Spark: Igniting Dynamic Dialogue

According to Clint Eastwood, our next guest “is a young man with an old soul and a classic voice. He is a great new talent with a wonderful sense of humor to boot. And don’t forget, he plays a hell of a trumpet!” We’re talking to none other than Atlanta jazz staple, Joe Gransden! Trumpeter, vocalist, and bandleader Joe Gransden has performed worldwide and released 19 acclaimed CDs. Known for his d...

We’re only two weeks away from the annual Atlanta Quilt Festival, and we’re checking in with co-founder O.V. Brantley! She shares the history of the festival as well as their new book Good Trouble Quilts, which celebrates the legacy of Congressman John Lewis. The Atlanta Quilt Festival is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of African American quilting and other textile art. It showcases s...

We’re midway through the year and we’re checking in with CREATE partner Madison Rengli! She gives us insight on the Anthologies Short Play Festival as well as information on how to enter. Madison Rengli is a seasoned actor from Seattle, Washington. She holds a B.A. in Youth Drama from Central Washington University and an M.F.A. in Performing Arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Madiso...

We continue our deep dive into the CREATE program with printmaker Chloe Alexander!  She shares her philosophy behind her visual artistry, as well as info on her upcoming joint exhibition In Tandem at the Emma Darnell Aviation Museum! Chloe Alexander is a printmaker who lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia. Her most recent work focuses on using various printing techniques to create unique works and...

Art in Action is right around the corner, and we’re taking you behind the scenes!! We talk with Deidre McDonald of Bronzelens, who is partnering with SFA and ArtsXchange on this free film screening highlighting 4 portrait documentaries from our Filmer series!  Deidre McDonald is an award-winning producer, writer, and educator with over 30 years of media experience. She is the Founding Artistic Dir...

We’re talking Create partnerships this week, and for National Mental Health Month we had to bring in Individual Partner Jaha Knight! She’s taking on teen mental health with a new arts workshop series titled Inkspirations, slated for the end of June. Ms. Knight is an accomplished art director with over 30 years of expertise and a passion for visual storytelling that enhances every project she under...

As we continue our lead-up to Exchange on May 14th, our latest episode features the multi-talented Trey Carlisle, aka Emcee Poetrey. Trey is a spoken word artist, singer-songwriter, mindfulness coach, and conflict mediator whose work blends rhythm, rhyme, and radical empathy. Through his platform, P.O.E.T.R.E.Y PRODUCTIONS, and his work with Music in Common and Soul Food Cypher, Trey is building b...

It’s National Poetry Month in April, but we’ve decided to extend the celebration! We’re less a month away from our next Exchange event on May 14th, and we can’t wait to see you there! Today we sit down with Spoken Word artist Theresa Davis about her artistry and her upcoming performance opposite Trey Carlisle or Emcee P.O.E.T.R.E.Y.  Theresa Davis is an educator, poet, storyteller, author, and poe...

We're rewinding to one of our favorite episodes, just in time for National Poetry Month! This week we take a look back at Soul Food Cypher, and its Founding Executive Director Alex Acosta. Listen with us as he shares how SFC continues to make a mark with Atlanta children and with the community.

*Disclaimer: Due to the name of the project, this episode contains slight profanity. We are delving into our CREATE class for 2025, and first up is theatre griot Dalyla McGee!! She talks with us about her new project Pepsi Cola Bi*** , embracing play in everyday life, and directing our playreading of 2Across ! Atlanta born and raised, Dalyla has been a vested multidisciplinary theatre maker with a...

For our last episode on Filmer, who better to cap the series than an Atlanta icon? Alice Lovelace is a cultural worker, performance artist, teacher, poet, organizer, author, and playwright. In 1978, she discovered the Neighborhood Arts Center and met Ebon Dooley (Leo Hale) and Toni Cade Bambara. Together, they organized poetry readings and classes while conducting meetings for the Southern Collect...

This year Academy Theatre, one of the two venues hosting this event, is also a subject! We could think of no better way to close out this series than to talk with Artistic Director Robert Drake, and the filmmaker of Beyond The Script, Dr. Arshely Emile.  The Academy Theatre is the longest running professional theatre in Georgia. Founded in 1956 by Frank Wittow, Academy has premiered over 400 new p...

We’re less than three weeks away from our screenings for Filmer 7 and we can’t wait to see you there! For this episode, we talk with Will Feagins and Kiara Gilbert as they analyze their film Kiara, Portrait of a Printmaker.  Kiara Gilbert is a Jacksonville Florida native and a graduate of Florida State University. Their art explores how their emotional landscape is informed by growing up black and...

We continue our series on Filmer with our next film KARLA, directed by Elisee Junior St Preux and starring jazz artist Karla Harris!!  Karla Harris has made a career within the art form she loves for more than three decades, captivating audiences from Portland to Provence. Her performance credits include events such as the Sarasota Jazz Festival, Portland Jazz Festival, Atlanta Jazz Festival, Oreg...

We continue our series on Filmer with our next film KARLA, directed by Elisee Junior St Preux and starring jazz artist Karla Harris!! Elisee is a Haitian-American Filmmaker born in Miami, FL. A self-taught artist and pure cinephile, Elisee is the owner of the nostalgic multimedia company, "À La MODE Films" for Black artists that use the power of storytelling to uplift the Black experience on and o...

We’re starting Season 3 talking about Filmer! We speak with Ethan Payne and Nzzy this week regarding their film, Nzzy’s Ark!  Ninel Nekay (preferably known as Nzzy) is a poet, filmmaker, teaching artist, theorist, and practitioner of the philosophies she depicts within her portfolio. She seeks to entice fellow worldbuilders to reimagine their pursue agency and their own utopias. She recently scree...

For our last episode of 2024 we sit down with Robert Drake, Artistic Director of Academy Theatre! He talks about artists cultivating relationships and shares what resources they need in order to thrive in 2025. Founded in 1956 by Frank Wittow, Academy Theatre is the longest running professional theatre in Georgia. Academy has pioneered a number of developments in Atlanta’s professional theatre com...

Ninel Nekay (preferably known as Nzzy) is a second-generation Jamaican-American Southerner and interdisciplinary cultural worker whose art demonstrates the stifled desires and salvation of Black non-men in the American South. As a poet, filmmaker, teaching artist, theorist, and practitioner of the philosophies she depicts within her portfolio, she seeks to entice fellow worldbuilders to reimagine...

We sit down with Sheri Winkelmann, who plays talented baker and conflicted mother figure Della in The Cake! Sheri Winkelmann is from Chicago and is a graduate of the Theater School at DePaul University. She has worked in theater off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally for over 25 years. Prominent film and television roles include NBC's, Chicago PD/Fire/Med, comedy series, 'Play by Pl...

It’s opening night for our play reading series of The Cake, and we decided to invite members of our cast to offer their insights!! First up is Alexandra Ficken, who plays bride-to-be Jen. Alexandra Ficken was born and raised in Atlanta, and is also a graduate of the University of Alabama with a BA in both musical theatre and dance. Atlanta credits include: Small Mouth Sounds , Goodnight Tyler, Han...

For this episode Jessy Diaz returns to Spark! Join us as she catches us up on her career since her last episode as well as her upcoming Latin Jazz concert on Sept 14th! Jessy Díaz is a highly motivated and energetic musician (singer, percussionist, musicologist, and teacher) with international exposure. Originally from Cuba, as a performer she focuses on the Latin jazz, cha-cha-cha, danzón, son, m...

This week we sit down with Pamela D Stegall, founder and Executive Director of the Pamela D Franklin Cultural Center.

Today, we’re speaking with Christopher Mosley, the owner and director of MPA Productions, a musical production company focused on increasing the visibility of minority string players in and around metro Atlanta communities

Welcome to SPARK, a podcast from South Fulton Arts. Today, we’re speaking with Stephanie Owens, Executive Director of NBAF! As the Executive Director since 2019, Stephanie has led the organization in cultivating vibrant community-oriented programming. Before her role at NBAF, Stephanie served as the Executive Director of the P&J Foundation in Vallejo, CA, where she focused on empowering middle...

Welcome back to Spark, a podcast from South Fulton Arts! -- Today, we’re speaking with Dr. Sylvia Carter, Founder and CEO of the Crossfire Movement and one of our 2024 Partners!  After 30 years of being an educator, Dr. Sylvia Carter knew that a global non-profit organization that brings people together to positively impact the lives of impoverished women and children through education, mentorship...