Wednesday Night Live: Visual Vanguard Celebration

Join us for a performance with Visual Vanguard featured artist de’Angelo Dia and critically acclaimed poets Angelo Geter and Cedric Tillman. After taking in the great artistic range that the Visual Vanguard exhibition provides, from 7 pm - 8:30 pm, enjoy original works from these three poets that embody their connection to the exhibition, as well as their poetic reflections on the year 2021. Following the performance, our guests are welcome to a Q&A for a deeper dive in the themes of Visual Vanguard.

Masks are required for all guests, regardless of vaccination status. This is a free experience open to all ages and backgrounds.

de’Angelo Dia is a poet, theologian, and doctoral candidate at Union Presbyterian Seminary. Dia investigates public opinion and contemporary beliefs on cultural, social-political, and theological issues through poetry, visual art, and performance. He has studied art in Athens, Greece, Guadalajara, Mexico, and Nairobi, Kenya. He received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Communication and Sociology from Appalachian State University, a Master of Arts in Literature from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a Master of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary. His artistic influences include photographer Martha Cooper, ethno-gothic literature, comic books and graphic novels, and neo-Appalachian art. Dia is an alumni artist-in-residence of the McColl Center for Art + Innovation, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture (Artist Roundtable), and a Cave Canem Fellow. He is also a member of the Goodyear Arts collective based in Charlotte, NC.

Angelo ‘Eyeambic’ Geter is a dynamic poet, spoken word artist and motivational speaker who merges his passions for poetry and speaking into a unique performance that educates, entertains and inspires. Angelo’s work touches on a variety of issues including social justice, race, grief, character and manhood. He blends his pieces with commentary, stories and personal narratives that transcend a traditional lecture or performance.

Over the course of his career, Angelo has amassed several accolades. He currently serves as the Poet Laureate of Rock Hill, SC, and a 2020 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow. Geter is also a 2019 All-America city winner, 2018 National Poetry Slam champion, Rustbelt Regional Poetry Slam finalist, Southern Fried Regional Poetry Slam finalist and has performed and competed in several venues across the country. His work has appeared on All Def Poetry, Charleston Currents, and the Academy of American Poets “Poem a Day” series.

Cedric Tillman holds a BA in English from UNC Charlotte and graduated from American University’s Creative Writing MFA program. Cedric's poems appear in several journals and anthologies including RHINO, Pleiades, Barzakh Magazine, Solstice Literary Magazine, The Manhattanville Review, and Home Is Where: an anthology of African American Poets from the Carolinas. His debut collection, Lilies In The Valley, was published by Willow Books in 2013. His latest offering, In My Feelins, was published by WordTech in 2019. Cedric lives in Charlotte.