Lights dim, the mic turns on and speakers’ voices echo throughout art-filled rooms. This is Krannert Art Museum’s SPEAK Café, an open mic event that takes place on the first Thursday of each month.
On Thursday, KAM hosted its first open mic night of the academic year, welcoming students, staff and community members to share their art. According to the current leader of SPEAK, Shaya Robinson, SPEAK stands for song, poetry, expressions, art and knowledge.
Former University professor Will Patterson founded and ran the event over 20 years ago. Champaign-Urbana poet Shaya Robinson has led SPEAK for nearly 10 years and intends to preserve the event’s positive atmosphere.
“I think having a safe space for art is important,” Robinson said. “I tell people, from babies all the way up to 100-year-olds, we want to see everybody here at SPEAK, because the more we have, the more wisdom we have in the room.”
This inclusiveness allows Robinson to create a space that’s encouraging and supportive for attendees.
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“I could tell that every single person there, regardless of the style of their performance or how long it was, were all very passionate about both what they themselves were reading and very passionate listeners,” said Charlie Kaffer, SPEAK performer and freshman in LAS.
Members of the University aren’t the only people drawn to the open mic night, as many C-U residents can also be found watching and performing.
University alum Tahniya Imran hadn’t attended SPEAK during her time as a student, but visited for the first time after reading about the event online.
“This is a really good space for people who wanna write, sing songs or even just want to come watch and understand how other people express themselves,” Imran said.
SPEAK open mic night serves as an outlet for artists of all backgrounds to share their experiences and emotions. Those involved with the event value the creative environment it provides local artists.
“Seeing the resiliency of the artists in this community, and what they’re able to put out into this universe, it’s really, I think, brave to get on stage in front of a crowd full of people and be able to project your inner thoughts,” Robinson said.
For those who don’t want to perform, simply attending SPEAK can be a healing and beautiful experience.
“I have always loved spoken word, and it felt like my soul was healing when I was there; it was really wholesome and nice,” Irman said. “These are strangers. I have literally no idea about who they are, but then they share this, and it tells you so much about a part of them, and I think that’s beautiful.”
Irman isn’t alone in her feelings about spoken word, as performers like Kaffer also find this form of art to be very vulnerable and insightful.
While this was Kaffer’s first time participating in SPEAK, he is eager to return because of the environment Robinson and other attendees created. He also implores artists of all levels and mediums to attend these open mic nights for a safe space.
“Regardless of how rough or incomplete you think your work is, I promise that somebody there will see something in that work that you didn’t think they were going to,” Kaffer said. “It will grasp something in someone there in unexpected ways, and it will help you even if you don’t know it yet.”
Throughout the time SPEAK has been around, it has served as a creative outlet for artists of all ages and levels. It’s apparent that under Robinson’s lead, SPEAK will continue to be a safe space for all C-U residents.
For anyone wanting to attend SPEAK Café, the next event will take place on Nov. 6 at KAM from 6-7:30 p.m.
