Battling mental illness is hard during regular times. How are people coping amidst a pandemic and social unrest? How is a sector that depends on social entertainment, truth-telling, and community gathering making it during this time of physical distancing? Artists Sharon Nyree Williams (Storyteller and Arts Administrator), Dani Tirrell (Curator, Choreographer, Educator and more), and Lauren DuPree (Actor, Singer, Writer, Filmmaker) will share their creative work and, with the support of Dr. Katrina Sanford (Counselor, PsyD), will embark upon a conversation around how they are mentally surviving.

SHAKIN' SHIT UP Our Stories. Our Messages. Shakin’ Shit Up is about sharing stories and exploring the messages within them. This event is the fire breathing conversation you want after you hear dope shit. #shakinshitup #teamsharonseattle Featured Artists describing their work: Aramis O. Hamer My work is inspired by the cosmos, music, nature, divine femininity, and the complexities throughout the Black culture. When I explain what I do to someone at a coffee shop, I just say "I create colorful, cosmic queens". I let their imagination do the rest ;) website - aohamer.com Instagram- @aohamer, FaceBook- A.O. Hamer Paypal - aramis.hamer@gmail.com Damon Brown I am a SeattIe, WA based artist who, from an early age, knew I loved art and to create new designs. I drew inspiration from comic books as I spent countless hours exploring different images and heroic storylines which opened my eyes to artistic creation. As my imagination grew, I began to study various art movements, illustration styles, and urban art. This, in turn, taught to me how things like color, shape, story, and texture can manifest into something so vivid for people to feel and see. I was then able to blend my love for classical art and illustration. www.creativelou.com Instagram:Creative_Lou Facebook:Creativelouvisuals PayPal: Damon@creativelou.com Cash APP$CreativeLou Venmo:@Damon-Brown-30

SHAKIN' SHIT UP Our Stories. Our Messages. Shakin’ Shit Up is about sharing stories and exploring the messages within them. This event is the fire breathing conversation you want after you hear dope shit.#shakinshitup #teamsharonseattle Featured Artists describing their work: ARAMI WALKER (She will blow your conscious mind.) Arami Walker is a multidimensional artist and educator who intends to use the power of music, technology, and transformative practices to catalyze a shift in consciousness throughout the world. Inspired by poetry, music and meditation- she hopes to use traditional and non- traditional media to promote a healthier way to share stories and develop society. She has traveled to over 14 countries researching cultural practices of music, dance, and communication. She is a dedicated global citizen who strives to contribute thoughtful content in the form of music, books, and educational lectures. in the year of 2020, she intends to distribute her first music album as well as launch a school of transformation she calls, “Pazzzify”. BRIAN J. EVANS (Brian is a special gift of all kind of talent.) Mixing disciplines, mixing professions, and of mixed race, Brian J. Evans unpacks the “moments of suspension” that reside in the spaces between spaces. Convinced that connections exist between us all and it is the responsibility of the Arts to remind us to be holistically human, lest we forget. Courageous vulnerability and intentional equity keeps him aloft as he finds ways to give back and add to the communities, mentors, and ancestors who blazed trails and continue to do so!

Our Stories. Our Messages. Shakin’ Shit Up is about sharing stories and exploring the messages within them. This event is the fire breathing conversation you want after you hear dope shit. #shakinshitup #teamsharonseattle Featured Artists describing their work: SAVANNAH PARKER: (Don't let her young age fool ya.) My work is versatile in terms of content, it’s a general reflection of who I am and how I think. My art is my outlet of expression. It enables me to exhale all that isn’t beneficial to my being and inhale all of the things that I need to progress. Typically when I create, I create for the bettering of myself to help me process the complexities of this world. Still, I share what I create as a way of communication. I am my work, and my work is me all in all my art is continuously evolving. NINA YARBROUGH: (She's been waiting to blow your minds.) In general, I think my work is my best efforts at processing my own experiences: as a Black person, as a woman, as a human being living in America. I have been in love with language since I was a kid. The playfulness of rhyming words, the wonderful way in which stories can change a person’s life; these are the aspects of writing, poetry, and the spoken word that have uplifted and guided my work.