Omope Carter Daboiku

An award winning writer and teller of tales, Omope has been affiliated with the Ohio Arts Council as an Artist-in-Education since 1990 and was chosen for the Kentucky Art Council’s Artist Roster in 2006. She was among the first artists chosen for the Cincinnati Arts Association’s “Artists on Tour” program and is a regular teller for public libraries, museums, schools and other cultural organizations. Her company, Homeside Cultural Programming, specializes in writing arts-based academic and multicultural curriculum. As an actress, she received rave reviews for her portrayal of Bessie Coleman, an African American barnstorming flyer who predates Amelia Earhart. Television credits include “Dooley and Friends” (PBS, WCET/WCPO) and “Mountain Shadow: Four Appalachian Women Artists” (TV Image, Inc.); radio credits include NPR station WMMR (Whitesburg, KY): Place, Race, and Identity” and Seedtime on the Cumberland: “Memorial Day: Appalachian Ancestor Reverence Traditions” (Appalshop, 1998).

Omope and daughters are featured in the Urban Appalachian Council’s exhibit “Perceptions of Home: Urban Appalachians Today” Her writing is included in the traveling exhibit "Advice Dresses" and she served as writer, narrator, and assistant producer for Sonic Arts' production of narratives for the Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Publications include: "Up, Down and Around the Genealogy Tree", "Journey to Self", and "WCQN: Women of Color Quilters", presented at the Women of One World's conference "The Art of Survival" (Nuremburg, Germany, 1996) which profiled the textile art traditions of women from 25 national ethnicities; Omope's batik appears as the centerpiece of the quilt created at this conference for the United Nations Women's Conference in 1996. Awards and honors include: Civic Service to Cincinnati (2000), Appalachian Scholar -- American Folklore Association (2003); Appalachian Community Development Association Heritage Award (2003) and its Ernie Mynatt Award (2005).

ORIGINAL WORKS & ADAPTATIONS: Freedom Seekers: Underground Railroad Stories * Jack Tales * Br’er Rabbit & Friends * Anansi & Ijapa * Sojourner Truth, Suffragette * Bessie Coleman, Pioneer Flyer * Zora Neale Hurston, Folklorist * Confessions of a Black Hillbilly * I, too, Am An American Girl! WORKSHOPS & CIRCLES: Freedom Quilts: Rhymes and Patterns * Tableau Vivant: Bring Stories to Life * Storytelling – A Worldwide Tradition * Identity, Place, and Culture * Myth Making and Myth Keeping * Appalachia: A Diverse Population with a Common Culture * We’re All Kin Somehow * The Value of Tradition * Family Stories & Genealogy * The Pain & The Glory (‘Specially for Wimmin).

Each of the above can be conducted as a residency designed to meet the specific needs of your community. In addition, here are some that are book-based and have proven very successful for younger children.

Everybody Eats Rice – (Social Studies; grades 3-6) Using the book of the same name, elementary students explore: components of culture, how immigration impacts foodways, rice as global food staple, artifacts to expand geographic awareness, and learn the interviewing process to research and document a “preserved” family recipe. Can include food preparation, working with recipes as a math experience, and creating a classroom museum. Bessie Coleman: Daredevil Aviatrix -- (Literature, biography, theater; grades 3-6) Students are introduced to this early 20th century flyer who overcame great odds to live out her dreams. Well-illustrated trade books that use poetry and prose are read. Children draw while stories are told, then pictures are lined in sequential order as retelling exercise. Math is used to determine the passage of time. Elements of theater are introduced as students determine how to visually replicate the text and what actions are necessary for staging. Prop list is developed and children learn the process for Turning the Living Pages™. Class stages mimed performance with props and narrator.

I’m An Author/Illustrator! – (Literacy, book construction, creative process, grades 1-3) Students are introduced to book construction (turning from right to left), the creative process of illustration and cover design. We discuss how the cover design influences book choices and explore how books “work.” Then we look at the illustrations and project what the story might be. Students then listen to the story without seeing illustrations; afterwards, they re-tell as a group experience (story circle format). Using math language, directions are given for creating a small booklet from an 8.5x11 sheet of plain white paper and students are guided through the process or properly orienting their “book” and adding their tagline as author/illustrator. Opening the booklet properly, students illustrate their favorite part of the story inside. On the back cover, students will create publishing notes to complete their “book”.