As America marks its 250th anniversary, NBAF’s 2026 season, I, Too, Sing!, offers a resonant exploration of the role Black creativity has played in defining and redefining the American story. Rooted in Langston Hughes’s declaration, “I, too, sing America,” the suite asserts that Black art is not an addendum to the national narrative; it is one of its primary authors. Through live and digital programming over the course of the year, we remind the nation that America’s song is not complete without our verse.

MARCH 18, 2026 | 7:00 PM
Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture & History

Join the National Black Arts Festival for an evening of bold ideas, honest assessment, and forward vision as we chart the trajectory of Black theatre across regions, institutions, and generations.

This edition of Creatively Speaking brings together two visionary leaders shaping the field today: Kelley Girod, Director of New Works at the Apollo Theater, and Stephanie McKee, Executive Artistic Director of Junebug Productions. The conversation is facilitated by Addae Moon, Associate Artistic Director of Theatrical Outfit.

The discussion begins in the South, exploring the rich legacy of Black Southern theatre as a space for storytelling, resistance, and community truth telling. From grassroots ensembles to movement-based companies, Southern Black theatre has long nurtured artists and narratives that challenge and redefine American culture. From there, the conversation expands nationally, examining the current state of Black theatre across Broadway, regional institutions, and independent stages, asking where breakthroughs are happening, where barriers remain, and what must shift to ensure Black theatre continues to thrive from local communities to the largest platforms in the country.

This program serves as a companion to NBAF’s collaborative staged reading of Echoes of The Storm: 20 Years After Katrina, presented with Spelman College on March 20 and 21 at the Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation and the Arts. Together, the reading and conversation underscore theatre’s role as a living archive of Black memory, place, and possibility.

Join the National Black Arts Festival for an intimate collector-centered conversation exploring the art of collecting work from the African diaspora. Part of NBAF’s Creatively Speaking conversation series, Beyond the Frame looks beyond market value to examine why collecting matters: preservation, legacy, and cultural stewardship.

The conversation features Atlanta-based collector Kimberly Fisher, who alongside her husband, Dr. Dameon Fisher, has built a collection centered on the preservation and advancement of African American visual narratives. The conversation is facilitated by April Wright, NBAF Director of Individual Giving.

This public gathering offers collectors, aspiring collectors, and art lovers a welcoming space to engage in a meaningful dialogue about collecting and the importance of supporting artists of the African diaspora.

March 20, 2026 | 7:30 PM & 21, 2026 | 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation & the Arts, Spelman College
Tickets: $10.00

Echoes of the Storm situates one of the nation’s most defining recent events within the continuum of remembrance and resilience. Developed by Junebug Productions and The Apollo Theater, this theatrical commemoration marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a catastrophe that exposed the deep fractures of race, class, and policy in America while revealing the boundless strength of the Black South.

Eight playwrights - four based in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast states, and four Louisiana-born writers now based in New York - craft a mosaic of ten-minute plays reflecting on the storm’s enduring impact. Through intimate storytelling, dramatized memory, and documentary-style narrative, these works explore themes of loss, migration, home, and rebirth, tracing how the storm continues to shape identity and imagination two decades later. The playwrights: Kim Sykes, Jackie Alexander, Brian Egland, Sha’Condria “Icon” Sibley, Kaaron Briscoe, Stephanie McKee-Anderson, Nick Slie,  Lori Elizabeth Parquet.

Echoes of the Storm is presented in collaboration with the Spelman College Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation & the Arts. Support for the joint commission and development of Echoes of the Storm was provided by The Apollo Theater and Junebug Productions. Directed by Aku Kadogo.

MARCH 28, 2026 | 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Old 4th Ward (Near the Old Medical Center)

The Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge wraps with the Thriving Together Atlanta Mobile Art Experience’s final stop in Old 4th Ward in collaboration with BLVD Next. The Mobile Art Experience, a roving, immersive platform for public art, healing, and education, was designed to meet people where they are, serving as both a literal and symbolic vehicle for wellness, storytelling, and cultural expression. At each stop, the bus has hosted a curated salon experience which includes a performance, education and healing arts. All delivered within or around the mobile bus environment.

The Mobile Art Experience is part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge which is in partnership with The City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and Out of Hand Theater. The Mobile Art Experience has been designed and curated by NEXT Atlanta and is presented in partnership with MARTA.