So I noticed today that people are googling for CREATIVE VALLEY WEEK tickets. Which I find fascinating because very few events were added aside from ours.
The primary non-NOIR FEST events are the Arthur Thomas talk on financial wholeness and the Tsai CITY Venture Showcase. You can still add stuff to the calendar here. Text me at the number below or email team@noirlabs.org with questions.
Now I could say a lot about Arthur Thomas, but I think you just need to be there. I wonder if there will be a virtual option?
His talk will be part of Collective CT, a program that the state is funding to support primarily theatre artists and then the rest of us ;)
Arthur is someone I would call one of my ministers, though he doesn't know it yet–or he just found out with you. He has a very special theology at the synthesis of holiness in prosperity.
He is definitely aspirational Blackness. Learn more about Arthur here. And his darling wife, Dr. Jenn, who I always recommend to y'all who need wholistic health solutions.
What's Creative Valley Week?
Creative Valley Week was originally envisioned as a container in which NOIR FEST would sit. This would allow for us to highlight Black & Brown creative/tech talent locally while providing a build up to NOIR FEST so that every body would know by the time the weekend came around, where you had to be at.
It's also meant to cement this idea of New Haven as the Silicon Valley for the Arts. Point everyone's eyes to see the innovation happening, especially at the hands of Black & Brown people.
I'm honestly still sussing out how I feel about how New Haven treats us. There is a lot of healing that is needed. But there is a lot of love too.
The goal is to use the energy of Harvard-Yale Weekend to inject some love into the local community, especially financially. So if you have it to give, this is a great opportunity to invest in our communities (ahead of the "holidays") and ensure artists, creatives, technologists of color get paid while they're innovating on our Liberation.
But we'll also be experimenting with other forms of currency. F*ck capitalism, right?
Big vision, small hands. It's only God's hands that this vision sits within and ever has. It is an absolute miracle we have accomplished what we have. And I don't say that lightly.
Huge shoutout to the team holding it together to get us here: Ruby, Aisha, Uduak, Sophia, Seyi, Umoh, Elishia, Joan. Shout out to Chizi of Dumele and Josh of Global Venture Partners.
So check out the calendar. Get tickets to something. Add your event. Also join the Portal X groupchat for quicker answers to your questions.
On the Precipice
In addition to the unveiling of the Portal X Beta next week, we have some other interesting developments to share in the coming days. There are government-level projects under development, and we'll be sharing the details of our partnership with the owners of TIME, Billboard & Rolling Stone (MENA/Africa) very soon.
As we tell the story of the New World, we'll be highlighting the geniuses building it alongside us. Want to be part of that story? In a concrete way that drives your revenue? Book a consultation here.
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