story

"Hello. My name is Tony Sias, President and CEO of Karamu House."

"I am the visionary leader of the institution and artistic leader as well. Karamu House is the oldest Black producing theater in the country. Our mission is to produce professional theater, provide arts education, and present community programs for all people..."

"...while honoring the Black experience. My name is Aseelah Shareef. I serve as Karamu's Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. I'm Robert Rosenthal from XHIBITION. We are a three store chain e-comm platform..."

"...located here in Cleveland. I serve as the Head Merchant and Lead Strategist. I'm Andrea Wedren, I'm the Director of Community Engagement for XHIBITION. Back in, I think it was pre-pandemic..."

"...we were out there really trying to find partners that shared similar core values and had ideas that really were consistent with ours to help youth in the community. When you walked into Karamu, you just felt inspired..."

"...and I can remember the first meeting. There was an incredibly high level of energy. We are absolutely excited that we're back here and working with this group of talented, amazing people."

"The word Karamu is a Swahili word that means, a place of joyful gathering. In that meeting, it became truly Karamu, a place of joyful gathering. Two organizations coming together to really say, we want to give back and make a difference."

"Central to our mission is honoring the African American experience, with arts education and community programs. XHIBITION's commitment to giving back and connecting and connecting others is one of the core values that we have."

"We started working together about a year and a half ago. The first initiative we worked on was a fundraiser to provide funds for one of their productions that was upcoming. Our hope is in the future, we're going to do lots of projects together..."

"...including a workshop for young entrepreneurs. Youth entrepreneurship, that was something that we both got really excited about. We both have direct commitments to youth..."

"…and for us here at Karamu, recognizing and understanding our role in economics, and being able to lift that up by highlighting youth entrepreneurship was really something that we galvanized around. We're really looking forward to promoting programming moving forward."

"It really dawned on our team, that we need to get the message out to the youth and the community about Karamu and it is really one of the gems in Cleveland..."

"...and I think that there is an incredible opportunity to affect young people in an incredibly positive way. There's a wealth of opportunity to be able to help, not just expose young people to arts and culture…"

"...but to know that there is a livelihood that they can gain and have a lifestyle and work in the industry, as well as create beautiful art.
At a basic level. I think safe spaces remove the barriers to human interaction."

"So whether we are talking about lifestyle and fashion, or we are talking about arts engagement, we are all in existence to build the bridges for people to become better people. We all want to be seen…"

"…and so to go to a place where really, we feel like we walk in the door and we are welcomed and seen, that's everything. I mean, that really has an impact on people. That's in the spirit of Karamu House. We want people to come through the doors to feel like…"

"…we are welcoming you to this house. It is not just the house, it is your home. Correct. It is our home and it's a part of the community. We're a small but mighty team, but there's joy and love that ruminates from all of us."

"Because guess what? Joy is one of our core values. That's what makes people feel at home in our space."

Talking Shop

XHIBITION Part 2 - The Community