years practice in creating, researching, teaching, and supporting diverse communities in engaging and co-creating projects that promote positive representations of their individual and collective identities. Through an extensive global network, Régine produces culturally transformative courses, curricula, workshops, salons, exhibits, festivals, and forums. She is the founder and director of the Urban PhotoPoets, Brooklyn Photo Salon, and the Brooklyn to Benin: A Vodou Pilgrimage projects.
Romain’s work is in the permanent collection at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, NY. Her work has been exhibited at Teatro Nacional de Cuba, Cuba; UN Photography Society, NY; and the Charles Sumner Museum, DC. Her awards include NYSCA Folk Arts 2015 Apprenticeship, A.I.R. Gallery 2011-2012 Fellow, Brooklyn Arts Council Re-Grant, Fund For Teachers Travel Grant, the Trude Lash and Public Allies Fellowships.
Romain is a native Washingtonian, now living in Brooklyn, New York. She received her Bachelor of Science in International Studies from Bowie State University and acquired a Masters in Photography & Urban Culture from Goldsmiths, University of London.
Address:
126 Crosby St, Bookstore Cafe
New York, NY 10012
Phone:
646-786-1200
Event Date: Jan 10, 2019
Event Time: 7:00PM
Event Duration: 4.5 hours
Admission Policy:
Free!