Black Fantastic, Buoyant and Bold: Art’s Ways of Levitating Over the Weight of the World with author Tenea D. Johnson
Purchase includes free Museum admission voucher!
Drawing inspiration from the MFA’s special exhibition, Derrick Adams: Buoyant, author Tenea D. Johnson will read joy-centered selections from her latest book, Blueprints for Better Worlds (May 2020) as well as the forthcoming collection, Broken Fevers. Arts and the creative realm can be an antidote to unsettling and dark times, like what we are experiencing right now. In Johnson’s books, her characters often go through trials, tribulations and trauma, but she crafts stories that allow them to get through—not over—their burdens.
“During this reading, I’ll be searching out the victories, affirming connections, moments of beauty, and humor to share with the audience so that they can experience those aspects of the Black Fantastic and Afrofuturism,” Johnson says.
Johnson, based right here in St. Pete, is an award-winning author who writes speculative fiction, makes music, and builds an arts & empowerment enterprise. Her short work appears in anthologies like Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond, Sycorax’s Daughters, and Blue and Gray: Ghost Stories from the Civil War. Her musical stories were heard at venues, such as New York’s The Public Theater and The Knitting Factory. Johnson also wrote a poetry and prose collection, Starting Friction. Her debut novel, Smoketown, won the Parallax Award. R/evolution, the first book in the Revolution series (which includes the novel, Evolution), received an honorable mention that year as well.
Free for members, and $10 for not-yet-members.
Purchase includes free Museum admission voucher.
Want free access to interesting events, important discussions, and more during this special exhibition? MFA Members enjoy free admission for 12 months, early access to special exhibitions, discounts at our online Store and Café, and more, all while supporting St. Petersburg’s first and largest art museum!