Miramar Welcomes Jason Taylor

Jason Taylor will take the stage at the Miramar Cultural Center | ArtsPark, 2400 Civic Center Place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15 for a free community event.  In collaboration with the Jason Taylor Foundation, the Miramar Cultural Trust will host its third Art Speaks…Join the Conversation program, made possible by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Art Speaks…Join the Conversation is a program designed to offer the community unique opportunities to engage those who impact the world with art.  

“The Knight Arts Challenge funds ideas that help bring South Florida together through the arts,” said Jim Goggins, president of the Miramar Cultural Trust. “We have this unique opportunity to partner with the Jason Taylor Foundation in presenting culturally diverse programming. We are excited to present some of the community’s most talented students performing their original, compelling poems.”

In an informal, interactive setting, Taylor will discuss the work of his foundation and, in particular, the value of poetry impacting the lives of our youth.  Currently, more than 50 schools across South Florida participate in the Jason Taylor Foundation’s “Omari Hardwick bluapple Poetry Network,” where students are provided an environment in which they can focus on literacy, prevention issues and social awareness as vehicles for self-expression, both written and through performance, ultimately empowering young people, the schools they attend and the communities in which they live.  This school year, bluapple launched Louder Than a Bomb Florida, a friendly spoken-word competition between school-based poetry teams representing local high schools from Broward County, Miami-Dade and beyond, which will culminate in an 11-day poetry festival from April 8-18.

Joining Taylor on stage will be Darius Daughtry, Director of bluapple Poetry Programs at the Jason Taylor Foundation and student poets who will be performing some of their original works.  Following the program, all guests on stage will take part in a Q&A session in which the audience is encouraged to participate.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Miramar Cultural Trust,” said Seth Levit, Executive Director of the Jason Taylor Foundation  “Through these interactive dialogues, we’ll hear what inspires these student artists and see the talent that is being cultivated in our community. It’s important for all of us to support and promote them every way we can.”

While the event is free, tickets are required. For tickets and more information, call 954-602-4500 or visit http://www.miramarculturalcenter.org.

The Miramar Cultural Center | ArtsPark is located at 2400 Civic Center Place on Red Road, north of Miramar Parkway, in Miramar.