In this powerful episode of the La Raza BIPOC ACCESS Artist Development Podcast, we sit down with Amani Arts — member of the One Mic Educators collective, author, spoken word poet, concept artist and storyteller based in Hamilton, Ontario. Her work explores Black identity, Somali culture, Muslim representation, self love and the narratives that often get erased in mainstream media.    Amani has been published in TRADMagazine, PITCHMagazine, Briarpatch Magazine and more, and her book Oceans Barwaaqo is her first collective publication. She also teaches workshops for emerging writers and creatives, and was awarded the 2022 GOG Award for “Innovation in a permanent collection” for Breaking The Vault: Art and Poetic Liberty (Art Gallery of Hamilton).   In this episode we discuss:   Muslim + Somali representation in art Using poetry to reclaim narrative Refusing to shrink identity for acceptance Why showing nuance matters Centering joy, regularity + everyday life as art Why representation is a leadership responsibility This is a needed conversation for people who have ever felt unseen, misrepresented or culturally flattened by media.   Watch. Listen. Share. Someone needs access to this — today. LISTEN TO FULL PODCAST + EPISODES https://laraza.podbean.com/ Amani Arts IG — https://www.instagram.com/its.amani.arts Linktree — https://linktr.ee/itsamaniarts About the Project   The La Raza BIPOC ACCESS Artist Development Podcast is co-produced by Spin El Poeta https://instagram.com/spinelpoeta,THE DOPE CONTENT https://instagram.com/thedopecontent ONE MIC EDUCATORS https://instagram.com/educatorsonemic   Supported by Canada Council for the Arts.