BOOM presents a live action, spiritual diorama historical diagram of afro-futuristic existence. This physical theater work provides a look into Street Deities and their relationships to the lineage of diasporic people, how spirituality and culture helps people make sense of their lives and how to create their own cosmology. Audiences will witness the creation of a #blacklivesmatter #shrine after traveling through #blackpower portals. Portals that provide a space where marginalized voices can respond to corporate white supremacist efforts of gentrification, erasure and appropriation.

The 2016 iteration of If I Die I Am A Legend: A Tale of Orisha, Hoodoo and #BlackLivesMatter was the Fringe Festival's Selke Award for Best in Show.

BOOM Concepts is a community organization created for the expansion of activity for artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs who have common interest. BOOM Concepts is a creative hub dedicated to the advancement of black and brown artists representing marginalized communities. BOOM Concepts is located in Pittsburgh and over the course of time has curated 50 exhibitions on-site, paid out over $45k in artists and contract fees and produced 200+ events across the country. BOOM serves as a space for field building, knowledge sharing, mentorship, and storytelling.

D.S. Kinsel is an award winning creative entrepreneur and cultural agitator. He expresses his creativity through the mediums of painting, window display, installation, curating, action-painting, non-traditional performance and #HASHTAGS. Kinsel’s work puts focus on themes of space keeping, urban tradition, hip-hop, informalism and Cultural Re-Appropriation. D.S. is the co-founder of BOOM Concepts, founded in 2014.

Pittsburgh native, ANQWENIQUE is a versatile vocalist and educator specializing in opera, classical music, jazz and soul. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Voice Performance from Indiana University of PA. Anqwenique is the founder and director of Groove Aesthetic, a Pittsburgh based multidisciplinary artist collective experimenting with contemporary performance and collaborative processes. Currently she serves as Education Director of Pittsburgh Festival Opera. She is also the Studio Manager of BOOM Concepts.

Julie Mallis is a multimedia artist, VJ and educator working with digital media, paint, installation, performance, sound and audience interaction. Their work focuses on building community, audio-visual experiences, speaking truth to power, and imagining new landscapes. Mallis has exhibited, performed and curated work across the United States including at The Andy Warhol Museum, The Carnegie Museum of Art, The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and many more. Mallis has a joint degree in Studio Art with a concentration in Electronic Time-Based Media and in Cultural Anthropology from CMU.

The Show Must Go On(line) is made possible thanks to generous support from the Benter Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, the Opportunity Fund, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and an Anonymous Foundation.

If I Die I Am A Legend, presented by BOOM Concepts