The Mosaic Literary Conference fosters a collaborative space for individuals interested in literature, education, and the arts. Free Event.
This year’s event will explore how narratives of Black joy can serve as both resistance and renewal, expanding conversations around identity, creativity, and liberation while inviting writers, artists, and thinkers to engage joy as a critical force in shaping literary and cultural futures.
Friday, November 20, 2026: 6–8 PM
Saturday, November 21, 2026: noon–7 PM
Location: DREAM Charter School Mott Haven, 20 Bruckner Boulevard, The Bronx
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20
JOY HOUR
An evening of creativity, connection, and community celebrating Black joy through interactive workshops and shared experiences.
5:30 PM: Doors open and community gathering
6:00 PM: Workshop • Inheritance as a Verb: Joy, Memory, and Ancestral Healing
• Veronica AgardA reflective and creative workshop exploring how we receive and pass down joy through ancestral healing practices, oral history, and writing. Participants will consider themselves as future ancestors and explore how joy, love, and memory can become heirlooms for future generations.
7:00 PM: Workshop • A Piece of Joy
• Kleaver Cruz
You ever wish you could make a good feeling small enough it could fit in your pocket or somewhere close to you wherever you are? This workshop is intended for you to create a “piece of joy” that is tied to a short phrase to bring you some relief whenever you need it. No materials needed ahead of time, but feel free to bring a small item you love to enhance the experience!
7:45 PM: Closing and community time
8:00 PM: Event ends
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21
MOSAIC LITERARY CONFERENCE
The 19th Mosaic Literary Conference celebrates The Black Joy Project by Kleaver Cruz through literary conversations, creative workshops, performances, and community experiences exploring Black joy, cultural memory, healing, and collective liberation.
Host: Tio
Noon: Workshop • How to Like Your Friend Again!: Navigating Non-Linear Friendships
• Soil Sistas: Seyhandra Benjamin and Folake Aina
An interactive workshop exploring how to repair, reconnect, and navigate the natural changes in friendships. Drawing from personal experience and research-based strategies, participants will learn practical tools for conflict resolution, accountability, rebuilding trust, and sustaining meaningful relationships.
1:00 PM: Workshop • Making the Mundane Sacred: Black Joy, Movement & the Stories Our Bodies Carry
• Sabrina Frómeta
Rooted in African and Afro-Caribbean traditions of gathering, movement, and storytelling, this participatory workshop explores Black joy through everyday gestures. Through music, play, and improvisation, participants will transform ordinary movements into something sacred. No dance experience is necessary.
Noon–3:00 PM: COMMUNITY ACTIVATIONS
Complimentary Portrait Activation
Presented by: LR2 StudioGet a complimentary portrait taken by one of the Bronx's preeminent photography studios.
Sound Bowl Meditation
Facilitator: Charity Faye
Guided communal sound sessions inviting participants into moments of rest, reflection, and collective care.
3:00 PM: Panel • Addressing Quiet Loneliness: The Critical Key to Unlocking Joy
• Moderator: T. Francis
• Panelists: Donna Marie, Dalaeja Foreman, Candace Johnson, Tanya D. JonesThis panel explores how quiet loneliness creates barriers to communal joy and connection. Through storytelling, intimacy, play, mindset coaching, and self-defense, practitioners will share how they are building community and offer practical rituals for cultivating meaningful relationships.
4:00 PM: Panel • In Honor of June Jordan & Other Black Literary Ancestors
• Moderator: Trace DePass
• Panelists: Ehime Ora, Laney Jade, X Olamina, The UnGrateful Black Artist (UGBA), Marcus StokesFive writers and artists honor the Black literary ancestors who inspire their work while responding to June Jordan's teaching artist diary entries from nearly 60 years ago. Through poetry, storytelling, and conversation, the panel explores the enduring influence of Black literary traditions and the ways joy connects generations.
5:00 PM: Panel • Black Men Read: Turning the Page on Joy
• Moderator: Matteo J.
• Panelists: Leslie Buttaflysoul Taylor, Anthony “Da Kidd P.G.” Bagle, Clarence A. HaynesBlack men who write, edit, and read books come together to explore reading as a deliberate practice of joy, healing, and self-definition. The conversation examines how literature creates space for vulnerability, emotional well-being, personal growth, and meaningful community among Black men.
6:00 PM: The Black Joy Project: A Conversation with Kleaver Cruz
• Moderated by Branden JaneseJoin The Black Joy Project author Kleaver Cruz and writer and cultural curator Branden Janese for a conversation exploring Black joy as a practice of remembrance, resistance, and collective possibility. Drawing from the book's stories and images, the conversation examines how Black communities create, preserve, and celebrate joy through storytelling, cultural memory, and community.
7:00 PM: Conference closing
