Hairitage; Don’t Touch My Hair
April 20 – May 13
Photographer and artist Ryan Harris takes us through a journey and celebration of Black Hair with Black and white photography. Exhibit is free for ticket holders and will be available to explore before or after performances of can I touch it?
Ryan Harris
Wake up. Create. Repeat.
I found my passion and what I truly believe is my purpose in life after being gifted a camera in 2014. The older I grow the more I appreciate time and just how precious it is. As a photographer I enjoy the chance to make time stand still. Throughout my journey as a photographer, thus far, I’ve found my pocket in telling beautiful stories in the form of a photo. The saying a photo says 1000 words couldn’t be closer to the truth.
When captured correctly, a great photo can put the viewer right in that moment of time of the photo. As a Black photographer I feel it’s my duty to highlight the Black experience and the humanization of our culture in all aspects.
meet playwright francisca da silveira with Project 400
April 21
Click here for Francisca’s bio.
The Business of Black Beauty
April 30 (After the 3pm Performance of can i touch it?)
Join us for a special post-show talkback called The Business of Black Beauty on Sun., April 30 when three entrepreneurs who are activists and experts in the beauty industry will discuss their own experiences with gentrification along with their personal journeys. Panelists are listed below.
Kameron Coleman
Kameron Coleman is 24 year old co-owner and founder of Play Beauty Supply who started his first business at the age of 14. He is the mastermind behind the Play Beauty Supply Delivery service and app that will be launching soon. You may also find him hosting “Behind the Brand,” a podcast that the shares experiences of young Black entrepreneurs, artists, and creatives that is hosted in the store.
Waverly Willis
Cleveland barber Waverly Willis, the owner/operator of three Urban Kutz Barbershops has created special partnerships with key national health organizations like the Cleveland Clinic to foster key combating health issues like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.
Waverly was homeless and previously addicted to drugs and alcohol. He slept on the corner of 18th and Superior in downtown Cleveland. Now 17 years sober, he has opened two successful babershops and is working on opening a third location. He has helped others with their health and has focused on his own and lost more than 180 pounds in recent years.
He’s been featured on the Nick Cannon Show, in AARP Magazine, Spectrum New and was a host on local news stations. He additionally is an educator at LaBarberia Institute.
Ladosha Wright
Ladosha Wright (Author, Entrepreneur, Activist) is the owner of the Reverence Design Team Hair Salon. She offers educational classes to licensed professionals. In 2012, she helped change an Ohio law regarding the teaching of cosmetology. To date, she continues as an activist and policy advocate. She has been featured in several local and national publications.
She has published three books, Curly Hair Adventures and What They Don’t Tell You at The Hair Salon and The Beauty and Barber Survival Plan. Her books are sold online at Amazon, Target and Walmart. She is the creator of the Wright Hair Products. Wright enhances this dynamic phenomenon in her career as a consultant to various hair care companies and manufacturers. She worked tirelessly to collaborate with the Textures Exhibit: The Art and History of Black Hair of the Kent State University Museum. Currently, she is a consultant with the Ohio based top selling world’s first reverse hair dryer, RevAir.
In January of 2022, she was awarded a grant for The Ubuntu Hair Love Project from Neighborhood Connections that provides support for those dealing with issues from hair discrimination.
In 2019, Ladosha was invited to the Gambia located in West Africa. For this invitation, she created Textures Intercultural Exchange 2019, a humanitarian and developmental aid endeavor to support and advance the education of cosmetology in Gambia and Senegal (Senegambia). She continues to host charitable events, donate her services and raise funds for her library, The Wright Library of the Gaye Njorro Skills Academy located in Banjul, Gambia. In December of 2022, Ladosha produced and directed her first documentary, The Narrative. The documentary is available for viewing on YouTube at the Ladosha Wright YouTube channel.
What They Don’t Tell You at the Hair Salon (lwrightbooks.com)
Ladosha Wright – YouTube