Through print interviews, Harnessing our Gardens archives the necessity, impact, and journey of Black Femme dance artists.
Harnessing our Gardens provides space for Black Femme movement artists to contemplate and consider a portion of their story, within their own voice, archive Black dance lineage within MA, and encourage our local community to engage with dance as a liberating activity.
For Black Femmes, our persistence and contributions in a world that denies us our right to - simply be - is astounding. I question what it means to reveal truths, rather than swallow pain. I wonder how to protect our sacred presence while showcasing our complexity and beauty. This work is heavily inspired by choreographers like Ntozake Shange who effortlessly bridged dance and writing. The project’s namesake is an ode to one of my favorite poets, Alice Walker. How far deep do our roots grow? How far forward will our legacies bloom?
A Book, A Collection of Stories, An Archive
Edited & Authored by Victoria Lynn Awkward
Join us for our book launch celebratory lunch on
June 28, 2026 1 - 4pm
Urban Farming Institute
Harnessing our Gardens
Joanne
"Mrs. JoJo"
Caidor
Laila J. Franklin
Annalise
“River”
Guidry
Adrienne Hawkins
Sarah
“Nnenna Loveth”
Nwafor
Isaura Oliveira
Jenny Oliver
Ellice Patterson
Nailah
Randall-Bellinger
Lilly Rose Valore
Jessica Roseman
Saturn
Von
Makeda Wallace
Ella Wechsler-Matthaei
Pearl Young
Interviews With:
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, AUTHOR & ADVISOR
Sarah “Nnenna Loveth” Nwafor (they/she) is an Igbo lesbian poet, performer, and facilitator. Their work explores Black g*rlhood, Black queerness, Igbo Cosmology, Sensual play and rituals of healing. Nnenna published their debut chapbook, Already Knew You Were Coming, with Game Over Books in January of 2022 and has also been featured on Button Poetry, WBUR’s ARTery, VIBEs Magazine, Ujima #Wire, etc. When Nnenna is not creating they are somewhere being romanced by the intensity of life. When they speak, their ancestors are pleased.
AUTHOR & EDITOR
Victoria Lynn Awkward is a multidisciplinary creator, educator, producer, and the Director of VLA DANCE. She pursued her multiple interests at Goucher College and graduated with high honors in Dance, Visual Art and Secondary Education. As the Director of VLA DANCE she is currently directing projects: “For Nina” - a multidisciplinary show celebrating the lineage of Nina Simone, “In The Space Between” - a production where dance, textile, and audio brings audiences into a world of queer imagination, and “Harnessing our Gardens” - a book celebrating the stories of 17 Black femme movement artists.
Alongside directing VLA DANCE, Victoria is a freelance artist, who most recently choreographed for Huntington Theater, Company One Theatre, Boston Lyric Opera, and Commonwealth Shakespeare. As a performer she has worked for Jasmine Hearn, Shura Baryshnikov, Jenna Pollack, and others. Victoria is also an educator having worked at Salem State University, Brown University and more. Notably, Victoria is a Brother Thomas Fellow as well as a recipient of the Queer (Re)public Theater Offensive Residency. Additionally, Victoria is a producer of Performance and Live Art for MoMA.
ADVISOR
Phaye Poliakoff-Chen is an interdisciplinary artist and writer in Baltimore, MD. In addition to writing fiction and leading community arts programs, she has also had a long career in radio, producing documentaries for public radio about a variety of topics from prostitution to land use to immigration. She directed an urban youth media program, Uniquely Spoken, under the auspices of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and funded by the Open Society Foundation. Her collection of short fiction, The Art of Work, was published by Booktrope. Her work can also be found in Frontiers, Southern Exposure, and other publications. Phaye has enjoyed a long career in higher education, most recently at Goucher College, where she directed the Major in Interdisciplinary Studies and the Professional and Creative Writing program.
Currently, Phaye directs the arts and writing project Earl’s Place Arts (EPA) at Earl’s Place, a transitional housing facility for men experiencing homelessness in Baltimore. Phaye lives in Baltimore, MD with her husband Allen Chen. Taking great delight in transdisciplinary connections, Phaye travels frequently to collaborate with artists, writers, and other creators.
Project Leads
ADVISOR
Angelique Motunrayo Folasade Àyìnkẹ́ C-Dina is a first-generation Afro-Indigenous embodied theatrical storyteller based in New England. They are a current CAMD PhD student at Northeastern University focusing on Black feminist narratives and embodied theatrical practices through research-based theatre. Her performance credits include: The Inferior Sex (Trinity Repertory Company), Soul Tapes (Brown/Trinity), An Octoroon (Gamm Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Gamm Theatre), and more. Their other accolades include: KCACTF finalist '21, National Young Playwright semi-finalist '21, Ronald McNair scholar '22, Lime Arts Twenty by Twenty Fringe Playwright'23 and Lin Manuel Miranda fellow '23, and Company One Volt Lab Playwright ‘24. They also serve as a research and design assistant for two Northeastern and City Of Boston projects. She thanks God, her ancestors, and her Black and Brown Indigenous community for guiding her journey. "Ashe."
Additional Credits
Book/Website Copy Editor, Flinn Eng, Illustrator, Katiana Rodriguez
Event Access Coordinator, Ellice Patterson
Thank you for funding from, Mass Humanities: Expanding Massachusetts Stories.
