ASWC__artspace Down­town in East Cen­tral 

ASWC opened down­town in East Cen­tral the spring of 2009 as an Afrikan-centered down­town venue where cre­ative artists come to increase the vis­i­bil­ity, and be heard. While most local music venues cater to an audi­ence as inter­ested, if not more-so, in social­iz­ing as in the music, ASWC is ded­i­cated to pro­vid­ing local tal­ent with a room where they engage, cre­ate, col­lab­o­rate, present, and per­form new and tried works of lit­er­a­ture, music, song, dance, and the­atre to an audi­ence pri­mar­ily attuned to their pre­sen­ta­tion. ASWC’s means to explore and stim­u­late a cross-cultural exchange in the arts community.

The Acoustic Spo­ken­Word Café is open between 7 and 10PM on the sec­ond and fourth Sat­ur­day of each month except July and August. Dur­ing Novem­ber and Decem­ber the Café opens only on the sec­ond Sat­ur­day. Most evenings con­sist of mixed genre pre­sen­ta­tions by two artists–a musi­cal act, and a poet–plus an Open Mic session.

Gen­res pre­sented since the Café opened in 2009 have included poetry, rap, short sto­ries, nov­els, acoustic and elec­tric jazz, blues, gospel, folk, tra­di­tional Native Amer­i­can flute, Afrikan drum­ming, and film.

While our audi­ence is mainly adults, young peo­ple are encour­aged to come and share their tal­ent and cul­tural gifts at the Café.

Artist who’ve appeared at the Café include:

Helen Frost, Cur­tis Crisler, George Kala­ma­ras, Cathy Ser­ano, Duane Eby, DL Rus­sell, Michael Pat­ter­son, Erik Moll­berg, Seeds of Faith, Vic­tor Brown, Kent Kiwi Fin­ger­lee, Emanuel Ortiz, Jill Mozena, Zynette Paige, Mike Sla­gle, Mary Ann Cain, G-Money, Bernadette Glee­son, Julia Meek, Jonathan Tankel, Craig Nix, RasAmen Ayo, Diane Riley, Will Clark, Tom Sable, Megan King, Kerry Ruther­ford, Tanika Burt, Mike Moses, Bran­don Neal, Kim Wiley, Lizz Straight, Mary Quigley, Kétu Oladuwa, John Dortch, Linda Bess, Keith Flye, Troy Bigelow, John Ward, Fatima Wash­ing­ton, Carol Lock­ridge, Sunny Tay­lor, Erika Mar­tinez, Adosh, Jason Green, Fred­die Dun­lap, Phil Shurger, Three Rivers Jenbé Ensem­ble, Con­tin­uum, Derek Curry II, Kathy Young, Rae Sur­face, Jesse West, Sataria White, Domon­ica Mal­one, Adam Gaile, Will Cer­tain, Danielle Brewer, Susan Howard, Beth Frayser, Terel Lynn, Dodie Miller, Ngozi Rogers, Rob Emmett, Jes­sica Lopez, Mathis Grey, The Bryan Nellems Trio, Clif Wal­lace Trio, Kemit Oladuwa, Teresa Vazquez, Afro­Disi­acs, Paula Ashe

Bring your work to the Café!

To sign up for a pos­si­ble fea­ture or Open Mic spot at an upcom­ing Café, hit the Appli­ca­tion but­ton below and down­load the form. Email it back to us and we’ll con­tact you.