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 to support and expand its spoken word programming.

 (or EQ) - a spoken word performance series - to showcase local and national artists of color, as well as indigenous artists.

EQ founder Bao Phi says the Surdna grant is important both for the Loft and for spoken word in general.

Phi says that EQ pays decent wages for artists, sound technicians, and other talent, but also believes in being accessible to low-income audiences, so tickets are only $3 -$5. That means it needs outside funding to stay alive and healthy.

, has been actively involved in community organizing since he was a teenager, and the series reflects that commitment. A recent performance looked at indigenous land rights, pairing a Native Hawaiian artist with a Palestinian performer.

In addition to supporting the Equilibrium program, the Surdna grant will also fund spoken word immersion fellowships, in which six to eight artists of color or indigenous descent complete self-designed projects that help them better understand the communities and issues that inform their work.

According to the Loft, the hope is that these efforts will increase exposure and conversation around the art of spoken word, and lead toward broader acceptance of spoken word as a literary genre.

Arts and Culture

State of the Arts Blog

Marianne Combs

Author

The grant will fund the next two years of the Loft's Equilibrium series, and create an immersion fellowship for spoken word artists.

Loft Literary Center wins major grant for its spoken word program

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