WILMINGTON
BLACK STORYTELLING
RESIDENCY 2026
Black Memory & Voice: Shaping America at 250
The Wilmington Black Storytelling Residency reflects on the nation’s 250th anniversary through the lens of Black memory and living voice. This theme invites storytellers to engage America not as a finished monument, but as a story still unfolding — shaped by ancestral presence, cultural continuity, imagination, and collective breath.
At 250, we honor memory carried in the body, in the archive, in the kitchen, in the sanctuary, and in the street. We honor voice as it rises in personal testimony, in ancestral tale, in poetry, in laughter, and in song. Through deep craft work and shared community space, the residency affirms that America continues to be shaped by the stories we tell — intimate and communal, inherited and newly imagined — and that Black storytelling remains central to that ongoing making.
The Wilmington Black Storytelling Residency is now in its fifth year and is led by TAHIRA. The residency also features Master Teaching Artist Dr. Caroliese, along with Frank Reed and Emily Hooper Lansana as part of the artistic leadership team.
This year’s cohort once again represents a wonderful cross-section of storytellers from across the nation, including participants from Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, Georgia, and Massachusetts. We are excited to welcome both emerging and experienced storytellers who will gather in Wilmington for a week of intensive artistic development and community engagement.
2026 Wilmington Black Storytelling Residency Cohort
- April Mojica Clement — Baldwin, NY
- Bethy Victorin (aka Dr. Yaa Elombe) — Brooklyn, NY
- Beverly Lloyd — Solon, OH
- Brenda Ann Duke Spriggs — Minneapolis, MN
- Deborah “Devorah” Crable — Chicago, IL
- Deborah Strahorn — Atlanta, GA
- Ebony Zuudia — Claymont, DE
- Harold Cox — Boston, MA
- Kelly Campos — Homewood, IL
- Kristie Lazenberry — Coon Rapids, MN
- Lauren Dotson — Chicago, IL
- Makeda Kemit — Atlanta, GA
- Michael Williamson — Wilmington, DE
- Sylvia Ewing — Country Club Hills, IL
- Venida Rodman Jenkins — Jersey City, NJ
Please Join Us!!
Wilmington Black Storytelling Residency Culminating Showcase
Date: Saturday, August 1, 2026
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: Tina Betz Urban Art Exchange, Wilmington, Delaware
What Is the Wilmington Black Storytelling Residency?
This residency is grounded in the fundamental belief that Black Storytelling is Black Joy.
The immersive seven-day experience was created to enable storytellers to deepen their understanding of Black storytelling as a cultural practice and as a tool for illuminating the lived experiences of Africans in the Diaspora — past and present. Participants engage in rigorous artistic development within a community of dedicated practitioners committed to excellence, truth-telling, and service.
The Wilmington Black Storytelling Residency is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on www.delawarescene.com.
Our Vision
To cultivate a Black storytelling residency known for encouraging and nurturing storytellers who illuminate the African Diaspora experience, speak truth with integrity, and serve community through their craft.
Our Mission
To elevate the skills of emerging and experienced storytellers in story crafting and performance while expanding their knowledge of African Diaspora storytelling traditions.
What Past Cohorts Have Said
“The residency has impacted me by identifying the storytelling process. This residency taught me to see my life as the story to be told, that the stories of others can be equally told through my lens.”
“As a Black storyteller, I feel that I have discovered a hidden voice that has been inside of me. I will now regularly call on this form to express not only my own story but the stories of my community, my people, my culture, my family, and so much more.”
“It has expanded and strengthened the foundation upon which I can recognize, conceive, develop, and hone a story in multiple genres for Black storytelling.”
“This residency has deepened my ability to convey pride through the stories I create. It has further opened my eyes to the fact that stories live all around us if we have the eyes to see them.”
“The inclusion of the expanded elements beyond the foundational sessions, such as meditation/yoga, African dance, and lectures/workshops at the Delaware Historical Society, was invaluable.”
“I’ve deepened my understanding of just how imperative it is to tell our stories. Every one of our stories has a place in the canon of Black history and creative expression.”
“The impact of movement, whether it was grounding in yoga or the African dance, made our creative juices flow.”