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Workshop: Afro-surrealist collage

Name: Workshop: Afro-surrealist collage
Start: 2025-02-04T18:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-02-04T20:00:00-05:00

February 4 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

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In this hands-on workshop, participants will first enjoy a viewing of our special exhibition, The Subversive Eye: Surrealist and Experimental Photography from the David Raymond Collection. Following the viewing, The Pinellas Diaspora Arts Project will present an Afro-Surrealism presentation and collage project by Jake-ann Jones and Debbie Garrett. This event will explore the creative practice of Afro-Surrealism, a movement that places Blackness at the center of Surrealism, with the goal of ushering in a new world that is organically connected to our own.

We will delve into the concept of “Afro-Surreal Expressionism,” a term first coined by Amiri Baraka in 1974 to describe the work of Henry Dumas. In 2009, D. Scot Miller further refined the term with the creation of the “Afro-Surreal Manifesto.”

Participants will be able to engage with these ideas hands-on as we use Afro-Surrealism to create a collaborative collage that reflects personal and collective experiences.

Join us for this unique and thought-provoking exploration of Afro-Surrealism, where art, culture and social consciousness intersect.

Location: The Dalí Museum’s Raymond James Room
Cost: $30 for Museum members | $40 for non-members
Gallery access and all materials are included. This exhibition contains mature content.

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Jake-ann Jones

Jake-ann Jones’ writing for stage includes Portrait of The Artist as A Soul Man Dead (Penumbra Theater), Under Frank Observation (New York Theater Workshop), and Magic Kingdom (New Georges). She began her career as a performing artist working with writers, composers, and directors including Butch Morris, Laurie Carlos, Robbie McCauley, and Greg Tate, at venues including New York Shakespeare Festival, Dixon Place, and Penumbra Theatre. The 2022 Artist Laureate for Creative Pinellas, she’s been developing her music and media work Brother Fire, Sister Fly; the author of the biography Sometimes Farmgirls Become Revolutionaries, she is co-founder of Pinellas Diaspora Arts Project and Afroflorida Media Collective. She organizes the Tampa Bay Afrofuturism Festival and is a program director for the nonprofit youth project Artz 4 Life.

Debbie Yati Garrett

Debbie Yati Garrett is a highly accomplished and versatile artist, entrepreneur, and educator whose work spans a broad range of creative disciplines. Originally from New York City, she pursued her education at Pratt Institute and Eckerd College, where she earned the Visual Arts Honor. Over the years, Debbie has cultivated a distinctive artistic style, working across multiple mediums, including fiber arts, ceramics, quilting, sewing, crafting, painting, and drawing.

As the founder of ART FROM THE SOUL D.Y.G., she specializes in creating jewelry, garments, and home décor featuring Adinkra symbols, which serve as the central theme of her works. Beyond her artistic endeavors, Debbie has made significant contributions to the media and education sectors. She created and hosted a DIY craft television show for 10 at 10 Tampa Bay and appeared with CYC Productions in New York City, where she collaborated on projects featuring renowned motivational speakers such as Les Brown and Jawanza Kunjufu. As an Artistic Director and Production Manager at Dreammarkerz Production, Debbie has played a key role in various creative projects. Additionally, she is a founding member of the Pinellas Diaspora Arts Project, an initiative that promotes the arts within the Tampa Bay area. She has also been instrumental in the success of the Tampa Bay Chalk Festival, an annual community event that brings together artists and the public for creative expression, further cementing her impact on the local arts scene.

Her current project, SIMI The Series, has gained attention at film festivals across North America and Canada, winning multiple awards. Through her filmmaking and visual art, Debbie creates works that stimulate conversation and provoke thought, encouraging viewers to explore themes of personal growth, emotional healing, and spiritual connection.

Pinellas Diaspora Arts Project, Inc.

Pinellas Diaspora Arts Project (PDAP)’s mission is to support the arts in underrepresented communities of Tampa Bay through creative programming, family events and civic education.

Since 2021 PDAP has hosted events, including the Tampa Bay Afrofuturism Festival and the Tampa Bay Chalk Festival. PDAP sponsors the ROYAL (Reaching Our Youth Artists League) Project in out school and after-school settings, its annual Community Tech Day and creates community development partnerships through the BEAUTIFY Project. Its media arm, Afroflorida Media Collective’s first minidoc, FOR THE CULTURE TAMPA BAY was an official selection of the 2025 Dunedin Film Festival.