BIPOC artist NASRA opened our ears and our hearts this past Thursday during an intimate Facebook live.

They performed a full hour of singing and poetry, taking time to share their thoughts on being a BIPOC artist and what working in a creative industry has been like during a global pandemic. A queer, Muslim and Oromo multidisciplinary artist living in Amiskwaciyaskahikan (Edmonton), NASRA was the Youth Poet Laureate of Edmonton in 2017, founder of Black Arts Matter and a 2017 recipient of the Mayor’s Emerging Artist Award. 

The evening was a celebration of BIPOC creativity, with mentions of NASRA’s board, Creatives Empowered, a not-for-profit organization that launched in 2020. The first and only organization of its kind in Alberta, Creatives Empowered is a collective of artists and creatives that act as a communal hub for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour working in the cultural sector.

“I’m so blessed to be on the board with folks who’ve been working in TV, film media, arts and culture for decades,” she mentioned between numbers. “Creatives Empowered is trying to do a lot of what ATB is doing and I think it’s a really awesome relationship we’re building in hopes of getting Alberta’s artists out there in the world, and to support the lives of Alberta’s artists.”

Hosted by ATB’s Branch for Arts + Culture, which recently celebrated its third anniversary, the evening’s focus  The Branch is a bank specifically for artists, creative entrepreneurs, not- for- profit organizations and other creative industries. The livestream was in effort to support the diverse and creative cultural landscape we have here in the province, even through the most challenging of times.