Graduate Students
Womxn of Color Initiatives announces their 2023 Artist-in-Residence: Colah B. Tawkin. Colah will be in residence from March 27th to March 31st. Colah is the juggernaut creator, producer, and voice behind the renowned Black in the Garden podcast. Using her extensive horticultural knowledge, her endless love for Black people, and her keen ability to teach in a spirit of joy and kinship, she has built a village of Soil Cousins that have come to not only love, but trust her voice. By amplifying Black voices and bringing the marginalized into the center, her aim is to grow and foster village-building, education, and healing through gardening. She is also the creator of the first coloring book for the Black experience in the garden, Black in the Garden. This 20-page coloring book embodies Black experience with plants and celebrates botanical wisdom. With features in the Guardian , Essence, the New York Times, the LA Times, and more, Colah B. Tawkin is on the cutting edge of horticulture and communications.
Through key partnerships and support from the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Social Science, WKAR, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, and the Graduate School, WOCI is providing a week of opportunities for womxn of color, MSU community members, and the greater Lansing area to engage with Colah in a variety of settings. These events are free. In addition, Colah will engage in mentoring and conversations with undergraduate, graduate, and faculty womxn of color.
Learn more at https://cal.msu.edu/news/msu-womxn-of-color-initiatives-hosts-2023-artist-in-residence-march-27-31/
Schedule of Events
(Registration links were updated on March 9th)
March 27, 2023
Plantrepreneurship: A Journey to Peace
Join two amazing Black women plantrepreneurs, Colah B. Tawkin (Black in the Garden Podcast) and Hillary Coleman (1991 Greenery) , for a community conversation on how starting their own plant and horticulture businesses brings them peace and joy! The first 25 people to register will receive a plant from 1991 Greenery.
Time and Location: 7 p.m. at Oracle’s Apothecary, 519 E César E. Chávez Ave, Lansing, MI 48906
Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GwdPKb1Smf7h_RQhO3CAT5A-9vEky3hcrdvnWYURj3k/edit?pli=1
March 28, 2023
Plants and Placemaking: Faculty Mentoring Session & Lunch
WOCI invites all WOC identified faculty to join Colah B. Tawkin for lunch. Drawing parallels between the world of horticulture and academia, this informal conversation will engage how WOC make space for themselves in their fields.
Time and Location: 10 a.m. 2110 STEM Building
Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1pyaEPvD0StLXdiwSYvfgSEtBDEGYN5A15J28oUEjonM/edit
March 29, 2023
Speaking UP and OUT via Podcasting: A Podcast Workshop for Beginners
In collaboration with the African American Studies Department, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Colah B. Tawkin will host a podcasting workshop for those who are interested in starting their own podcast. Participants will also receive instruction on technical skills needed for podcasting success and hear about resources available via MSU and the local community. The first 25 people to register will receive a copy of Colah’s Black in the Garden coloring book.
Time and Location: 7 p.m. at CAS 148, the Newsroom College of Communication Arts and Sciences
Registration: https://tinyurl.com/WOCIWorkshop
March 30, 2023
WOC Graduate Student Lunch
WOCI invites all womxn of color-identified graduate students to meet with Colah over lunch. This informal conversation provides graduate students with an intimate setting to engage our artist-in-residence.
Time and Location: 1 p.m. Room 182 CAS College of Communication Arts and Sciences
Registration: https://tinyurl.com/WOCIGradLunch
March 30, 2023
Plants, Race, and Class: A Conversation with Colah B. Tawkin
We invite the community to attend a keynote conversation between the director of the Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston and expert in Black girlhood and land, Dr. Tamara Butler and Colah B. Tawkin. Attendees have an option of joining us in-person or watching via live stream. The first 25 people to register will receive a copy of Black in the Garden coloring book.
Time and Location: 7 p.m. WKAR Studio A, College of Communication Arts and Sciences
Registration: https://tinyurl.com/WOCIConversation
March 31, 2023
WOC Undergraduate Student Breakfast
WOCI invites all womxn of color-identified undergraduate students to meet with Colah over breakfast. This informal conversation provides students with an intimate setting to engage our artist-in-residence.
Time and Location: New Location! 10 a.m. Room 95 Justin S. Morrill Hall, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_lnPXOY8CDn81RYpVzjPJH5lJWcslFRLjcdw9QOrrcC6KjQ/viewform?usp=sf_link
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About WOCI: The MSU Womxn of Color Initiatives (WOCI) is an effort to organize events for womxn of color and their allies on the MSU campus and in the greater Lansing community. In doing so WOCI aims to create spaces for students to be in conversation with each other and engage with women of color faculty, guest speakers, staff, and community members. Since spring 2016, the WOCI speaker series has brought one nationally recognized woman of color academic, creative, and/or political speaker to the MSU campus each semester.
For more information, visit https://woci.cal.msu.edu/
