Red Spring Curators & Artists Bios

Artist bios can be found by clicking here.

CURATORS BIOS
REYNALDO ANDERSON
Dr. Reynaldo Anderson currently serves as an Associate Professor of Communication at Harris-Stowe State University in Saint Louis Missouri and is an executive board member of the Missouri Arts Council. Reynaldo has earned several awards for leadership and teaching excellence and he is currently the Past Chair of the Black Caucus of the National Communication Association (NCA). Reynaldo has not only served as an executive board member of the Missouri Arts Council, he has previously served at an international level working for prison reform with C.U.R.E. International in Douala Cameroon, and as a development ambassador recently assisting in the completion of a library project for the Sekyere Afram Plains district in the country of Ghana. Reynaldo publishes extensively in the area of Afrofuturism, communication studies, and the African diaspora experience. Reynaldo is currently the executive director and co-founder of the Black Speculative Arts Movement (BSAM), a network of artists, curators, intellectuals and activists. Finally, he is the co-editor of the book Afrofuturism 2.0: The Rise of Astro-Blackness published by Lexington books, co-editor of Cosmic Underground: A Grimoire of Black Speculative Discontent published by Cedar Grove Publishing and The Black Speculative Art Movement: Black Futurity, Art+Design (Lexington books, 2019), as well as the co-editor of Black Lives, Black Politics, Black Futures, a special issue of TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies.

SHEREE RENÉE THOMAS
Sheree Renée Thomas creates art inspired by myth and folklore, natural science and conjure, and the genius culture created in the Mississippi Delta. She is the author of Nine Bar Blues: Stories from an Ancient Future (Third Man Books, May 2020), her debut fiction collection, and widely anthologized, her work appears in The Big Book of Modern Fantasy edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer (Vintage Anchor, July 2020) and The New York Times. She is also the author of two multigenre/hybrid collections, Sleeping Under the Tree of Life, longlisted for the 2016 Otherwise Award and Shotgun Lullabies (Aqueduct Press, 2011). A Cave Canem Fellow, she has been honored with residencies at the Millay Colony of the Arts, VCCA, Bread Loaf Environmental, Blue Mountain, Tennessee Arts Commission, NYFA, and Art Omi / Ledig House.. She edited the two-time World Fantasy Award-winning volumes, Dark Matter (Grand Central / Warner Books 2000, 2004), that first introduced W.E.B. Du Bois’s work as science fiction and was the first black author to be honored with the World Fantasy Award since its inception in 1975. In 2020 she was named a World Fantasy Award Finalist in the Special Professional category for her contributions to the genre. She serves as the tenth editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, founded in 1949, the Associate Editor of Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora (Illinois State University, Normal), founded in 1975, and reviews new books for Asimov’sA Marvel writer with new work featured in the groundbreaking anthology, Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda edited by Jesse J. Holland (Titan 2021), Sheree is honored to be a Special Guest Writer and Co-Host of the 2021 Hugo Award Ceremonies at Discon III in Washington, DC. She lives in Memphis, Tennessee, near a mighty river and a pyramid You can follow her on Instagram @shereereneethomas,Twitter @blackpotmojo, or visit www.shereereneethomas.com

DANIELLE L. LITTLEFIELD
Danielle L. Littlefield is an Afro-Mississippi writer, editor, and professor, a regular contributor to creative and literary projects in the “MemphisSippi” area.   An Afrofuturist, Littlefield works to document and study Black vernacular expressions from the American South and to preserve Black and Afro-Indigenous culture for future generations. Her work appears in the forms of publications, oral history interviews, archiving, the public presentation of collected works of art, literature, and music, and spatial arrangement and design of  public spaces.  A two-time Callaloo Fellow, she holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College.  Currently, she serves as Assistant Professor of English and Fine Arts at HBCU Rust College in Mississippi, and as a Contributing Editor at Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora.  You can find her on Instagram @daniellellfield and Twitter @ElletheVeil.

DACIA POLK / innerGy
Dacia Polk is an award winning Poet and philanthropist who works and resides in St. Louis MO. Her scope of work is as wide as her interests; which includes writing, curating, community organizing, event planning/production, hosting/MC, public speaking, acting, modeling and graphic design.

Better known by her stage name InnerGy, she has written work in the African News World, African American Voice, and has been featured in quarterly visual arts magazine All The Art and A grimoire of Black Speculative Discontent: Cosmic Underground. A professionally performing Poet, she has headlined events in Detroit, Pittsburg, Washington, Orlando, Chicago, and Las Vegas. Acclaimed Actress she plays a superhero in a blaxploitation web series called  “Blackman and Super Sista,” ,made her theatrical debut in Sir Ervin III’ s “Zella” (2019) and has starred as supporting lead in Moses Weather’s short film “Love in all the Wrong Places (2018) as well has her first lead Starring role in her highly anticipated, latest full length film, Sangray’s thriller/action/drama titled “Siren’s Song’ to be released 2021.

For her work as a young entrepreneur, activist, and community organizer she received Delux Magazine’s 30 under 30 award, Global 1000 Black’s in Tech Poet of the Year (2017), Michael Brown Memorial Foundation Chosen For Change Community Service Award, and honors for philanthropy from Anthony Shahid’s Tauheed Youth Group.

Inspired by “Humans of New York,”  Humans of St. Louis has profiled Polk, her work and creative process. She has also been nominated for St. Louis UnderGround Music’s Poet of the Year award (2019).

Dacia has been an organizer for The Black Speculative Arts Movement for over 4 years and is a lead coordinator for its St. Louis based annual festival and convention. She uses her background in Digital Arts and organizing to manage the BSAM website and Instagram account and is Admin for Afrofuturism 2.0.

She currently runs a weekly open mic that runs locally Tuesday nights and online Sundays. As well as manages her own couture handmade jewelry collection CopperStone. She can be found @innergyinme in all social media.