Artists

milDRED

Notable Quotes

“A lean, sinuous woman, milDRED Gerestant is a charismatic performer, brimming with raw talent, high energy and a gentle, winning charm. Using a blend of poetry, dance, music and monologue, she explores the fragile, fluid definitions of sexual identity and cultural stereotypes…Gerestant is a trickster. Watching her channel her characters produces a strange sensation. As her costumes change, we witness transformation by degree, an experience that not only challenges our assumptions but also teases us with an uneasy feeling of dislocation. Just as we settle into one character, Gerestant pulls a quick change and sends us looking for another label.”

- Mark Muro, Anchorage Daily News

“From Flip Wilson as Geraldine to Martin Lawrence as Sheneneh, men have made tons of money as drag performers. Now it’s the women’s turn, and one of the world’s leading character actors is Haitian-American milDRED Gerestant, the artist formerly known as DRED.”

- Port of Harlem Magazine

“At “Divercity,” … the Haitian-American star actress DRED Love created a remarkable gender collage in motion… out of a trunkload of hairpieces, costumes, props, and sexy, dead-on body language . With muscles and curves… goatee, and a surprise between her shapely legs, she danced a manifesto of freedom and self-respect.”

- Eva Yaa Asantewaa, Village Voice

“milDRED Gerestant’s own act is a gender-bending roller coaster ride alternating between man and woman, outrageous and serious, ironic and sincere. It also preaches the message of self-love as if Eddie Murphy were to perform Eve Ensler’s “Vagina Monologues… milDRED Gerestant uses sexuality as a departure point to preach the message of tolerance, acceptance, and diversity. While a lot of her act uses hilarity to demonstrate that femininity and masculinity are not set in stone, she hopes that once her audiences realize the multiplicity of beings in themselves, the various shades of man and woman that is in all of us, regardless of sex, then we are more apt to realize and accept all the myriad differences of those around us.”

- The Korean Herald

Awards and Recognitions

2009 OUTMusic’s Spirit Award

GO Magazine’s “100 Women We Love“

Two-time Recipient of The Field’s Artward Bound Artist in Residency

Projects

“Children of the Last Days”

Written and Performed by Thandiwe Thomas deShazor

Directed by Norman Gee

Produced by Shalonda Ingram

A Nursha Project Production

Notable Quotes

“Afro Solo won’t be ‘Last Days’ for gifted performer!”

-Kevin Thomas, examiner.com

Links to Full-Length Articles

East Bay Express

Examiner.com

The Berkeley Daily Planet

“Where My Girls At?”

Written and Performed by Micia Mosely

Directed by Tamilla Woodard

Produced by Shalonda Ingram

A Nursha Project Production

Notable Quotes

“Where My Girls At?, written and performed by the talented Micia Mosely, is a laugh-out-loud comedy that pushes the envelope in too many ways to describe…Where My Girls At? is a great night out and a shining example of what a talented and flexible mind can do when given the freedom.”

-New York Amsterdam News

“Where My Girls At? was a rich multi-layered experience that provided a dissertation into being black and lesbian including having the audience rate by applause which of the “contestants” was the most black, which was the most “womanly” and which was the most “lesbian”. I didn’t stop laughing during this whirlwind performance by an extremely talented artist.  As a matter of fact it wasn’t until I sat down to write this review that I noticed the “medicine” of this show was so cleverly hidden in the candy.”

-D.C. Theatre Scene

Awards and Recognitions

2009 New York Innovative Theater Award Nominee for Best Solo Performance

Links to Full-Length Articles

DC Theatre Scene

Queer Art Impact

Stay tuned as Mat Heggem, Brooklyn-based Artistic Director and Curator of Bushed/Gay Wars, and Nursha Project Founder, Shalonda Ingram, launch their newest initiative, Queer Art Impact.

What is Queer Art Impact?

Queer Art Impact (QAI) explores the conversation between politics, art and action. The New York City-based initiative is intended to bring together individuals and organizations who self-identify their body of work as queer. By supporting artists whose works challenge the hetero-normative, QAI seeks to embrace queerness and create opportunities for all artists – living in the political and social fringe – to move to the center.

QAI is about action and re-action. It’s the motivation to do something and to speak out. This action/reaction takes the form of art, politic gesture, youth engagement, community movement, education, and business training with/by/for queers.

QAI features performances, cabarets, parties, panel discussions and networking events that occur throughout the year, culminating in an annual spring festival where QAI commissioned works are premiered. Subsequent discourse catapults the community into a Summer of Inspired Pride — S.I.P. – a Rooftop WrrkQ P(art)y on the regs!

We accept applications on an ongoing basis, and are especially looking for those who want to build on-going communications with their fellow queers. Upon receipt and approval of materials, the artist will be included on our website, provided access to www.wrrkq.com (coming soon), and may be curated and/or commissioned for QAI events throughout the year.

QAI welcomes partnerships and shared programming proposals from educators, community organizers, and other arts entities.

What is WrrkQ?

WrrkQ is about sharing resources, creating opportunities, developing collaborative relationships, keeping communications open, and providing a physical & virtual space to meet individuals who share the same motivation for their queer agendas.  But, it’s also about the business side too — having your needs met and understanding the systems that need to be in place to make the wrrkq happen.

WrrkQ includes a monthly gathering hosted by a QAI artist and a quarterly newsletter on relevant artist resources for the queer community. Stay tuned for more information about www.wrrkq.com.

Upcoming Events
QAI will be presenting Come As You Are, NYC.
Save the dates – September 27 – October 3, 2010
Connect with QAI on Facebook and keep your social streams as open as you
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Queer-Art-Impact/129147190461382?ref=ts

Twitter hastag #wrrkq and follow @queerai

Nursha Project Launches New Partnership

Coming soon….

Join Nursha Project as it partners with Mat Heggem on a new initiative, Queer Arts Impact. QAI will feature programs such as Come As You Are (New York), a series around queer sex, among other flavorful, eye-opening, jaw-dropping, colorful events.

Stay tuned for more details…

SPLURGE! In August

Micia Mosely and Friends at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe

Join Micia Mosely and some of her favorite performers as they celebrate the summer season and give you a sneak peak into Micia’s newest project. Featuring musical and movement performances by Fedel (Hip-Hop/Soul), Ganessa James (Folk/Rock/Soul), and Wendell Cooper (Spoken Word/ Hip-Hop)! This Nursha Project production is not to be missed!! For ticket information, click here.

EVENT DETAILS

A Hot Mess!

Join the A.O. Movement Collective at Second Floor on Clinton for their Hot Mess Hype Party Fundraiser and get the opportunity to be featured in their upcoming work! Not convinced yet? FREE Wine and cheese plus treats from dance/chef extraordinaire, Larissa Sheldon, will be served all night. Come eat, drink, and dance dirty all night long!

EVENT DETAILS:

Monday June 28th, 2010; 6-10pm

Second Floor at Clinton (Above Berrumundi)

67 Clinton Street (between Rivington and Stanton)

Lower East Side, New York City

TICKETS:

Hundred Club Members get in FREE

$5 for Sarah Lawrence Alums

$5 per person for groups of 5+

$10 General Admission

Attendees will witness the launch of A.O.M.C’s  new show card, in addition to the new ultra-limited-edition of  A.O.M.C Glam line. Come early enough (before 8pm) and learn a short segment from “90 Ways to Wake” from Drowning,  the SLFdstrcTV dance. Footage of club-goers dancing to this piece will be shot and will be part of the Movement Collective’s Joyce Soho show in July!

The Fundraising portion of the evening will feature a silent auction with opportunities to bid on art, goods, and services.  Grab a limited edition raffle pin and win a VIP Package to A.O.M.C.’s Joyce Soho Show!

Dress a hot mess, and we’ll see you at the party!

Newsletter

Nursha Project Newsletter Archives 2010

• May Dance Collaborations 2010 (PDF)
• May 2010 (PDF)
• March 2010 (PDF)
• January 2010 (PDF)

Nursha Project Newsletter Archives 2009

• October 2009 (PDF)
• September 2009 (PDF)
• August 2009 (PDF)
• July  2009 (PDF)
• June 2009 (PDF)

Founder

The Founder

Shalonda Ingram

Shalonda Ingram, founder of Nursha Project™ is a strategist, producer, and social entrepreneur committed to transforming the planet via pro-activism and to sociopolitical change via community empowerment and civic, youth, and arts engagement. She also founded Born Brown: All Rights Reserved®, a social enterprise agency that promotes understanding and collaboration among people of color with various origins by countering oppressive media with messaging that evokes self-acceptance and self-love and United States of Consciousness™, a consortium of responsible business to business consumers united by their interest to leverage purchasing power.

In 2005, Shalonda partook in the manifestation of the Bay Area Black United Fund document, “Microloan and Worker Cooperative: A Strategy for Youth Enterprise Development,” which explored microfinance lending for youth entrepreneurs. Shalonda has participated in several college and university panel discussions including Hip Hop and Religion organized by the Department of Performance Studies at New York University and sponsored by Peace Out East, Laney College’s panel on Women of Color and Ethnic Studies, and Providence College’s panel on Human Behavior in Social Systems.

Recently, she moderated the Young Women’s Health and Leadership Summit at the University of California, San Francisco and contributed to a discussion on “Strategizing Social Marketing” in community-based health research at the Black and Latino Student CaucusThird Annual Minority Health Advocacy Conference at the Joseph Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. In addition to serving as the Producer at Dance Theater Workshop, Shalonda sits on various arts funding councils including the City of Oakland’s Funding Advisory Board and the Brooklyn Arts Council Community Arts Regrant Program.

In 2009, she was nominated for The Corporation for National & Community Service Eli Segal Award and the New York Innovative Theater Award for the Nursha Project production, Where My Girls At?. Shalonda is continually exploring ways through which she can fulfill her commitment to creative exchange and sustainability in light of infinite possibility.

Thandiwe Thomas De Shazor Performs in 12th Annual National Queer Arts Festival: June 3rd and 20th

Thandiwe Thomas De Shazor will be appearing as a special guest of Philip Haung at the 2009 NQAF at the Garage All Stars on June 3rd, and performing stand up at the Black and Tan Fantasy Festival June 20th. Queer Cultural Center Presents: NQAF 2009.  This steady on the ready Nursha Project is doing big things and making noise.  With new publicity photos taken by Bethanie Hines get ready to see a whole lot of Thandiwe.

June 3rd; 8PM
The Garage All Stars Part 1
@ The Garage
$10-$20
Buy Tickets on-line:
www.brownpapertickets.com

June 20th, 7PM
@Mama Calizo’s Voice Factory
$12-$20
Buy Tickets on-line:
www.brownpapertickets.com/event/66741

QCC stages an annual month-long multidisciplinary National Queer Arts Festival which highlights significant Bay Area Queer arts events and provides services to emerging culturally-specific and gender-specific queer arts groups.  A program that to date has commissioned more than 60 San Franscisco-based artists to create new work.  Since 1988, QCC has organized this annual festival.  These festivals have presented more than 400 different evnets feeturing over 2000 Queer artists.  The 2008 Festival attracted more than 65,000 people.

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