artoberVA Spotlight: Katina Moss & Kevin LaMarr Jones on Strengthening Communities
Photo (left) by: Sandra Marr & Photo (right) by: Daniel Jones
Meet our final artoberVA 2022 Spotlight sibling duo, Katina Moss & Kevin LaMarr Jones! You can find Katina developing community events as founder of KMOSS Presents, and Kevin as the Artistic Director of African dance collective, CLAVES UNIDOS. This week the two shared their individual stories of arts & culture..
CultureWorks: Who are you and what’s your story?
Kevin LaMarr Jones: I am Kevin LaMarr Jones. I am the Artistic Director of CLAVES UNIDOS, a dance community that celebrates the African influences in dance around the world through community-oriented classes, events and performances.
Katina Moss: Hello! I am Katina Moss, principal at K. Moss & Associates, where we do business as KMOSS Presents in order to better capture the variety of cultural an educational programming that we present to the community. My interest in helping young artists as a previous classroom teacher, combined with my interest in helping to make the community more culturally and educationally rich for young people, has evolved into KMOSS Presents being a producer of arts and culture events in the Hopewell Community.
I think for both of us, it really started as children, growing up with parents, who owned an iconic and legendary night club, Meljo’s. The facility was not only a cultural icon for the black community in Southside Virginia, it was also the place where our aunt and our parents hosted the culminating events for essay contests and cross curricular youth conferences that they sponsored. There was always a wonderful meal and dancing for the celebration.
Photo by: Sharda L. Jolayemi of Write Dream Do Photography
CW: Kevin, what forms of dance are you passionate about, and are there certain themes or stories that influence your choreography?
KLJ: My choreographic and community-based work features what I consider a “dance reunion,” rather than dance fusion, of various dance genres of African influence. My goal is to remove the biases that are encountered in both dance and the larger society in order to cast a vision for and create a world that is re-balanced, decolonized, and ethnically equitable. As an artist, my aim is to communicate through cultural perspectives in order to express our shared human experience and to demonstrate that the African dance continuum is accessible, diverse, rich, contemporary, and ever-evolving.
Photo by Dave Parrish at Que Pasa Festival
CW: Katina, what kinds of arts & culture events or programs do you gravitate towards organizing, and what is most important to you when organizing those events?
KM: I really gravitate toward coordinating events rooted with Afrikana studies and the richness of African-American or Black culture. Inspired by my students, when Hopewell began the more recent redevelopment of the downtown, there were no events that centered Black culture.
It’s important for young people to see themselves reflected in the larger community in order to help them to grow, and to have confidence in who they are as people. Therefore, it is important for me to provide programming that is expressive, reflective, and appreciative of Black culture, so that Black children can see themselves, their gifts, and talents centered in the community.
Photo by: Sharda L. Jolayemi of Write Dream Do Photography at Hopewell Juneteenth Freedom Festival
CW: Kevin, there were several CLAVES UNIDOS events on the books this month! What have those experiences been like with the dancers in your community, and do you have any future events or projects you are looking forward to?
KLJ: CLAVES UNIDOS is in a transition period right now. We have been based at Dogtown Dance Theatre's former location in Manchester for the last 11 years, however the building is in the process of being sold and all of the groups it housed are now finding other spaces to work. With that we have had a busy month this October collaborating with other organizations and institutions to continue sharing through dance as a community.
This month we collaborated with University of Richmond dance professor, Alicia Diaz and Fredericksburg-based Puerto Rican Bomba group, Semilla Cultural. I also partnered with Latin Ballet of Virginia over this past week to host a series of Colombian Folklore and Flamenco dance workshops.
I am the choreographer for the fall semester musical at UR this semester, I Miss You Like Hell, which goes up November 17-20 at Jepson Theatre. You can look for us at the Caribbean Heritage Festival in 2023 and other area gatherings, including the Hopewell Juneteenth celebration that Katina spearheads; I'm sure we'll be sharing there again like we did this year.
Photo by: Peter McElhinne at University of Richmond
CW: Katina, similarly, you have had First Friday Freedom and a few experiences with Hopewell Highschool this month! What have those experiences been like, and do you have any future events or projects you are looking forward to?
KM: Yes, after a hiatus due to the pandemic, we were very happy to bring back the First Friday Freedom Open Mic this month! We are glad to make that happen for the beginning of artoberVA. We also have supported the Wonder City Classic, a marching band competition founded by the Hopewell High School Director of Bands, Mr. Andres Pierce and the Hopewell High School Players Theatre Company’s fall production, Dearly Departed directed by Mr. Derome Scott Smith.
We look forward to the continuation of the First Friday Freedom Open Mic for the next First Friday on November 4th and for the remainder of First Fridays from here on out! We are also planning an event for Kwanzaa during the last week of December and the return of the Tri-Cities Jazz & Arts Expo for Jazz Appreciation Month in April.
Photo by: Sharda L. Jolayemi of Write Dream Do Photography at Hopewell Juneteenth Freedom Festival
CW: How have you felt your arts & culture programs form connections amongst the Richmond and Tri-Cities communities over the years? What has been a favorite moment in your memory?
KM: Back in 2019, Kevin and I did a collaboration for artoberVA in Hopewell. It was called “Vicissitudes on Freedom”. In addition to Kevin and I, the collaboration included the First Friday Freedom team, Real True Poet, Vitamin the Student Teacher, vocalist India Locker. That was the beginning of my involvement in artoberVA in Hopewell.
Recently, a significant moment occurred in September during the Afrikana Film Festival. My worlds came together when youth from Hopewell, with the support of CultureWorks were able to come to Richmond for the Afrikana Youth Takeover at ART 180. I am the education coordinator for the Afrikana Film Festival and have been instrumental in the growth of the festival and development of our youth programming.
CW: What does collaboration mean to both of you and your projects?
KLJ: It takes a village. Collaboration is the best way I know how to provide cultural events to our communities through working together to share and bring our various constituencies together and do more that we could have done alone. This is especially important for local independent artists like myself; often we don't have large corporate backing, dollars, and resources to fund all of our ideas and visions.
KM: For me, collaboration is artists and organizers working in concert. We have authentic conversations about what we do and decide how to solve problems and/or create solutions that incorporate everyone’s superpower. Also, collaboration is giving and sharing and having equitable terms for access to and distribution of resources.
Photo (left) by: Lara Blanding & Photo (right): Kevin’s last Dogtown Dance class.
CW: Kevin, what advice do you have for budding creatives interested in exploring different genres of dance?
KLJ: Do it! Dances of the world are right here in Richmond if you care to look and invest the time to discover them.
CW: Katina, how can community members get involved or collaborate with KMOSS Presents?
KM: To collaborate with a KMOSS Presents, just reach out to me, and we can chat about projects and possibilities.
Photo by: Sharda L. Jolayemi of Write Dream Do Photography at Hopewell Juneteenth Freedom Festival
CW: What feeds your creativity when you are not actively involved with your organizations? How do you stay inspired/overcome creative blocks?
KLJ: Travel, especially world travel, is a key inspiration. I also enjoy seeing performances, spending time in nature, dancing around the house like I always have, or digging into my genealogy projects on my ancestry. All of this feeds my work.
KM: It’s funny because when I read this question to my daughter, she said, “Are you going to tell them that you stay in bed and watch YouTube videos?” If I’m honest, that is a part of my creative process. I enjoy seeing what is out there and being able to keep up with organizations and people who I follow on YouTube.
Since I am moved by the social condition and how arts and education nourish society, I am inspired when I learn Black history that I didn’t learn in school. I love learning from some of the leading Black voices: journalists, historians, scholars, politicians, and comedians. A lot of this inspires what I do and how I think about working in community with individuals for arts and education as catalysts for social change.
That, in addition to art, feeds my creativity. Well-curated exhibits and events definitely inspire me. I could probably go on and on, but I’ll wrap up by mentioning that brands like The Flower Guy Bron which is a beautiful eco-system of creativity, service, and business execution that feeds my soul.
CW: What does artoberVA mean to you? Why do arts & culture matter?
KM: For me, artoberVA is about an intentional emphasis on the arts and the value of art in every community. So much of the social structure suggests that art is a superfluous luxury or an extravagant accessory that we really don’t need. artoberVA centers artists and the arts, as a holiday, if you will.
In the Hopewell Community, I look forward to the progression of artoberVA. Hopewell has been a community that centers athletics, and, in concert-level performances, primarily one type of artist. So, I have a special place in my heart for students and people who have been marginalized. Artists need to perform or need a clear pathway for expression. There should be places in the community where that expression is valued and appreciated - at a celebratory level. I believe that Hopewell will hit a special growth spurt when artists, especially Black artists, are centered and celebrated.
Stay updated with Katina Moss’ events here: https://www.instagram.com/kmosspresents/
Stay updated with CLAVES UNIDOS here: https://www.instagram.com/clavesunidos/