Family First: Creative Writing with Educator Ashley Nickens

Writing is a tool of expression that can have the same cultural influence as sculpture, film, and any other form of artwork. For this virtual Family First workshop, we invite you to explore your creativity as a writer. Led by teaching artist Ashley Nickens, the workshop will present some tools and techniques used to write poems, short stories, essays, and more! We will reference how these techniques are used by some of your favorite Black writers. You will then create a written piece of your own using the newly learned techniques. Tune in for a sneak peek of our new exhibit, Inter | Sectionality, as we use the themes of the exhibit to inspire our creative writing process. You will even get the chance to present your written creation at the end of the workshop! Open to all ages and experience levels, this workshop is the perfect opportunity to learn about yourself as a writer, and blow your family and friends away!

The only supplies needed are a pen, paper, and an open mind.

The workshop will be streamed live on Friday, October 2 at 3 pm via Zoom. Click/tap here to access and participate in the workshop on October 2.

Also, if you would like to watch the workshop live, please tune in to the Gantt Center's official YouTube channel here on October 2.

Ashley Nickens is an educator and storysharer born in Maryland, raised in Virginia, and made a woman in North Carolina. Her work is inspired by her ancestral connection to Southeastern land. She is the founder of SISTORIES and works with the #SmartBrownGirl book club. Ashley received her BA in English Education from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and is currently enrolled in their MA Liberal Studies program. She is a North Carolina Teaching Fellow alum and a 2020 Resident Artist at The Roll Up Charlotte.