A closer look at award-winning professional performance artist Shayna Jones
By Ari Lord
Shayna Jones is doing essential artistic work from the small town of Kaslo.
An award-winning professional performance artist specializing in the traditional oral storytelling of African and Afro-Diasporic folklore, she is a professionally trained actor, vocalist, and fine mover.
Jones has performed for audiences across Canada.
As a folklorist, Jones combines her passion for live performance with the in-depth study of Afro-centric folk history, folklore and contemporary experience.
Jones is also the founder of Black and Rural, a nationally funded artistic inquiry into the hearts and minds of Black folks tucked away in Canada’s countryside. The project aims to “seek out, honour, and theatrically showcase stories from rurally based Blacks (like herself) to nuance and challenge the monolith of what matters to Black Lives.”
Jones’ artistic goals are rooted in beauty and inspiration.
“I hope to inspire those who listen to me to be captivated by the wisdom found in my stories. I share stories that have some pearl of wisdom or something beautiful. Through resonating with the stories and how I perform the stories, to have their hearts open to a world of perspective, wisdom and understanding, that they might not have been open to before,” says Jones.
Reporter Sarah Lord takes a closer look at Shayna Jones in Hall Printing’s Daily Dose.
Click this link to read the story.
