In Our Own Words: Aku Kadogo, chair of Spelman’s department of theater

Aku Kadogo is a director, performer, choreographer, cultural archivist and chair of the department of theater and performance at Spelman College. (Photo by Juno Gemes)

It’s been an interesting two weeks because there have been a lot of losses in my world. One was the arts critic Greg Tate, whom I absolutely relied on as a barometer. He leaves a big hole in our arts community. We also lost the scholar Robert Farris Thompson. His book Flash of the Spirit is one of my go-to books. What was kind of uncanny, I brought his book into my directing class last semester and told my students, everyone needs to read it.

With those losses and a couple of personal losses, I’m reminded of what’s important. I’m currently in Detroit with my mother, who is 88 years young, an extraordinary woman, a quilt maker. Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day and I decided to go for a walk in my favorite childhood place called Belle Isle. It’s one of our sacred sites in Detroit. When I was walking, I realized that five generations of my family have walked in that park. My grandfather took me there when I was a little girl, and my mother and I have taken my daughter and granddaughter there. It was a sunny, cold day and I really savored the walk, the sunshine and the memories. I had a little grief on my heart but I also felt so alive in that moment. Really alive.

I sometimes wonder what is the next thing for me as an artist. I am in a bit of a fallow period; it’s a time of turning the soil over, of thinking about what to do next. With Covid, you have to get rid of the fear factor. Fear is not useful. Practicality and mindfulness, yes. I want to lean all the way into aliveness in the New Year. That means hurting sometimes, crying sometimes, and that’s okay.