Our most recent winner …
2023 — La Nubiana
An Immersive Afro-Futurist Pole Show
“La Nubiana is a groundbreaking immersive experience that blends pole performance, Afro-futurism, and real-time generative art. Set in the year Y3K, the show celebrates the victory of the legendary resistance army, La Nubiana, in the war on the Black female body. Through electrifying performances, world-building visuals, and interactive storytelling, La Nubiana transforms movement and technology into a revolutionary celebration of liberation.”
Arwa Michelle Mboya
Arwa Michelle Mboya (she/her) is an LA based Designer & Creative Director from Nairobi, Kenya. Her work in immersive and experiential entertainment has spanned companies such as Walt Disney Imagineering, Magic Leap & Madison Square Garden Sphere. Arwa is passionate about crafting narratives & designing experiences that center the stories of black women. She is a pioneer in design at the intersection of Black Hair and technology, and is the co-founder of Black Hair Lab - a data & design platform for black hair. She also published the book Wash Day which is a computer-generated text based on transcripts of wash day YouTube videos from the black hair community. In her freetime, she expresses herself through movement as an avid Pole Dancer. Arwa has an M.S. in Design Engineering from the MIT Media Lab and a B.A. from Yale University.
Our inaugural winner …
2022 — Black Feast
A creation of Black narrative, an offering to Black lineage, Black Feast is a culinary event that celebrates Black artists and writers through food.
“Founded and Directed by Salimatu Amabebe, Black Feast was created as a way to not only make space at the table for Black artists, but to design a whole new table for us.
At our table, guests participate in an experience that weaves together food and art, where Salimatu works with Black artists to create a four-course vegan, gluten-free, and cane sugar free gourmet meal based off of the artist’s work. Black Feast events have featured artists across disciplines, such as Jamila Woods, Madison McFerrin, Jayy Dodd, Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo, Amenta Abioto, and others.
In Black Feast: Black Imagerial, movement artists Intisar Abioto and Akela Jaffi present a collectively held offering - honoring the legacies of Black movers, dancers and choreographers in Portland. With eight Black dancers and artists moving with the land, Black Imagerial recognizes Black movement as embodied image-making and visionary practice.
Supported with creative direction by Annika Hansteen-Izora, Black Feast is led by two queer, Black artists that believe in food and art as a site of possibility. Our dinner experiences are a space where food celebrates Black art, Black stories, Black love, Black movement, & Black voices.”
Salimatu Amabebe
Salimatu Amabebe (they/he), is a Nigerian-American chef and multimedia artist based in the East Bay Area. Amabebe is the founder/ director of Black Feast - a culinary event celebrating Black artists and writers through food. His work focuses on the intersection of food and art, drawing from family memories, Nigerian recipes, and Black culinary history. Amabebe is a recipient of the 2021 Eater New Guard Award; his work has been featured in Vogue, The New York Times, Eater and in A24’s recent cookbook, Horror Caviar.