Art Studio Student Joanna Wheeldin brings her Creative Writing to African American Writers Event
On Feb. 21 at 5 p.m., African American writers of Sonoma County presented an evening of diverse readings at the Museum of Sonoma County in Downtown Santa Rosa. Dr. Andrea Hall spoke about Metaphysical Love Stories. N’Game’ Gray shared through Neo Soul Poetry. Morris Abashe’ Turner vocalized stories with Flash Memoir. Poet Laureate Enid Pickett delivered Free Verse Poetry, and SSU student Joanna Wheeldin performed Theatrical Fiction.
This first annual event of readings was in conjunction with the ongoing exhibit in the Museum of Sonoma County Take Me to the Water: Histories of the Black Pacific, available until March 22, 2026. The focus of the exhibit, curated by Dr. Caroline Collins, is to recenter the relationship between Blackness, water, and ships. From 16th century surfers to WWII soldiers, Black contributions to society and the economy are put on the forefront. Honoring the legacy of Black communities in the Bay Area, the exhibit also follows the Second Great Migration from the South to the North Bay.
In addition to her studies of 2-D studio art, Joanna Wheeldin is a creative writer and community organizer for the Freedom Festival, a local movement founded by Dr. Raquell Holmes. Celebrated from Juneteenth until the Fourth of July, the mission of the Freedom Festival is to create opportunities for people of all walks of life to invite one another to experience, celebrate and advance what freedom and independence means to them. Joanna has been working with Freedomistas like Enid Pickett to create events that celebrate Freedom. Enid Pickett, playwright of Juneteenth and Poet Laureate for Healdsburg Jazz, invited Joanna to the African American Writers event to contribute her voice as a young, mixed-race African American woman.
Joanna Wheeldin's work is a Theatrical Fiction titled "Oralephemora." Performed as a duologue, this script-like fiction explores a multi-generational conversation around African identity, the relationship between freedom and language, and what it means to experience the "now." "Oralephemora" was published in Joanna's first collection of writing titled "Self ≈ Other" available now on her website joannasprintsandposters.com. For more information about the event, check out the article in The Community Voice. Special thanks to Morris Turner, the Sonoma County Museum, Nubridges Youth Collaborative, Petaluma Blacks for Community Development, Sonoma County Black Chamber of Commerce, and the Nubian Café Collective.
Written by Joanna Wheeldin