My name is Janyce Denise Glasper. On the behalf of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Awam Amkpa, Manthia Diawara, and Cheryl Finley, I was selected as one of the speakers for Black Portraiture [III]: Reinventions Strains of Histories and Cultures-- held at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa come November. The Black Portraiture series features talks/panels on African diaspora in art, Afrofuturism, global art market, performance, dance, culture, history, etc. I will be presenting my thesis-- "Metaphoric Idiosyncrasies: A Fable in the Vine"-- a poetic piece about how growing up in a society where dominant culture-- whiteness-- is systematically implanted and brings great harm to the marginalized body into the "ugly duckling syndrome" quite early on in terms of self worth, beauty, and even art.

Black Portraitures is the seventh invitational to artists, scholars, and activists.

It has always been a dream of mine to visit Africa. The universe bettered my inhibitions with a granted opportunity of both seeing the ancestral continent in the flesh and sharing my art and words with its people. This is something never imagined, let alone realized.

I am raising funds in order to attend and present at this very prestigious conference and would greatly appreciate any given amount.

Thank you everyone and please please share!