Alixa and Naima, the soul-sister duo known collectively as Climbing PoeTree, will perform poetic excerpts and share stories and inspiration from their groundbreaking tour Hurricane Season: the hidden messages in water. The event includes a multi-media show to merge performance with activism.

“ART is our WEAPON, our MEDICINE, our VOICE, our VISION” will begin at 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21 in the South Rec Room of the Allen Hall residence at 1005 W. Gregory in Urbana. The performance is free and open to the public.

The sister duo resides in Brooklyn, with roots in Haiti and Colombia. Climbing PoeTree has self-organized five independent tours across the country and the globe, along with artists Erykah Badu, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, Danny Glover, Jessica Care Moore, The Last Poets, and Dead Prez.

By using art to expose injustice, Climbing PoeTree hopes to heal those affected by violence and to make a better future visible, immediate, and irresistible.