Forklift Danceworks

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Forklift Danceworks Celebrating 25 years of activating communities through creative collaboration

That’s a wrap on our first National Convening on Community-Based Practice! Last week, 200 artists, cultural workers, sch...
09/30/2026

That’s a wrap on our first National Convening on Community-Based Practice!

Last week, 200 artists, cultural workers, scholars, civic leaders, and community practitioners from 30+ states—and a few countries beyond the U.S.—gathered in Austin for three days of conversation, connection, reflection, and shared learning.

From thoughtful conversations and lively panels to new connections made over meals, between sessions, and throughout the Thompson Center, we’re leaving this convening energized by the generosity, curiosity, and commitment in this community.

Thank you to everyone who traveled to Austin, shared your work and ideas, asked questions, listened deeply, and helped make this gathering possible. We’re grateful to have spent these days together—and excited to see where the conversations continue.

📸 Christan D. Nelson

Thank you to all of the partners and supporters who have helped make our National Convening on Community-Based Practice ...
09/24/2026

Thank you to all of the partners and supporters who have helped make our National Convening on Community-Based Practice possible! We could not have done this without you. 👏

How lucky are we to have Miriam Conner joining us this week as a presenter 🤩 Tonight we are kicking off with a welcome e...
09/23/2026

How lucky are we to have Miriam Conner joining us this week as a presenter 🤩 Tonight we are kicking off with a welcome event and tomorrow morning the convening sessions are in full swing!

Miriam Conner is the founder of Creative Policy, a firm recognized for its community-focused strategy that bridges policy-making and cultural engagement to achieve meaningful systems change. Additionally, she is the Immediate Past President of the Board of Preservation Austin, and she has previously served as a commissioner on the City of Austin’s African American Quality of Life Commission.

She has been organizing in the Austin Art community since 2008. She is also the Founder and CEO of the Cultural Land Trust of Texas, a community land trust protecting spaces from displacement across Central Texas, and works with Hearth and Ground, a cultural hospitality group in Central Texas.

“At the age of fifteen, I discovered what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I know not many people are sure about what they want to do by the age of thirty, much less by the age of fifteen, but I am very grateful to have found that particular passion that wakes me up in the morning and tucks me in at night. My life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness lie within art.”

This SOLD OUT Convening is bringing folks to Austin from all over the world — but we have to shout out our local folks t...
09/22/2026

This SOLD OUT Convening is bringing folks to Austin from all over the world — but we have to shout out our local folks taking the stage this week as presenters: Kenneth D Thompson Sr, Heidi Schmalbach, and Scott Morrow!

What a star studded line up of community-based practitioners! We're honored to have Michael Rohd and Ebony Noelle Golden...
09/17/2026

What a star studded line up of community-based practitioners! We're honored to have Michael Rohd and Ebony Noelle Golden join us for the National Convening. 🌟

Meet two more of the incredible aritsts and leaders in the field of Community-Based practice joining us in Austin next w...
09/16/2026

Meet two more of the incredible aritsts and leaders in the field of Community-Based practice joining us in Austin next week! Asif Majid and Stephanie McKee-Anderson.

We are so excited to welcome 200 artists from across the country (and internationally!) to Austin next week — including ...
09/15/2026

We are so excited to welcome 200 artists from across the country (and internationally!) to Austin next week — including the incomparable Jawole Willa Jo Zollar.

Learn more about Jawole and her work below.

Growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar earned her B.A. in dance from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and her M.F.A. in dance from Florida State University. In 1980 Jawole moved to New York City to study with Dianne McIntyre at Sounds in Motion. In 1984 Jawole founded Urban Bush Women (UBW) as a performance ensemble dedicated to exploring the use of cultural expression as a catalyst for social change.

In addition to creating over 34 works for Urban Bush Women, Zollar has created works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco, and many universities across the United States. She has recently worked as choreographer for Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of American Popular Music and Daniel Fish’s Most Happy in Concert. In 2023, Zollar was commissioned by Houston Grand Opera to direct and choreograph a new Jake Heggie opera, Intelligence.

Zollar has recently been awarded a 2021 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation fellow, the 2022 APAP Honors Award of Merit for Achievement in the Performing Arts and the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize. Recently Jawole has been named the recipient of the American Dance Festival 2024 Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for lifetime achievement.

Jaco is begging you to keep the joy going! 🐾 We’ve now reached over 40% of our Summer fundraising goal.For 25 years, For...
09/14/2026

Jaco is begging you to keep the joy going! 🐾 We’ve now reached over 40% of our Summer fundraising goal.

For 25 years, Forklift has been built by people saying yes—yes to an unusual idea, yes to trying something new, yes to seeing everyday work as extraordinary.

And you don’t need to make a huge gift to be part of it!

Join our community of supporters, and say "yes" with a donation today! https://secure.qgiv.com/for/sum202cam/

We’re still looking for some friendly faces to help with The National Convening on Community-Based Practice Sep 23-25. T...
09/10/2026

We’re still looking for some friendly faces to help with The National Convening on Community-Based Practice Sep 23-25. This event will bring nearly 200 attendees, joining from across the country to UT Austin’s Campus, with a welcome event Wednesday evening at The Vortex Theatre Butterfly Bar.

Link to sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0544AAA723A5FBC43-65521867-volunteer #/

Contact [email protected] for additional information.

It’s time for some more presenter spotlights!This fall, Mark Valdez and Marty Pottenger will join us for the National Co...
08/06/2026

It’s time for some more presenter spotlights!

This fall, Mark Valdez and Marty Pottenger will join us for the National Convening on Community-Based Practice. You may even catch these two visionaries on a panel together. Join us in September to explore what community-based practice can teach us about building trust, navigating difference, and creating lasting civic impact through the arts.

👉 Click thru to learn more about our presenters.

🔗 Limited space available! Registration is open: https://www.forkliftdanceworks.org/projects/national-convening-on-community-based-practice/

Address

2401 East 6th Street; STE 3037/151
Austin, TX
78702

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