Ed. Director Destiny Renee on An American Sunrise and Human Sunrise Festival

In anticipation of upcoming Human Sunrise Festival, we talked with our dear friend, collaborator, and 7 Stages Education Director Destiny Renee about the festival and what led up to this multifaceted event.

Destiny has spent the last year helping students across Atlanta craft artistic responses to An American Sunrise by U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo. This book of poetry speaks to the experiences of Muscogee (Creek) people, whose land we now call Atlanta. Destiny chose to explore An American Sunrise for its universal themes of grief, hope, displacement, loss, ancestry, nature, and to learn about Muscogee people while honoring their lives and work.

DR – 7 Stages has truly drawn me in because of the important work that they do within the community; everyone is important and their stories matter. They have nurtured me as an artist during a time when I didn’t know I needed that space to grow and strengthen my creative voice. There’s always an overarching goal! To uplift everyone, especially the youth and give them a platform to be heard and create from the heart.

DR – Well honestly after reading like the first 10 poems within An American Sunrise I was already crying and texting our Artistic Director, Heidi Howard, telling her that it was a MUST. The themes within the book were universal: Grief, hope, displacement, loss, honoring ancestry and nature. There’s also a historical aspect which fit really well within our education program. I knew that all communities would benefit from taking a deeper look into the stories of Native & Indigenous people, the first voices. We could all learn a lot from them, especially when it comes to caring for our beloved planet Earth.

DR – We can expect to have fun! There will be a variety of artistic responses to Joy Harjo’s beautiful poetry. With text so rich like An American Sunrise, all of our students and Artistic Associates really dug deep to create from a vulnerable space. There will be music, art, dance, short plays, aerial performances, spoken word and so much more. This event will also leave room for community members to tell their own stories inspired by the themes within the book on an open mic as well as different interactive experiences within our lobby. It is my hope that everyone will leave feeling more open to express their truth freely, acknowledge their history and find ways to make a brighter tomorrow.

We invite you to our Human Sunrise Festival on May 28th, from 3 – 7 PM in our lobby and outdoors. An eclectic range of artistic responses to Harjo’s journey encourages audiences and L5P visitors to honor the Muscogee and Creek people and their land. As we shed light on colonialism and complacency, we celebrate all of our ancestors and commit to future generations through art making and story sharing.

An immersive installation explores the four classical elements and our stories’ relationships to them. Visual art created by our students, teaching artists, community members, as well as local, national and international artistic associates decorates our gallery. Spoken word poetry, music, dance, aerial performances, and a screening of selected films create a flurry of activity, engagement and connection throughout the event.

Join us for an artburst of sunrise and possibility! CLICK TO LEARN MORE & RSVP.