ARTIST GALLERY 7 

TAALAM ACEY

TAMPA FLORIDA
You have so, so much inspired me with your Spoken Word" said the legendary Stevie Wonder, while interviewing Taalam Acey, during Wonder’s own birthday celebration in May 2008. Taalam, a child of the Newark Rebellion, was raised by a single mother who was a member of the famed writer and activist Amiri Baraka’s community organization. Acey is an independent artist whose work has been featured frequently on TV One and was selected as the original "number one thing you need to know about" on BET's countdown show, "The 5ive." Over the years, BET has featured and aired roughly a half dozen segments featuring Taalam Acey. The Newark, NJ native’s poetry has appeared in Essence Magazine and Susan Taylor, the magazine’s Editor Emeritus, personally invited Acey to perform for an audience of six thousand at The Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. Acey was selected as the initial presenter for the inaugural Baltimore TEDx. He was also the curator of the 2011 Sacred Circle Cafe at New Jersey's most prestigious theater, the NJ Performing Arts Center. Taalam was honored to be a guest of Congresswoman Maxine Waters for the Congressional Black Caucus' 2007 & 2008 "Young Gifted and Black" panels. He has shared his work in several countries and approximately one hundred schools of higher education; including the esteemed Graduate School of Education at UC Berkeley, where he delivered a lecture on contemporary Spoken Word. Taalam Acey was featured on "Lyric Cafe," NPR's (National Public Radio) TELL ME MORE and has recorded fifteen CDs and authored four books. Additionally, films that include his work have garnered an Audience Award (2002) and a Special Jury Prize (2006) at the Sundance Film Festival. He was featured in an acclaimed Radio-One London slam poetry documentary and Marc Smith, the founder of slam poetry, used Acey's work in his definitive book. Taalam currently resides in Tampa, Fl.

MTIMA SOLWAZI

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO , CARIBBEAN

Mtima Abdul Ghany Solwazi is a living example of displaying resilience in the 
quest for achieving success by utilizing spoken word as a tool for cognitive-
behavioural therapy, social activism, civic engagement, arts education, and 
literacy development. Mtima was deemed an at-risk deviant youth who was 
engaged in street-level narcotic trade and gang affiliated activities from age thirteen. He left Belmont Boys’ Secondary with four subjects at Basic Ordinary Level (Grade Three). Today, Mtima holds a Bachelor of Sciences with honors in Psychology with Minors in Sociology and Criminology from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, and a Certificate in Social Work from the University of the West Indies Open Campus. 

MANCHILDE

MONTREAL /PHILADELPHIA

Based in Trinidad, then Toronto and Montreal, Canada and now Philadelphia, US - Manchilde (of the Butta Babees) has shared stages with the likes of Mos Def, Common, The Roots and Talib Kweli and played in the Caribbean, North America and West Africa. Smash your universe into pieces and put it back together again with Manchilde. Experience the solo debut 'Phenomenologie'

WEBSITE:
http://www.reverbnation.com/manchildemovement

Quentin VerCetty

TORONTO
Quentin VerCetty is an award winning contemporary griot - storyteller who knows no boundaries when it comes to his artistic expression. His practice focuses on teaching the effectiveness of artivism and the empowerment in controlling the narrative of your own story for today and the future. Having a background adolescence that was shaped by affiliations with street gangs, drug trafficking and indulging in various illegal activities he now uses his lived experiences to create art using film, poetry, short story parables, drumming, painting and 3D digital art rendering, to inspire and provoke social change. Quentin is also an avid chess advocate and teaches the game in a metaphorical way to children, youth and adult as a methodology to overcome the circumstances and build for their future. He has spread his message of the arts as a tool for social change in places like London, Dubai, Port-au-Prince, Cape Town, Kingston, Havana and around the United States and Canada. As a recent graduate of Ontario College of Art and Design University he hopes to continue to work with youth and different communities internationally.
Website : www.vercetty.com

RACHAEL COLLYMORE

Trinidad & Tobago
Rachael Collymore is the founder of Poetic Vibes which serves as a promotional and events-based organization, dedicated to creating a platform for artisans. As a writer of poetry, Rachael has used this medium to channel her creative energies to raise the level of awareness and standard of the arts in Trinidad & Tobago. She is a member of the Circle of Poets of Trinidad and Tobago, a Public Relations practitioner and Events Coordinator. She has written for CPC Women in Business, Arc Magazine and other publications.