The “if you can Feel it, you can Speak it” Open Mic Movement, or FiSi, is Boston’s longest-running open mic dedicated to the voices of the LGBTQIA communities of color. Hosted every second Thursday of the month at the Milky Way in JP, the Mic was founded in 2009 and has been home for dozens of artists and those seeking space.
Programming for the Evening
Daniel Corral | In the Studio | 5:30–8:30 PM
Join artist Daniel Corral in creating a mosaic that celebrates the pride within yourself. Combine fun materials with images of queer historical figures and works selected from the Gardner's collection.
Daniel Corral's work includes street vending culture and immigration rights based in Los Angeles, CA. Their work also examines queerness and queer spaces within their own community and utilizes the Camera Obscura technique to create a portal between the private lives and public agency of each individual. Corral was born in Woodland Hills, CA. and is based in Boston, MA. They studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Art (SMFA) at Tufts University. Currently, Corral is the Assistant Site Supervisor at the Institute of Contemporary Art.
MEET TEAM BE SPOKEN
As FiSi embarks on its ten-year anniversary, the members of Team Be Spoken (TBS) are excited to share their voices with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum community. Each TBS member will perform a set of their own poetry, and culminate in a joint performance at the end.
Phree is a Boston-bred SpokenWord Artist and founder of the Bois & Bullshit collective, a working space for Masculine-of-Center Queer/Trans People of Color (QTPOC) to heal, break barriers, and build bonds. She began journaling and poetry writing at the age of 14 and mustered the courage to perform as an adult to fight the system of silencing. Her work consists of topics ranging from intergenerational trauma, cycles of abuse, identity, and self love. Phree uses her voice as a tool to fight for self liberation, influence the power of passion, and works to counter systemic oppression with community building and advocacy. She has performed in spaces such as Rutgers University (Newark, NJ), Emerson College (Boston, MA), The Oberon Theatre (Cambridge, MA), and will be at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston with her Team Be Spoken (TBS) family out of the “if you can Feel it, you can Speak it” open mic located in Jamaica Plain.
Amber Aliyah Williams aka SublimeLuv is a black lesbian womanist who always speaks her truth and believes "the personal is political." She is a Boston born and bred spoken word artist. She was educated in private and public local school systems and became an activist through words at an early age due to her contrasting experiences in those institutions. She is a member of 'Team Be Spoken' showcasing their 'If you can Feel it you can Speak it' Open Mic at the Milky Way every second Thursday of each month. Through her art and future endeavors, she aims to empower women of color to impact positive global change.
P.O.E.Τ.I.C.is an acronym connecting my Devotion; Positioning Others while Encouraging Tutelage In the Community with full DEVOTION. Living 37 years strong but many times within those years faced several trials and tribulations. Poetic Devotion has fought with sexuality, spirituality, rejection, depression and acceptance. The best friend she ever had/have was and is her pen. For her, writing is therapeutic; allowing her light in dark, not just for herself, but for others as well. She was able to reconstruct her mind through spoken word, and has been writing/performing for 12 years. Her work provides emotion and raw reality; giving hope for the young and a reason to fight for the old.
David Wylen is a Boston-born poet, rapper, percussionist, street performer, and equal rights activist. Wylen involves himself in the arts because he has learned how they allow messages to be portrayed and understood across cultures—subsequently being and creating means of communication for universal connection and improvement. He has opened up for acts including Talib Kweli, The Ying Yang Twins, Cam'ron, Mobb Deep, Freeway, Lloyd Banks of G-Unit, Phil Flowers, Skip Martin of Kool & The Gang, Raekwon of The Wu Tang Clan, and KRS-One. He additionally participates in performing arts benefits, showcases, fundraisers, and other related events in communities from Las Vegas to Egypt. Wylen is also one of nine members of Team Be Spoken—a poetry group that hosts The If You Can Feel It You Can Speak It open mic! As a White man, he feels the need to use his abilities with the arts to put White people’s wrongdoings on blast, while still vividly expressing righteousness, and how it feels better to hug than to push away.
LaTeisha Tj Johnson, born and bred in the city of Boston, has been writing for the sake of survival for as long as she can remember. It wasn’t until she was older that she realized the words she had been filling her notebooks with were something that could be shared on stage, over a mic, for people to hear. Suddenly, what began as a retreat from the world and release for her emotions soon became a creative outlet for her thoughts and expressions. Humbled by the audience’s willingness to listen and touched by their ability to relate, Tj has found purpose sharing the same words that she has coveted for so many years. As a poet, she genuinely embraces her responsibility to speak for the silenced and advocate for the speechless. A lover by nature and a fighter by design, Tj has every intention to dismantle the arrogance of ignorance, challenge minds, and inspire peace and humility with her words.
D.Ruff is a spoken word poet and has been co-host of the "if you can Feel It, you can Speak It" Open Mic movement, held at Bella Luna/ Milky Way in Jamaica plain, for 9 years. He has been writing and performing for over 15 years.Most of his poems stem from personal experiences and observations, and therefore range in topics from love and heartbreak to inequality and culture. D.Ruff performs with inspiring passion in hopes that someone of color, will also want to find a way to express themselves, find that “tribe” and do it all, with the intention of leaving all the hurt, pain, and negativity, right where it was showcased.
Jha D is an architect by day and a spoken word artist by passion. She has been performing and organizing events for the past 15 years, and is the founder of the "if you can Feel it, you can Speak it" Open Mic Movement. The "Feel it, Speak it" Movement was the first monthly open mic in Boston dedicated to the voices of the LGTBQ+ Communities of Color, and in its 10th year it continues to be a Home in the community. Jha D is also the producer of EN-ER-GY, an annual showcase of Boston's eclectic art communities and fundraiser for local organizations. In 2016, she became the new Executive Director & Producer of Womxn of Color Weekend and is reawakening the 4-day Pride for WoC and non-binary/gender-fluid PoC. Jha D's poetry and space making is a celebratory exploration of identity, sexuality and self-realization, and she professes that there is "undeniable art in expressing your own truth."
Performance Schedule
Phree | 5:40 PM | Calderwood Hall
SublimeLuv | 6:10 PM | Tapestry Room
P.O.E.T.I.C. Devotion | 6:40 PM | Living Room
Wylen | 7:05 PM | Tapestry Room
Tj | 7:35 PM | Living Room
D. Ruff | 8 PM | Living Room
Jha D | 8:25 PM | Calderwood Hall
Photo at top by Natasha Moustache.
How to Buy Tickets
Tickets are required and include Museum admission.
Adults $15, seniors $12, students $10, free for members and children 17 and under.
Online, by clicking the TICKETS button above*
By calling the box office at 617 278 5156, Wednesday-Monday, 10 am-4 pm*
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Studio activities are made possible by the Polly Thayer Starr Charitable Trust. The Museum is also supported by grants from the Barr Foundation and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which receives support from the State of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Polly Thayer Starr (1904-2006) was an accomplished artist who captured the culture and whimsy of her native Boston with a unique combination of detail, emotion, and curiosity. For more, visit the Polly Thayer Charitable Starr Trust online at www.pollythayerstarr.org. The Museum receives operating support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which receives support from the State of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
