Margo is joined by cultural leader, oral historian and documentarian Mi’Jan Celie Tho-Biaz, Ed.D. who shares narratives of personal transformation and community change.To say this historian’s own history is distinguished is an understatement: Mi’Jan curated and hosted Unfinished Network’s first 2022 public salon on the theme of multiracial democracy, with CNN’s Van Jones and MSNBC’s Maria Teresa Kumar. She also designed and led the Gloria Steinem Initiative’s public policy digital storytelling pilot at Smith College, and served as a New Mexico Humanities Council Scholar. Mi’Jan has held Visiting Scholar appointments at Columbia University and New York University and served as faculty in the Cultural Leadership program at The Banff Centre in Canada. Currently Mi’Jan serves as faculty with Omega Institute, co-host for the National Art Education Association’s podcast, as well as principal oral historian and public art curator for Policy Link’s California BIPOC Liberation Stories Project. She works with communities across the themes of sovereignty, transformation, liberation, healing and love.
Margo and Mi’Jan discuss:
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What it means to be an oral historian
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What her work and creative practice looks like
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California BIPOC liberation stories
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How she designs her year
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Out of body experiences she would have during keynote storytelling
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The art of slowing down and why it became critical to her practice
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The intersectionality of creative and spiritual practices
Mi’Jan is best known for connecting with audiences through her visionary, story-rich talks at a range of institutions, from Carnegie Hall to the Institute of American Indian Arts to SXSW. Her goal? To make the historical contemporary and personal, while surfacing the marginalized stories that need to be heard.
Connect with Mi’Jan:
www.mijancelie.comakers/mijan-celie-tho-biaz/
Bimonthly Professional Development Interview Series:
National Art Education Association’s Connected Arts Networks 8-part podcast series:
https://www.eomega.org/people/mijan-celie-tho-biaz
People inspiring Mi’Jan:
Octavia Butler
The oral history community that Amy Starecheski has nurtured and shared
Alisha Wormsley
