Story Parlor (227 Haywood Road), announced today that Meta Commerse will be the next artist-in-residence for its Story/Arts Residency Program. Story Parlor’s residencies exist to champion the creative work of locally-based artists and art groups hailing from BIPOC, LGTBQIA+, and other historically marginalized communities in the quest to amplify and bridge together the diverse fabric of voices in Asheville. Following a successful launch of the Story/Arts program in July, the residency reconvenes next
month with Meta Commerse presenting a two-part creative investigation of resistance, healing, and finding voice through the power of story. The first iteration will be a one-woman-show on Thursday, November 3, which will involve an interweaving of monologue, music, images, movement, and selected excerpts from her memoir, Womaning. The second, on Thursday, November 17, will feature an interactive "Story as Legacy" workshop, which will explore the African proverb, "Each time an elder dies, it is as if a library has burned" in an intentional, conscious way.

 
Both the performance and workshop will be held at Story Parlor on Thursday, November 3 and 17 at 7:00pm, with tickets available on a “pay what you can” sliding scale. Meta Commerse is a word medicine woman and black boomer whose artistic home is rooted in stories and poems. She is an author of five books and founder and CEO of Story Medicine Worldwide, based in Asheville. For the past 30 years, she has planted her story medicine in communities through healing experiences designed to awaken and inspire her students. Commerse says, “I am honored to serve in and through this residency, demonstrating the living results of this work. I am grateful to Story Parlor for the opportunity to share my medicine with ourcommunity in new ways.”
As an artist-in-resident, Commerse will receive dedicated rehearsal time in the space; an artist stipend; creativity coaching sessions; marketing and promotion; professional headshots; and more. Applications for the next Story/Arts residency will open in January 2023. Tickets and more details are available at https://storyparloravl.com/storyarts-residencies .

Located at 227 Haywood Road in West Asheville, Story Parlor is a community-driven cooperative arts venue. Committed to impacting positive change through the transformative power of storytelling through all art mediums, Story Parlor champions the narrative artists of Western North Carolina through events, classes, community building, and advocacy.  More info can be found at www.storyparloravl.com.