Voices AMPLIFIED! is a multidisciplinary arts and social justice initiative to elevate artists from diverse cultures and connect the Omaha community with opportunities for discussion, reflection and new experiences.
The series amplifies the work of local and nationally touring artists and community partners through free events focused on issues of social justice, including panel discussions, workshops and performances of music, dance, poetry and more.
Upcoming Events
Explore upcoming Voices AMPLIFIED! events below or fill out the form* to get updates as more details are added.
*By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails from Omaha Performing Arts.
Celebrating The Food of Navidad and Kwanzaa
December 15, 2021 | 6:00 PM
Virtual event
Learn about and sample foods from these holiday traditions with our partners No More Empty Pots. This will be live streamed on O-pa's Facebook and YouTube Channels, where you can cook along.
The cooking demonstration will be led by No More Empty Pots staff, Dana Christensen, Meya Hill, and CEO/co-founder, Nancy Williams, University of Nebraska Omaha professor, Gabriel Gutierrez and moderator Jade Rogers, founder and chief innovation officer of The House of Afros, Capes & Curls.
Meal kits are available to the first 50 people to register for them. In order to prepare orders in time for the live video premiere, the deadline to register for a meal kit is Friday, December 3, at noon. Learn more and register here.
Rhymes and Reason: Hip Hop Panel Discussion
January 21, 2022 | 7:00 PM
Culxr House
3014 N 24th St Omaha, NE
A panel discussion about hip hop and its impact in Omaha. The panel will include musician and rapper Marcey Yates, rapper Conny Franko and rapper Tylynn Music with DJ Kethro as the moderator.
Amplifying Black Women in the Sciences with Dr. Rae Wynn Grant
February 16, 2022 | 5:30 PM
Charles B. Washington Branch, Omaha Public Library, 2868 Ames Ave
Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant has dedicated her life to ecological
research and conservation. As a scientist with National Geographic Society’s Last Wild Places Initiative, she works to protect and restore iconic wildlife populations, including North American black and grizzly bears.
Dr. Grant will host a panel discussion about advancing opportunities for Black women in the sciences.
You can also join Dr. Grant for The Secret Life of Bears National Geographic at the Holland Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, February 15 at 7:30 PM for a presentation. Purchase tickets here.
The Story of Afro-Colombians Through Dance and Music with Sankofa Danzafro
March 2, 2022 | 5:30 PM | Dance workshop
The Highlander Accelerator
2112 N. 30th St. Omaha, NE
March 3, 2022 | 5:30 PM | Music workshop
Location TBD
Sankofa Danzafro has sought to build a bridge between Afro-Colombian peoples and the African continent. The company uses Afro-Colombian’s ancestral roots in the creation of dance works. “Sankofa”, meaning, “to return to the
root”, is an African philosophy that proposes that the past is a keyhole through which to view the present, and to be able to consider the future.
On March 2, Sankofa Danzafro will host a dance workshop featuring salsa choke, an Afro-Colombian dance mixing salsa and hip hop. On March 3, a music workshop will feature Afro-Colombian rhythms played with alegre drum and tambora.
Sankofa Danzafro will perform at the Orpheum Theater on Friday, March 4 at 7:30 PM. Purchase tickets here.
Fusing Music and Story with Las Cafeteras
March 29, 2022 | 12:00 PM | Lunch and Learn| Location TBD
March 29 | 3:00 PM | Workshop: “A People’s History of Music in the United States”
Intercultural Senior Center – 5545 Center St
March 30 | 10:00 AM | Workshop Racism: "Ain't Nobody Got Time for That!"
Creighton University 2500 California Plaza
Born and raised east of the Los Angeles River, Las Cafeteras is remixing roots music and telling modern day stories. Las Cafeteras create a vibrant musical fusion with Afro-Mexican beats, rhythms, and rhymes that deliver inspiring lyrics that document stories of a community seeking love and justice in the concrete jungle of Los Angeles.
The band will host a series of music workshops. More details to come.
Las Cafeteras will perform at the Holland Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, March 30 at 7:30 PM. Purchase tickets here.
20 Feet From Stardom viewing and discussion
May 25, 2022 | time and location TBD
“20 Feet From Stardom” is a 2013 Best Documentary Oscar-winning film about the contributions and challenges of longtime backup singers like Darlene Love, Merry Clayton and Lisa Fischer, who will perform at the Holland Center in May 2022.
The film altered the course of Lisa's musical journey, telling her story, with clips of her legendary duets with Sting or with Mick Jagger on “Gimme Shelter” and left audiences eager to see and hear more.
We will feature a film showing of "20 Feet from Stardom" and panel discussion. More details to come.
Lisa Fischer will perform at the Holland Center on Thursday, May 26 at 7:30 PM. Purchase tickets here.
Finale Event – Omaha’s Forgotten Century
Saturday, June 25, 2022 | 7:30PM | Orpheum Theater
The Voices AMPLIFIED! season finale event will feature a 60-minute dramatic musical theater performance created by Broadway actor, choreographer
and Omaha native Ray Mercer. It will feature New York and Omaha-based musicians, dancers and visual artists as well as community members. The commissioned work will be framed around oral and written history of Black and Latinx Omaha.
Voices AMPLIFIED! Sponsors
