IS SAID

Author, mentor, community-based activist and educator, Is Said provides sage leadership on a national level as well as in the greater Columbus arts community. He conceives, stages, writes, and performs unique multimedia arts events, combining visionary, historical-based poetry or prose synergistically with high-energy African music and dance. Founding the Columbus-based “Advance Party” in 1973, he brings to life a powerful, spiritual vision to inspire, inform, and empower diverse audiences. With an inclusive multicultural approach, Is Said serves formally and informally as consultant to many arts agencies and individuals, seeking his wisdom born of a lifetime of community experience. He shares his expertise with school age or homeless youth, growing artists, and senior citizens, conducting educational workshops fostering literacy, creativity, performance skills and, most importantly, self-awareness.  Is Said received the King Arts Complex 24th Annual Legends & Legacies Award in 2011.  Is Said was also inducted into the Lincoln Theater Hall of Fame on July 31, 2021.