Art is a Safe Space in Cleveland

Our project is a series of spoken word events. This series give poets, music artists and live musicians an opportunity to share the stage and a room for artistic expression. Each event will occur at the Bop Stop;  a nonprofit jazz venue that hosts live performances for the community. This series will be professionally live streamed for our audience to join. The purpose of this campaign is to obtain donations to pay the artists, pay the staff and pay the venue, whilst offering free art to our viewers.

To date, we are scheduled for two events occurring on Sunday March 7th, 2021 and Sunday May 16th, 2021. Our teams plans to use the donated funds to cover all operational costs. Please follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram & Youtube) at Temple Of Passions to learn the times and obtain the online link to enjoy the live streamed events. 

The Temple of Passions spoken word platform is an ongoing outlet for locals and visitors to laugh, cry, relate and then return to our communities seen and restored. Black, Brown, Indigenous People of Color and LGBTQ+ folx have few safe spaces to express our hardship and lived experience. Oftentimes we are relegated to expression in our notebook, online or with whomever we can get to listen long enough to care. This platform grants us the opportunity to shed what burdens us. We are able remove the armor and find comfort and solace in vulnerability. It is imperative for our community to maintain environments where people can feel safe, secure, heard, and included. With the lingering effects of COVID-19, the way we gather has shifted. Health implications create a challenge for us to gather in great number. Therefore we wish to continue to make our art accessible but in a socially distanced and responsible manner. And it is our hope that free live streamed events will not only sustain but expand our community.