Local organizations and artists in partnership with Sankofa throughout this fall series include Circle Creative Collective, MyKingstonKids, Seasoned Delicious, Harambee, and others. Shekere making, storytelling, puppetry, percussion music and performance, dance, traditional food, basketmaking, and more will ensure that myriad voices and forms of expression are represented, heard, and uplifted.

SANKOFA: A Traditional African Crafts Series

This workshop series explores traditional crafts, fibers, and creative practices from multiple regions of Africa, with a focus on West Africa. Many of the workshops also include working with materials harvested in the Hudson Valley, which help participants to understand, value, and create with the natural resources of our region in a sustainable way.

JOIN US for an unforgettable event of celebration and healing at Kingston Point Beach on Oct.2nd!

SANKOFA: A Day of Traditional African Crafts & Arts

Last year, in Celebration of Black History Month Kingston, we presented a full day of workshops and experiences for all ages in partnership with MyKingstonKids. Throughout this exciting culmination of Sankofa workshops, we dyed fabrics using local plants and traditional indigo dye techniques, learned to sew a community quilt inspired by Gee’s Bend quilters, created a community weaving, and learned about the culture of the Gullah Geechee people while making traditional sweetgrass baskets with 7th generation weavers from Charleston, South Carolina.

Sankofa, while focused on traditional West African and African-American crafts and arts, is inclusive to all cultures, bringing diverse peoples together to learn, be inspired, experience the joy and healing of craft, and dream into a more compassionate future together.

“Sankofa” is from the Twi language of Ghana and teaches us to reach back to our roots to recover and gather the best of what the past has to teach us, so we can move forward with our full potential.