Manòn Voice is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, a multi-hyphenate–poet and writer, spoken word artist and filmmaker, actor, hip-hop emcee, educator, and community builder. The spirit of her work finds its niche at the intersection of arts and activism. She has performed on diverse stages across the country in the power of the word and has taught and facilitated writing and poetry workshops widely.
She has been a featured poet and performer in noteworthy Indianapolis productions such as “The Wake,” “Village Voices Notes from a Griot,” and “Nina High Priestess of Soul” with the Phoenix Rising Dance Company, “Where We Stand” with Summit Performance and “Ricky 3” with Indianapolis Shakespeare Company. Manòn Voice has performed alongside Broadway singer and actress Jennifer Holliday for Brothers United World AIDS Day, Indiana Poet Laureate Adrian Matejka, Artist and Songstress Opal Staples, International Poet and Philosopher David Whyte, and has opened for acts such as WNBA Championship basketball player Tamika Catchings and Judge Joe Mathis.
Her poetry has appeared in The Flying Island, The Indianapolis Review, The House Life Project: People + Property Series, Sidepiece Magazine, The World We Live(d) In Anthology, The Indianapolis Anthology, Questions for a Resilient Future, and Kinship: A World of Relations. She has been featured in publications such as Indy NUVO, The Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis Monthly, The Indianapolis Star, FAFCollective, Pattern Magazine, Sidepiece Magazine, and more.
Holding a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership, Manòn Voice is co-founder of Kindred Collective, LLC., which gives voice to equity through workshops and consulting. She is a board member of the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana, a private, non for profit organization whose mission is to ensure equal housing opportunities by eliminating housing discrimination through advocacy, enforcement, education, and outreach, and Indy Maven, a publication connecting women in central Indiana through storytelling and events. She is a teaching artist for Arts for Learning Indiana, where she utilizes poetry and spoken word to educate youth and young adults. She is trained in civic reflection and has facilitated the Powerful Conversations on Race series hosted by Spirit and Place community project.
In 2017, Manòn Voice was awarded the Power of Peace Award from the Peace Learning Center of Central Indiana. In 2018, Manòn received a nomination for the Pushcart Prize in Poetry. While collaborating in poetry and film, Manòn has been commissioned for projects by the Arts Council of Indianapolis, Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, Spirit and Place Festival, One America, Patchwork Indy, and more. She has received numerous awards for her 2021 Directorial Debut Film, Where They Drag The Boats.
In 2020, Manòn Voice was a featured Art and Soul artist with the Arts Council of Indianapolis; a recipient of the 2020 Robert D. Beckmann Jr. Emerging Artist Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis; the 2020 Activist in Residence for the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library Banned Books Week; and 2020 featured poet and speaker for Spirit and Place Festival Public Conversation. Manòn was a selected artist for the 2021 On-Ramp cohort with the Indiana Arts Commission; a 2021 Artist Building Community Fellow with Arts For Learning Indiana, and the 2022 Artistic Curator for WE CANN C.H.A.T. Black Table Talk. Additionally, Manòn is a Hip-Hop Music Instructor at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Contributions to HumansandNature.org:
- How We Get Over: A conversation with Sarah Jené and Jasmine Williams
Listen and read this conversation about loss, grief, and Southern Black community. - What are the lessons of loss?
A Questions for a Resilient Future series curated by Manòn Voice. - Belonging to Our Bodies
A response to the question, How do we create communities to which all of us can belong? - Time Capsule
A response to the question, What kind of ancestor do you want to be?
Noteworthy Links:
- Manòn Voice
Follow Manòn Voice’s work and find more of her poetry, performance, and art on her website.
