This Is Not A Small Voice: A Poetry Workshop Series

Join Las Vegas Poet, Elle Hope, for a four-part poetry workshop series explores spoken word poetry as a tool for advocacy, healing, and community dialogue, drawing inspiration from the works of Gil Scott-Heron, The Last Poets, Sonia Sanchez, and Nikki Giovanni. Participants will study the art of spoken word and history of the Black Arts Movement while engaging in close reading, discussion, and guided writing exercises focused on rhythm, storytelling, and empowerment.

This workshop is open to all ages, backgrounds, and writing levels.

FREE, Donations Accepted

When: Feb. 5th, Feb. 12th, Feb. 19th, & Feb. 26th

Time: 6:00p - 7:30p

Where: Nuwu Art Gallery + Community Center

1331 S. Maryland Pkwy.

Las Vegas, NV 89104

Follow + Support: @ellehopew | @nuwuart

What was the Black Arts Movement?

The Black Arts Movement began—symbolically, at least—the day after Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965. The Black Arts, wrote poet Larry Neal, was “the aesthetic and spiritual sister of the Black Power concept.” As with that burgeoning political movement, the Black Arts Movement emphasized self-determination for Black people, a separate cultural existence for Black people on their own terms, and the beauty and goodness of being Black. Black Arts poets embodied these ideas in a defiantly Black poetic language that drew on Black musical forms, especially jazz; Black vernacular speech; African folklore; and radical experimentation with sound, spelling, and grammar. Despite its brief official existence, the movement created enduring institutions dedicated to promoting the work of Black artists, such as Chicago’s Third World Press and Detroit’s Broadside Press, as well as community theaters. It also created space for the Black artists who came afterward, especially rappers, slam poets, and those who explicity draw on the movement’s legacy.

Source: The Poetry Foundation

ABOUT ELLE HOPE: Elle Hope is a national touring interdisciplinary poet who writes about her culture, her body, and the many trials and tribulations of being a woman. In 2025, Hope received a writers fellowship to Martha’s Vineyard. That same year, she was a member of the Spotlight Poetry Slam Team and helped bring home the first-ever regional win for the city of Las Vegas at the Chicharra Regional Poetry Competition.

She has headlined major art festivals including the “Wave In” Festival by Black Mountain Institute and the Utah Arts Festival. Her work has been published by Nevada Humanities, The Beyond the Neon Anthology, Shout-out LA, the Unpopular Passion Podcast, and more. Her poetry has also been displayed in exhibitions across the country, including the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, The Living Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, and the HerStory exhibition in Los Angeles, CA. In 2024, she was a finalist in the Button Poetry Video Contest for her poem “God Bless America".

She has served as a guest presenter for Planned Parenthood’s Bans Off Our Bodies Rally and has performed her work at civic actions including the March 4 Your Voting Rights Rally, using poetry as a tool for political education, community mobilization, and collective care.

In addition to her performance work, Hope is an accomplished teaching artist. She has led writing and performance workshops regionally across the country, including in Reno, NV; Portland, OR; and New York City, NY, and is an official teaching artist partnered with the Nevada Arts Council.

Deeply committed to honoring and expanding her local literary community, Hope is the Founder and President of the Las Vegas–based nonprofit Spotlight Poetry. Through this work, she is the creator and host of a poetry-exclusive open mic and has mentored over a dozen poets while cultivating accessible, community-centered spaces for writers and performers. @ellehopew / @spotlightpoetrylv

ABOUT NUWU ART: The Nuwu Art + Activism Center is a POC-owned and operated space in Las Vegas, Nevada, that works to uplift all communities through strengthening cultural knowledge and identity through the arts, activism, and education. We advocate for the equity of our respective and collective communities through an ongoing process of decolonization and celebration of our rich cultural heritages. #decolonize

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