RWMF Poster Artist: Micah Blacklight
As past Rogue World Music Festival attendees know, there is A LOT going on in the RWMF experience. Workshops, concerts, storytelling, dance. A number of different events all happening at different venues, all of which are for all ages. All of which for those who are world music aficionados, those who don’t know what the term ‘world music’ means, and everyone in between. Through it all runs the thread of building community and cultural connections through shared experience. It’s a lot to get across. Especially now that festival events are distributed between the communities of Medford, Talent, and Ashland, Oregon.
Enter Micah Blacklight, the artist behind the 2023 and 2024 RWMF poster artwork. Based in Ashland and hailing from Brooklyn, Micah is a multi-media, multi-dimensional artist , illustrator, author, dancer, graphic designer, fashion designer, motivational speaker, performance poet/mc, vocalist, Empowerment Coach and Inspiration Engine.
“As the festival began expanding, we knew that we needed folks’ eyes to be captured, their attention GRABBED by the image, and trust to trust that they would have fun. We wanted to work with a variety of different artists, showcasing original artwork that captured the essence of the artist’s interpretation of the power of music in action. After working with Micah in 2023, we realized that each artist has so much to say and explore. His conceptualizing really emphasized that we need to work with artists in terms of a series instead of a stand alone visual offering.” -Ana Byers, Rogue World Music Executive Director.
“This is all hugely exciting for me especially considering the particular moment I find myself in my artistic career. I’ve got to say that the collaborative working relationship I have developed and cultivated with RWM has been incredibly uplifting to me as a professional artist and hugely beneficial to my process. I am thrilled to be working with them over the long-term as our visions tend to align in many ways and I get to do what I feel is meaningful work while being able to keep my style and aesthetics interwoven throughout." - Micah Blacklight.
Each image is the result of consultation conversations/brainstorming sessions about potential visuals to represent aspects of musicality, nature, movement, emotion, the Southern Oregon region, etc. All sorts of visual iconography taken into account: from potential misconstruing of communicated symbolism to origins of specific plants, the inclusion of different body types, age ranges and cultural representation. This is balanced with the notion of welcoming people in, inviting them in to the festival experience with the art in a way that speaks to larger groups of people than may have traditionally been spoken to.
“It is an incredible honor to be involved in all of these things, while simultaneously knowing my work is the principle imagery welcoming people into a festival exposing audiences to a wealth of music and lore and storytelling from all over the world. I could not be happier partnering with an organization and I hope to be working with them for a long time to come!” - Micah Blacklight.
Micah’s work ranges far beyond his projects with RWM. He’s the lead artist on a tiny team of people working to procure funding for the fabrication of Ancestor’s Future: Crystallizing Their Call, a permanent public art installation slated to be installed in Ashland Creek Park upon completion.
Ancestor’s Future: Crystallizing Their Call concept art
He’s also the newest teacher of the boys version of a puberty/adolescence education program called Body Basics and Beyond for 6-8th grades; a mentor to several youth across the country; a part-time art teacher at the Siskiyou School in Ashland; and is working with BASE (Black Alliance and Social Empowerment of) Southern Oregon as an artist on an upcoming empowering children’s book. Micah’s full range of offerings can be found on his website, and folks can stay up to date on his most-current shows and offerings via his Facebook or Instagram.