In Full Color to Present Bloom Virtual Summit

In Full Color (IFC), an organization that empowers women of color (WOC) through education and the arts, is holding its first Bloom Virtual Summit, a four-day fundraiser consisting of workshops, performances and more led by WOC.

The Bloom Virtual Summit, scheduled for July 16 to 19, follows the tradition of IFC's annual Bloom fundraisers in bringing people of all genders and colors together to celebrate and amplify the voices of Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian, Middle Eastern, Arab, Indigenous and other marginalized women. Being in the age of COVID-19, however, the event will be held completely online. The company hopes to raise $1,500 which will help them produce In Full Color 2020, a virtual theatrical production featuring WOC in September.

All excess funds will be donated to Black Lives Matter, as IFC continues its fight against police violence and systemic racism. IFC founder and director Summer Dawn Reyes says their artistic work is critical to affecting social change.

"As we fight for Black lives, one issue keeps coming up -- why don't other people get it?... The key to understanding issues faced by any marginalized group--is empathy. The ability to share the feelings of another...Every year, we bring a dozen women of color from around the country together, and ask them to share their story, in their voice...When people tell their own story, there's a special power to it. It's pure, it's honest. And our audiences feel it. We create empathy."

The Bloom Virtual Summit includes workshops by the likes of Paterson, N.J. Poet Laureate Talena Lachelle Queen, poet and UNCOMMON;YOU co-founder Dena Igusti and noted Jersey City, N.J. arts leader RescuePoetix. Other workshop topics range from body positivity and skincare to writing poetry and practicing gratitude. See the list of workshops below and see the full agenda at http://www.infullcolor.org/bloom

BLOOM VIRTUAL SUMMIT AGENDA

All times EDT

THURSDAY, JULY 16
7:00 - Love My Identity || Talena Lachelle Queen
7:55 - Skincare as Self-Care || Lunar Rituals Circle
8:45 - Networking Mixer || Venida C. Rodman Jenkins
9:10 - Heirlooms: Poetry & Inheritance || Dena Igusti

FRIDAY, JULY 17
7:00 - Love Your Body NOW! || Daniela Rincon
7:55 - Healthy Relationships 101 || Nicole Cañete
8:45 - Latin Night Dance Break || DJ Ali de León
9:10 - Getting Organized for the Creative Brain || Summer Dawn Reyes

SATURDAY, JULY 18
3:00 - Changing Your Perspective While in Your Rites of Passage || Dujuana Sharese
3:55 - Our Words, Our Time: Expressing the Multifaceted Experience of Women of Color Through Creative Writing || Tantra-zawadi & Shanna T. Melton
5:10 - In Full Color 2019 || A screening of last season's show!

SUNDAY, JULY 19
3:00 - Unmasking: Who Is Your True Self? || RescuePoetix & Nancy Méndez-Booth
3:55 - What Practicing Gratitude Can Do For You || Jacquese A. Armstrong
4:45 - Sunday Funday Cocktail Demo || Summer Dawn Reyes
5:10 - Quarantine Show & Tell || Aurora Diaz

EVENT INFORMATION

The Bloom Virtual Summit will be Thursday, July 16 to Saturday, July 19. To acquire tickets or week-long passes, supporters can make a tax-deductible donation at http://www.infullcolor.org/bloom through their Fractured Atlas crowdfunding campaign. The campaign runs through July 19 at 12 p.m.

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