Meet Our Artists

Our Members, Fiscally Sponsored Artists, and other program participants represent a wide range of career stages and disciplines. We love them - and, as fellow artists, we're always inspired by them. With this monthly feature, we hope you'll feel the same way!

Banner text reading: "REENAH GOLDEN Founder/Managing Artistic Director, The Avenue Blackbox Theatre & Avenue Children’s Theatre Project + Sponsored Artist with The Field" accompanied by a headshot of the artist against a black background. Reenah, a Black woman, stares deeply into the camera with a slight smile on her face. She wears a yellow knit sweater and dangling yellow and blue earrings, and her hair is tied up in knots.

Name & Pronouns: Reenah Golden, she/her/hers

What do you do?
I am Founder and Managing Artistic Director of an intimate urban space where we produce collaborative works and traditional plays with a special focus on the stories and interests of BIPOC, urban youth, LGBTQ+ and non-binary folk, and other marginalized voices and art forms.

What inspires you? 
Others like me hell-bent on elevating voices from the margins, art for social justice, disrupting disrespectful narratives against POC, reclaiming our narratives, introducing young hearts to the light.

A young Black girl stands on a blackbox stage in sock feet, a floral patterned dress, an eye mask, and a cowboy hat. She's reading from index cards in her hands, with a sheepish smile on her face.A Black teenager sits in the foreground of a blackbox stage, reading from a script. Behind and to the right sits a Black woman, also holding a script, smiling at the young person.A figure wearing a black jersey, shorts, and sneakers; crouches on a patch of sidewalk with a paintbrush in hand. They appear to be putting the finishing touches on a block letter message reading, "FREE TO BE ME"A multiethnic group of four young people in black t-shirts with The Avenue logo, smiling, with arms wrapped around each other.
Photo Descriptions: 1. Youth Improv Participant for Interactive Storytime. 2. Teen Actor Rehearses with Equity Actor Angela Polite. 3. Youth Fellow Beautifying Sidewalks with Safe Space Message. 4. Teen Fellows Celebrate Two Years with The Avenue. Photos by The Avenue community members.

What are you proud of? 
Raising my child as a single mom (even while married) to become an empowered, boundary- pushing artist in their own right. Remaining self-employed in the arts through it all and not losing my house (came close). Providing a safe, bold, creative space for youth and emerging artists who have not yet found their tribe to grow, create, and just be.

What are your goals?
To use the power of art and storytelling to transform a very deserving but underserved art desert in Rochester by providing access to performing arts and other community-centered events for us, by us.

Do you have any advice for your fellow artists?
Keep allowing your passion to direct your path; sacrificing it will not get you farther ahead in the long run, and this path will ultimately lead you to magic!

How does The Field help you?
I came here for a more specialized approach to fiscal sponsorship that would not interfere with my ability to raise money locally or nationally, The Field has not disappointed. They really know what they are doing and their advice is invaluable.

A tall, thin Black person stands on a blackbox theater stage lit in blues and purples. They speak into a microphone, snapping their fingers.A panel of 6 Black women and femme figures seated facing what looks like a full audience in a blackbox theater.A thin, bearded Black man wearing red pants, a red t-shirt, and a brown bucket hat stands on a blackbox theater stage lit in purples and orange. He holds an index card in one hand and holds the other high up in the air as he orates.
Photo Descriptions: 1. Black AF Emerging Artist Showcase. 2. Black Women and Femme Artist Panel on Kujichagulia-Self Determination. 3. Community Reader Anderson Allen Improv Participation for Storytime. Photos by The Avenue community members.

 

©2020 Reenah Golden / Avenue Children's Theatre Project (A.C.T.) @ The Avenue Blackbox Theatre

 

 

 

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