Today Maybe Forever

Floyd Hall is a cultural producer, storyteller, writer and documentarian from Atlanta, Georgia. His professional work often relates to the intersection of media and technology as platforms to bring cultures together and make the world a more fulfilling place. As an artist he is interested in the process of how we come to define and design ourselves, and is passionate about how history, culture and art blend together to construct narratives of place. Learn more about his work here: floydcreates.com

Alexander Acosta is a Community Leader, Arts Advocate, and the Executive Director of Soul Food Cypher. In 2011, he had a vision of creating the cypher while mentoring at-risk teenagers at the Whitefoord Intel computer clubhouse in in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally, he aimed to teachstudents media production at the clubhouse, but quickly found he could reach them directly through their shared passion of hip-hop. Experiencing their brilliance and spontaneous ingenuity, he became a believer in their ability improve themselves and their communities through their words. From this Soul Food Cypher was born in 2012. Since then, he has lead Soul Food Cypher from the basement of Wonderroot community arts center to stages at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, A3C Music Festival, and Coca-Cola Headquarters and to classrooms on Emory University and Georgia State University’s campuses.

Hey there! My name is Shannon and I’m an event curator. I started working in events over 10 years ago as part of my communications roles at the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance and the World Bank in Washington, DC. A series of adventures led me to open a restaurant, bar and art gallery in Atlanta called Studio No. 7. I quickly learned that I hated running a restaurant, but I loved food and beverage and more importantly, I loved crafting experiences focused on both. At my core, I’m a storyteller and I believe that telling a good story is at the heart of curating a good experience. In 2016, Studio No. 7 became a full time event space. I’m now able to use my years of writing, crafting cocktails, photography, travel and general curiosity to help me tell stories around food and beverage. In addition to the space, I run a street food and cocktails dinner party series called Midnight Barbecue. I also curate experiences for clients such as Blackwell Rum, Martell Cognac and Heineken USA. 

T. Lang is dedicated to exposing the arts and emerging communities to the creative impact and genius of dance. Lang earned her Bachelors and Masters of Fine Arts in performance and choreography from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts respectively. In the early days of her career, Lang danced with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and Marlies Yearby’s Movin’ Spirits Dance Theater. Lang relocated T. Lang Dance from New York City to Atlanta in 2008, continuing to develop, direct, and produce a high-impact blend of traditional and experimental contemporary movement. Arts America called Lang’s choreography “powerfully thought-provoking,” “masterfully blended,” and “unsettling genius.” Creative Loafing named T. Lang Atlanta’s Best Choreographer in 2016 and Best Collaboration in 2015 for her work with visual artist Nick Cave. Lang’s work has been commissioned by the High Museum of Art, Goat Farm Arts Center, Flux Projects and others. Lang stays engaged with the next generation of movement artists through her summer educational intensive, Sweatshop, and as an Associate Professor and founding Department Chair of Dance Performance and Choreography at Spelman College.