ACT to Present the Inaugural 'Every 28 Hours Black Arts Festival'

Today, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) announced that the inaugural Every 28 Hours Black Arts Festival, a one-day festival highlighting and celebrating local Black art, culture, and activism, will take place onSaturday, February 3, from 3 to 10 p.m. at A.C.T.'s Strand Theater (1127 Market St., San Francisco). This year's theme-A Healing Experience-will center on resilience and joy in the Black struggle against police brutality and Black oppression and will feature a full day of performances by local spoken-word artists, musicians, singers, and dancers, as well as visual art installations, guest speakers, and panel discussions led by community activists. In addition, the Strand Theater lobby will transform into a marketplace where local Black-owned businesses and restaurants will be selling their goods and food.

The festival culminates with a special performance of selections from Every 28 Hours, a series of one-minute plays inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, by members of A.C.T.'s Master of Fine Arts Program, Young Conservatory, and Education & Community Programs, under the direction of Bay Area theater artist and activist Elizabeth Carter. Co-created by Dominic D'Andrea of the One-Minute Play Festival and Claudia Alick of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Every 28 Hours is a national partnership focused on the widely shared statistic that a Black person is killed every 28 hours by a vigilante, security guard, or the police in the United States. All events at the Every 28 Hours Black Arts Festival are free and open to the public, but RSVPs are strongly encouraged. For a full list of activities, or to RSVP, visit www.act-sf.org/every28hours.

Says Elizabeth Brodersen, A.C.T. Director of Education & Community Programs: "We are honored to provide a platform for Black artists, audiences, and allies to come together from across the A.C.T. artistic and educational community to celebrate and hold healing space for the Bay Area African American/Black community. What began for us in 2015 as an artistic exchange exploring the painful realities that gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement-and remain all too real-has continued to gain momentum, transforming into what we hope will be an annual interdisciplinary, community-wide event at A.C.T. Citizen Artists in our Master of Fine Arts Program, students from our Young Conservatory and school residencies, and artists and activists from our distinguished community partner organizations will raise their voices together in a creative environment that allows for artistic exploration, compassionate conversation, and collective healing, which we believe is more essential than ever in these troubled, divisive times."

Participating organizations at this year's Every 28 Hours Black Arts Festival include Destiny Arts Center and SOMArts Cultural Center. More participants will be announced at a later date.

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