2024 Sunrise Gathering: My Crown Lineup:
@dormousetheatre @santinojones_ @rbell1017 @breakinballet @jasonwesaw @ancestor.roots @isle.royale.greenstone @summerrainsculpture @miglodesh @kinetic_affect @katrinekzoo @milesdavis506 @svardellart @flooded_archives @blackmagic_media
Arts Council KADI Grant Youth Artists:
@just_jades_art @snor3gasm @tkarts0
Sunrise Gathering: My Crown
December 15th, 2024 was an immersive and magical afternoon brought to life by the Koa Fund community, and hosted by the Dormouse Theatre. Our third annual Sunrise Gathering was an experience full of storytelling, creative engagement, good food and drinks, fantastic artists, treasure hunts, and live music.
As we continue Koa’s story through support for youth-focused nonprofit agencies and programs, My Crown explored our identity and crown, together, as we grow and support a youth community of acceptance, love, and collective action.
The inspiration for our My Crown theme is two “crown stories” of Koa that we are honored to share with you: “But First, A Crown” Part I and Part II.
This year, our My Crown interactive art installations were created and led by Summer Rain, a graduate and professor of sculpture at Western Michigan University Art School and an instructor at Kalamazoo Glass Arts Center, and Stephen Dupuie, an alumnus of the performing arts program at Northern Michigan University and founder of the Dormouse Theatre.
“In the round” was the literal center of the My Crown experience, where advocates shared stories of identity through spoken word, live art, music, theater, dance — including cinematic landscape musician Miglodesh, Purple Rose Theatre resident artist Kate Thomsen, Aerick Burton and Joy Morris from Breakin’ Ballet, Potawatomi artist Jason Wesaw, spoken word performer Gabriel Giron, genre-bending musician Santino Jones, dance and drum with Kama Tai Mitchell and Shangojimi, and more.
New for this 2024 was our approach to Featured Artist. Rather than present one established adult artist, such as Jason Wesaw in 2022 and Kim Shaw in 2023, My Crown featured three local youth artists — Riggs Petersen, Jada Shaw, and Terrance Burton — thanks to support provided by the Kalamazoo Artistic Development Initiative (KADI), a program of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo. Gathering guests had the opportunity to meet the artists, experience their work, and hear their stories.
