The Fifth Annual Exit 36 Slam Poetry Festival is a three-day poetry festival that serves the community through educational, theatrical, and literary performances. The festival will nurture, support, and showcase regional, national, and international writers, facilitators, and artist from all over the country to honor the creative genius of our own cultural arts pioneers. The festival includes writing workshops, artists' talks, and the Slam Poetry competition. In its fifth year, the Exit 36 objectives remain the same -- to pay homage to poetry, spoken word, literacy, community engagement, and to celebrate the arts. The 3-day event attracts the premier spoken word artists in the country and will take place December 8-10, 2022 at the City’s cultural venues.
The Festival Pass provides you with access to all the events during the entire festival: December 8 – 10
This includes all access to the featured events such as Artist Talk with Tavia Osbey, County of Kings performance and more!
The Daily Pass provides you with access to the events on the selected day you purchase the ticket for: Thursday 12/8, Friday 12/9 or Saturday 12/10.
There will be 20 competing Poets, all competing Poets will need a total of five (5) poems to win.
During preliminary rounds (“bouts”), all poets will perform one (1) original poem.
The top 15 poets with the highest cumulative score will advance to the Final Stage with the 16th and 17th ranked poets serving as sacrificial poets (Sacs) at Final Stage.
1st place : $2,500
2nd Place : $1,500
3rd Place : $1,000
This year the contest will feature a Guest Host... SHA'CONDRIA (“iCon”) SIBLEY
An Alexandria, Louisiana native and longtime New Orleans-based poet, writer, multi-inspired artist, and teaching artist, whose work spans across page, stage, canvas, theater, music, talk radio, short film. Raised in “the church” and with a graduate-level education in biology and public health, her art naturally intersects with healing and spirituality, while centering Blk Women and reverence for the divine feminine. Sha’Condria has taught poetry and creative writing inside prisons, juvenile detention centers, and schools, toured the college circuit, and has worked for over a decade creating, organizing, and hosting arts-driven events.
A multiple-time national poetry slam champion and multiple-time viral spoken word artist, she appeared on the third season of TV One's Verses and Flow, and her work has been featured on many platforms including Huffington Post, For Harriet, Teen Vogue, and BBC World Radio. She is also featured on multiple recording projects alongside Grammy Award-winning artists. Sha’Condria is currently the 2022 Dr. Doris Derby Creative Spark Awardee with Junebug Productions in New Orleans and the author of My Name Is Pronounced Holy: A Collection of Poems, Prayers, Rememberings, and Reclamations.
Thursday December 8, 2022 - Bailey Contemporary Arts
Friday December 9, 2022 - Ali Cultural Arts Center
Tavia Osbey is the Co-Founder of New Orleans-based management company MidCitizen Entertainment. After receiving a degree in Business Entrepreneurship from Southern University in New Orleans, she went on to manage Grammy-nominated group Tank and The Bangas and award-winning hip-hop artist Alfred Banks. She has worked in the music industry for the past 13 years and along with her business partners has the mission to help build the infrastructure of music business in the city of New Orleans.
Saturday December 10, 2022 - Pompano Beach Cultural Center
Based on the memoir by Lemon Andersen. Adapted from the life of Tony Award–winning poet Lemon Andersen, this riveting onstage spoken-word memoir touches on his childhood, life on the streets, incarceration, and redemption through poetry in Brooklyn. Tickets for only this event can be purchased here.
Volunteer Positions have been filled! Stay tuned for more opportunities.
1st place - Blaqwildflowr
2nd place - Breeze
3rd Place - Eddie Figures
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