Mama Said

As a lead-in to Ashé’s 2026 Birthrite exhibition A Radical Imagination of Care, the Friday Night Open Mic in collaboration with Artists At Work excitedly presents Mama Said, an evening of poetry and performance art that centers mothering in its various forms.

Mama Said is in celebration of National Poetry Month, and the kickoff to Black Maternal Health Week. Our featured poet, Sha’Condria “Icon” Sibley, is an internationally renown spoken word poet whose work has been featured on TV One's Verses and Flow, Huffington Post, For Harriet, Teen Vogue, and BBC World Radio, and has graced the main stages of the Essence Music Festival, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and French Quarter Festival.

In addition to Icon’s feature, the mic will be open for performances and expressions that uplift all ways of mothering: from birthing to chosen familyhood, from loss to liberation.

Hosted by Artists At Work members, A.J. Haynes and Donney Rose.

• April 17, 2026 | 7:30PM - 9:30PM

• Adinkra Lounge | 1719 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd

• $5 Minimum Donation