In theater, a fade-out/fade-down is known as a fade-to-black, a shift to complete darkness. In a symbolic and narrative sense, fade-to-black marks the end of the scene.
It happens that a local theater company, Sankofa Theater, a Black-led organization committed to opening doors for Black and Brown artists to share their work, build community, and make a living, recently faced the threat of losing their space which would mark the end of a passionate and dedicated effort to serve artists. The 1500-square-foot black box theater located at INScape Arts, the former Immigration and Naturalization Center, is in danger of fading to black and needs to raise over $30,000 to sustain its lease and maintain operations.
Co-founded in 2021 by performing artist Teme Wokoma, her vision has been to create accessible space for the next generation of artists and activists to germinate and nurture their skills. Losing the space would be a devastating loss for the hundreds of aspiring artists in need of space and support. Teme recently shared details of the current challenge in a touching interview aired on King 5 news. The fight to keep the doors to Sankofa Theater open and the lights shining bright comes on the heels of tragedy. On April 1st, her co-founder Elijah Lewis was shot and killed.
It is our hope that the community will support the current fundraising efforts to keep this space from going dark and help keep the dreams of Teme and Elijah alive. Please support and learn more about Sankofa Theater programs and fundraising opportunities here.
