Exploring the theme of revolutionary love is integral, according to artist and curator Myah Jackson. She’s bringing her traveling artist showcase, themed “Black Revolutionary Love,” to Chicago this month.
The one-day live event will take place on the West Side at 1900 W. Jackson Blvd. at Malcolm X College on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, to honor “the connection between love and Black History Month,” Jackson explained. It will highlight local talent and live performances.
Tickets for the showcase range from $15 to $45, and can be purchased on the website. Artists interested in participating in the showcase also can apply on the site. Upon being chosen, participants then workshop with other artists for the show’s theme. Artists are also allowed to do a freeform piece as part of the “open mic” session.
“[Malcolm X College] just perfectly aligned with the revolutionary love theme, honestly, which I’m so excited about, especially at this time,” Jackson said.
Through her nonprofit, My First Love’s Artist Cafe, Jackson uses artists’ cafes — which are typically reserved for the visual arts — as an inspiration for her showcase. Jackson said she sees art as igniting conversations.
Although she chose the show’s theme of revolutionary love before the election of President Donald Trump, Jackson said that she couldn’t think of a better topic for people to be a part of during this current political moment.
“Especially during Black History Month, especially on Valentine’s Day, which I think can be commercialized to be a little bit more romantic. Romance is more than just intimacy with a partner. And I think the cafe really does that work of exploring romance,” Jackson said. “Romance is just something that you were not expecting, that pleases you or provides pleasure in any kind of moment, and the cafe is all about [being] in the moment.”
Growing up playing golf, Jackson shifted her career path to arts and storytelling after experiencing a sports injury in high school. A Bronzeville native, Jackson moved to Nashville in 2018 to attend Tennessee State University for undergrad. There, she was welcomed into the local theater community.
“I started doing theater, and I’d always kind of been a writer, but I think being a part of the process of bringing stories to life just took it to a different level,” Jackson said. “Once I started acting and sharing stories with people and connecting with people in the arts, it was like, OK, I think I know this is something I’ve got to do.”
After securing the opportunity to produce an original show at a local theater in Nashville, Jackson said the experience allowed her to see the business side of the arts, using that to propel her to pursue her master’s degree in business while continuing to work closely with Nashville’s local theaters.
Along with her passion for storytelling and performance, the birth of My First Love’s Artist Cafe nonprofit came out of a special connection Jackson made during her senior year of college when she met Norel Kaleb McAdoo, who she describes as her first love.
“My senior year of college, I also fell in love for the first time. It was a very interesting experience trying to balance graduating with two degrees and producing my first original show and still performing,” Jackson said. “We bonded and we spent a lot of time together, and before we knew it, we were kind of the closest people to each other at a really vulnerable time for both of us. Eventually, he became a really strong, safe space for my creative kind of thoughts and development.”
Tragically, Jackson lost the love of her life last January. McAdoo passed away in a car accident.
“It’s something to wake up and find out someone — who had such a profound impact on you — was gone overnight. It gives you a lot of perspective,” Jackson said.
In honor of McAdoo and their artistic connection, Jackson hosted the first-ever showcase for My First Love’s Artist Cafe in Nashville on Oct. 27 — on what would have been McAdoo’s 25th birthday. Jackson said the artist cafe is a continuation of events McAdoo would host as part of his studio SIMO (Step Into My Office).
“He kind of started these open mic nights and created a community there, which is so vibrant and still going,” she said. “Seeing something like this come to life is something I can’t really even put into words.”
Jackson will take the traveling artist cafe to Washington D.C. in May followed by Los Angeles in October.
“This work has been really healing for me as I try to process something that really is unprocessable,” Jackson said about her work and coping with the loss of McAdoo. “But I think through this work, we keep love alive and that’s a really beautiful thing and a really necessary thing.”
