Thursday Art Brew, a Free monthly Art and Cultural series inside The Gallery at the Attucks

About this event

Join us inside the Gallery at the Attucks for an Art Brew. Watch for different themes each month!

Art Brew is a monthly art and cultural series at The Gallery at the Attucks, designed to bring artists and the community together through performances, creative conversations, and interactive experiences. Each gathering offers a unique opportunity to engage with local talent, explore different forms of artistic expression, and experience the gallery in a community-centered setting.

The series kicks off on November 19, from 5:30–7:30 p.m., with Art Brew: One Mic , an intimate poetry showcase featuring four poets from Hampton Roads.

Host:

Steph Love:

Stephanie Lask aka Steph Love is a spoken word artist, teaching artist, event host, web designer and graphic designer currently residing in Norfolk, VA.

She teaches poetry, and graphic novel workshops with Arts For Learning – The Virginia Affiliate of Young Audiences. She’s an event host for multi-genre showcases, open mics, and poetry slams. She serves as a co-secretary and the web administrator on the Board of Directors for Southern Fried Poetry Slam, Inc. She’s also a web designer/developer and graphic designer for non-profits and small businesses across Hampton Roads, VA and all over the country.

She was a team finalist in the 2023 Southern Fried Poetry Slam with the Verb Benders Slam Team. She was also featured on the Grammy Award-Winning album by Mad Skillz, Words For Days Vol. 1.

Stephanie is a music lover, a hip hop enthusiast, a vinyl collector and cat lady currently residing in Norfolk, VA.

Performers:

G.Y.Exp:

The G.Y.Exp means Get Your Experience! G.Y.E. is a spoken word poet from Hampton Roads, VA. He is the 2025 Individual Southern Fried Poetry Slam Grand Champion, a 4 time Verb Benders Grand Slam Champion, Second place finalist in the 2024 Food for Thought Poetry Slam, 2023 Southern Fried Slam Poetry team finalist and a 2024 BlackBerry Peach National Poetry Slam finalist. G.Y.E. currently serves his community through his role as a program curator for the city of Newport News. He has mentored young creatives through Lullaby for Urban Soul program, (Norfolk, VA), and Teens With a Purpose, (Norfolk, VA).

Maddie G:

Maddie G is a proud Afrolatina spoken word artist of Dominican descent. Her life and her culture have given her a perspective that’s loud and clear in her poetry. She has been published in numerous anthologies and published her collection of poetry “A Vision of She” in 2022. She is a founding member of Verb Benders Slam Team who have consistently ranked as one of the top 10 teams in the nation. She is proud to have found her voice in spoken word and is proud to be a part of the Hampton Roads VA poetry scene.

Cassandra IsFree:

Cassandra Akers is a 4x published author, spoken word artist, slam poet, playwright/award-winning actress from Norfolk, VA. She is a founding member of the Verb Benders Slam Team from Hampton Roads, VA. She is the reigning Queen of the South slam poet and has been published on 3 continents, Australia, Asia and North America. She has been featured two times on Button Poetry and has been featured at Busboys and Poets, Write About Now, and a multitude of other venues nationally. Cassandra recently earned her Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction and currently works as a middle school special education teacher. She loves performing and teaching. Two of Cassandra’s poems were selected as part of the Norfolk Arts Poetry on the Pavement project in 2021.

Symay

Symay Rhodes is a poet, musician, and teacher from Norfolk, VA. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing from Norfolk State University. He is the slam master for Hampton Roads Verb Benders poetry slam team. He published his first book, Poetry is like Medicine, in 2021. He is currently the host of the Monday Night Open Mic at the Venue on 35th st. and Co-curator of Conduit: night of artistic worship.

From Norfolk Arts