Centred around Simone Elizabeth Saunders’ ongoing solo u•n•i•t•y•, and her exploration of the Afro-diasporic, we gather to celebrate Black joy and resilience with a comedy sketch by comedian and BLM activist Statuesse, a jazz performance by model, editor and dancer Sabrina Naz Comănescu of Decidedly Jazz and an Artist Talk by artist Simone Elizabeth Saunders.
This video contains mature content.
About the Speakers
Simone Elizabeth Saunders in her studio. Photo by Pardeep Sooch, courtesy of the artist.
Simone Elizabeth Saunders
(she/her)
is a textile artist based in Calgary, Alberta. She holds a B.F.A. from the Alberta University of Arts 2020. Saunders was named the National Winner for the Bank of Montreal's 1st Art Competition in 2020. She has been internationally featured, select media credits include: Create Magazine, Canada's House&Home Magazine, CBC Arts, CBCq, Boooooom, Uppercase Magazine, Pom-Pom Magazine (England), FairLady (South Africa), Surface Design Journal, Colossal and DesignMilk (USA). Most recent exhibitions include the Alberta Craft Council for the Arts and Art Museum University of Toronto. Saunders has been collected by several international museums and her emerging series will debut at Contemporary Calgary.
Statuesse
(she / her)
Adora Nwofor aka Statuesse is your typical everyday awkward Amazon Goddess next door. She leads with grace and humor even when not intended. Comedian and host she is all around Calgary and North America making an impact on many fronts. From co-producing and styling community content with Shaw Cable, hosting events like Folkfest, Cariwest and Reggaefest, to making folx jaws drop with comedy at Nubian Disciples, your local Comedy club or Gogo Battles, she isn’t afraid to tell THE edgy story you needed. A people lover, getting a look into new communities is her newest adventure, Living a creative life on Youtube tells how people have continued to express themselves despite a pandemic. That’s not all; there’s also public speaking (at U of C, Mount Royal and Capilano university in the past year), activism (you saw 2020 but she has been on it), wardrobe styling and modeling in the YYC, all like she’s having a party. Maybe she IS the party!
Sabrina Naz Comănescu
(she / her)
Sabrina Naz Comănescu is a dynamic member of the Calgary Dance Community through her work as a performer, choreographer, dance instructor and filmmaker. As a performer, Comanescu has worked with Machel Montano, House of Dangerkat, The Bad Girls Club YYC, ILLFX Entertainment and is currently in her seventh year performing with the Decidedly Jazz Danceworks company in Calgary, Alberta. She is also the current major force behind The Diversity Performing Arts Club of Calgary that “celebrates cultural diversity while promoting inclusion and respect for all youth”. She has also created Casa De Naz (CDN) in 2012, a collective with a mission to “excite and educate art hubs across Canada about the thriving Caribbean community in Calgary and the arts of the Caribbean as a whole”.