Artist Talk: Lisa B. Thompson + Paola Mathe

Lisa B. Thompson
Presented in partnership with Origin Studio House

THURSDAY APRIL 11th: Artist Talk with Lisa B. Thompson and Fanm Djanm founder Paola Mathe

What It Means To Be A Black Woman Artist Today: Conversation on the emotional and psychological cost of creating work focused on community healing and how we view aging and health in the Black community.

Join Fusebox & Origin Studio House for the Fusebox Festival 2024 Artist Talks happening daily from 12:30pm -1:30pm starting Wednesday April 10th through Saturday April 14th.

Each day will bring new artists and creatives, both local and international, who will sit down and share their projects, processes, and passions. Come take your lunch break with us at Origin Studio House where there will be beverages and food for sale as we dive into what makes our community of artists tick.

Lisa B. Thompson‘s satirical comedies, poignant dramas and engaging scholarship examines stereotypes about Black life in the US, particularly the experiences of the Black middle class. The artist/scholar is the author of four books: Beyond the Black Lady: Sexuality and the New African American Middle Class (University of Illinois Press, 2009), Single Black Female (Samuel French, 2012), Underground, Monroe, and The Mamalogues: Three Plays (Northwestern University Press, 2020), and The Mamalogues (Samuel French, 2021). She has published articles and reviews in Theatre Journal, Journal of American Drama, Theatre Survey, NPR, Criterion Collection, Clutch, Huffington Post and The Washington Post. Thompson’s plays have been produced Off-Broadway, throughout the US, and internationally by Crossroads Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros, the Vortex, The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Soul Rep Theatre Company, Austin Playhouse, Ensemble Theatre, Chiswick Playhouse, and The National Black Theatre Festival among others.

Her work has been recognized with an Austin Critics Circle David Mark Cohen New Play Award, a Broadway World Regional Awards Best Writing of an Original Work, a LA Weekly Theatre Award for Best Comedy nomination, and an Irma P. Hall Black Theatre Best Play Award. Thompson’s work has been supported by a number of institutions including the American Council of Learned Societies, Hedgebrook, MacDowell, Millay Arts, National Performance Network, Michele R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research; the Five Colleges; the University of California’s Office of the President; Stanford University’s Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, and the W. E. B. DuBois Research Institute at the Hutchins Center. She co-hosts and co-produces Black Austin Matters, a podcast and radio segment on KUT: Austin’s NPR station that explores Black life, culture, and politics in Central Texas. Lisa B. Thompson is currently the Bobby and Sherri Patton Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies, Department of Theatre & Dance and the College of Liberal Arts’ Advisor to the Dean for Faculty Mentoring and Support at the University of Texas at Austin.

Paola Mathé is a social entrepreneur, creative director, and photographer who draws inspiration from her vibrant Haitian heritage to challenge and shift beauty ideals. In 2014, Paola founded Fanm Djanm out of her studio apartment in Harlem. Fanm Djanm, which directly translates to “strong woman” in Haitian Kreyol, is a hair accessories and hair solutions brand that encourages women to stand up tall and live boldly. The Haitian-born storyteller established her own lane and helped to revolutionize the industry with locally made headwraps and other zero-waste products that cater to and celebrate Afro-textured hair. Paola’s ability to tell rich, evocative stories through visual media earned the self-taught photographer features in many online and print publications such as The New York Times, Vogue, NY Magazine/The Cut, and Essence, among others. However, it is Mathé’s flair in shaping important narratives surrounding identity, culture, womanhood, and beauty that have primed her to be the center of campaigns for Bvlgari, GAP and L’Occitane as a champion of self love. The founder regularly credits the pride she has in her Haitian roots for kindling her love affair with color, which she details in her TEDx Talk aptly named “Sharing My Colors With the World” delivered at her alma mater, Drew University. This passion for color has since gone global, gracing editorial covers featuring the likes of Ciara, Teyana Taylor, and supermodel Halima Aden. Paola continues to weave stories with color from Austin, TX, where she resides with her husband, Tyler, and their two young children.