Cassendre Xavier

Cassendre will produce the 11th Black Women's Arts Festival (BWAF), which she created in 2003, to showcase multidisciplinary performances, visual arts, films, and workshops by black women, girls, and trans folks, as well as merchandise created or sold by black women and girls. Free and open to the public, this year's event aims to compensate participating artists, establish a group of dedicated volunteers for ongoing sustainability, and focus on artist entrepreneurship.

Cassendre identifies as a multi-media artist and writer. Her work focuses on visibility and helping others finds ways to produce and promote their art. Her desire to share her art, including the six CDs and four chapbooks she’s created in past three years, is in part due to her identity as a first-generation American and as a member of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans community, identities that are marginalized in this society. Her art is not just that of creating the art itself, but it is that of creating a community of artmakers, including those who do not identify as artists but create or want to create but have lacked venues for artmaking or simply thought it was impossible to do so. Cassendre believes “everyone has creative energy and should be encouraged to express that energy.” Because there is a lack of “for women” venues that are welcoming and inviting to members of the community to share art and witness the talent of women artists, she founded Philadelphia’s annual Black Women’s Art Festival. The Festival is a venue that showcases the talent of Philadelphia-based Black women visual, media, performance, literary, and spoken word artists. She also founded The Women’s Writing & Spoken Word Series at Robin’s Bookstore. She creates art to educate, comfort, inspire and build community.