Monkeyhouse, a 501(c)3 organization, is proud to fiscally sponsor Black Arts Sanctuary. Any donations made on this page will be tax deductible.
Black Arts Sanctuary
"Black art has always existed, it just hasn't been looked for in the right places." Romare Bearden, African American African-American artist, author, and songwriter.
The Black Arts Sanctuary celebrates artists of the African diaspora and archives their contributions to Black American and Caribbean history and storytelling. Launched in 2021 by Cassandre Charles, a first-generation Haitian American born and raised in Boston, MA with an extensive background in visual and performing arts, The Black Arts Sanctuary disrupts narratives that erase or appropriate the impact of BIPOC artists on Boston culture.
Monkeyhouse is the official fiscal sponsor of TBAS's Project: "Ended Up In Boston".Ended Up in Boston will culminate in February 2024 with a launch party for the audio tour that will include a panel discussion with four of the artists interviewed for the project and a short film about the process of making the tour. Information about the tours will be available at libraries in Boston and through an online map. Cassandre Charles is a member of the Boston Dance Alliance’s Dance and Disability cohort and will consult with other cohort members to ensure the accessibility of the launch event and the audio tour. Ended Up in Boston will be housed on an application that can be used by both Android and iPhones to allow for a wide spectrum of cell phone users. The tour will be available for free 24 hours a day and people can take in the tour at a pace that works for their bodies. Using this augmented reality audio, we are hoping to reflect on the history of tech innovation of the region and encourage participants to see how Boston earned its reputation as The Walking City.
Thank you for donating! Your contribution to nurturing the BIPOC artists of our region is greatly appreciated!
The Black Arts Sanctuary celebrates artists of the African diaspora and archives their contributions to Black American and Caribbean history and storytelling. Launched in 2021 by Cassandre Charles, a first-generation Haitian American born and raised in Boston, MA with an extensive background in visual and performing arts, The Black Arts Sanctuary disrupts narratives that erase or appropriate the impact of BIPOC artists on Boston culture.
Monkeyhouse is the official fiscal sponsor of TBAS's Project: "Ended Up In Boston".Ended Up in Boston will culminate in February 2024 with a launch party for the audio tour that will include a panel discussion with four of the artists interviewed for the project and a short film about the process of making the tour. Information about the tours will be available at libraries in Boston and through an online map. Cassandre Charles is a member of the Boston Dance Alliance’s Dance and Disability cohort and will consult with other cohort members to ensure the accessibility of the launch event and the audio tour. Ended Up in Boston will be housed on an application that can be used by both Android and iPhones to allow for a wide spectrum of cell phone users. The tour will be available for free 24 hours a day and people can take in the tour at a pace that works for their bodies. Using this augmented reality audio, we are hoping to reflect on the history of tech innovation of the region and encourage participants to see how Boston earned its reputation as The Walking City.
Thank you for donating! Your contribution to nurturing the BIPOC artists of our region is greatly appreciated!
Cassandre Charles
Cassandre Charles was born in Boston, MA at Boston City Hospital, in 1971. Her parents migrated from Haiti so her father’s band, Volo Volo, could pursue international opportunities. Both her paternal grandfathers were multi-media artists. One an eccentric free spirit she never met. The other sweet doting grandpa ,who was a too stern disciplinary dad. He gave her Herhey’s kisses on the sly and called her Ti Pingi (Little Twig).
As an Interdisciplinary/Embodiment artist with fiery Haitian artistic blood and revolutionist’s fire, she’s developed a style of story-telling filled with beautiful rage and cryptic symbols, bended text and cultural, ritualistic, embodiment Her obsession with anatomy seeps through all her mediums in a range of displays that drive the intention of supporting social justice and human rights advocacy endeavors. There are streaks of pop-culture and music references confirming her ownership to the label, “mature African-Haitian-American artist”. Her self portraits reflect her social cultural upbringing and educational career at Hampton University, a historically black college in the 90s.
Her choreography shows her physicality and natural understanding of the human body. Her thirst for information and training shows appropriate representation of movements of dances of the world and her true love movement, classical ballet
This summer Cassandre starts as a member of somatic expert Joshua Elbaum’s Somatic Artistry Cohort and the ArtsAssembly Creative Cohort. She will continue as Artist Collaborator with Monkeyhouse and the Boston Dance Alliance Dance & Disabilities Cohort on developing accessible resources for people with visible and invisible disabilities. Her fall residency “works in process” show will take place at Rocco Ricci Studio in Allston MA, where she is Studio Resident Artist.
Cassandre holds a BA in Speech, Interpersonal & Organizational Communication from Hampton University. She will begin the low residency MFA program at Mass College of Art in the summer of 2022.
As an Interdisciplinary/Embodiment artist with fiery Haitian artistic blood and revolutionist’s fire, she’s developed a style of story-telling filled with beautiful rage and cryptic symbols, bended text and cultural, ritualistic, embodiment Her obsession with anatomy seeps through all her mediums in a range of displays that drive the intention of supporting social justice and human rights advocacy endeavors. There are streaks of pop-culture and music references confirming her ownership to the label, “mature African-Haitian-American artist”. Her self portraits reflect her social cultural upbringing and educational career at Hampton University, a historically black college in the 90s.
Her choreography shows her physicality and natural understanding of the human body. Her thirst for information and training shows appropriate representation of movements of dances of the world and her true love movement, classical ballet
This summer Cassandre starts as a member of somatic expert Joshua Elbaum’s Somatic Artistry Cohort and the ArtsAssembly Creative Cohort. She will continue as Artist Collaborator with Monkeyhouse and the Boston Dance Alliance Dance & Disabilities Cohort on developing accessible resources for people with visible and invisible disabilities. Her fall residency “works in process” show will take place at Rocco Ricci Studio in Allston MA, where she is Studio Resident Artist.
Cassandre holds a BA in Speech, Interpersonal & Organizational Communication from Hampton University. She will begin the low residency MFA program at Mass College of Art in the summer of 2022.