ABOUT
Space Is The Place
Blackspace is a digital makerspace. We offer Black and Brown youth (Afronauts) a breathing space to manifest their dreams. At Blackspace, we gather community through digital and arts-based WokeShops, African-centered events & rituals and by producing creative storytelling projects. At Blackspace, we harness Dark Energy to nurture the Black Whole.
Since 2014, Blackspace has offered teens free programming rooted in Afrofuturism, including poetry, coding, puppetry, 3D printing, animation, beat making, rap, photography, DJing and consent culture. We’ve taken your kids to Detroit for the Allied Media Conference, to San Fransisco for Brave New Voices and to DC for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Your kids have produced albums, short films and concerts. Become a sustainer and help us build on this foundation!
Here is our Black Is statement, designed by Alison Hawkins.
Our Beloved, Late Executive Director
Kevin Joshua “Rowdy” Rowsey II (1992-2024)
Kevin Joshua “Rowdy” Rowsey II was a National Recording Artist, Record Executive, Educator and PhD candidate based in North Carolina. Rowdy was the Executive Director of the Afrofuturist Teen Center Blackspace. He co-founded the Grammy-nominated record label Only Us. Rowdy was a Hip Hop Ambassador through the U.S. Department of State and the Next Level Hip Hop Program, and rocked stages and classrooms from Mexico to the Cherokee Nation. Rowdy was featured on BET, NPR, PBS Kids, and gave a TEDX talk on the importance of Hip Hop Culture. Rowdy was part of the national collective No9to5 Music, and played with the live Jazz Band (J) Rowdy & The Night Shift which was nominated for a 2017 Carolina Music Award. Rowdy was the founder of two triangle area cyphers – The UNC Cypher (UNC-CH) and the Med City Cypher (Downtown Durham). Rowdy earned his BA from UNC Chapel Hill and his Masters of Arts in Teaching from UNC Greensboro. His mission was to spread southern hip hop at a national and international level through performance, writing and educational workshops and inspiring the culture through the craft.
Meet our Founder + Chief Dreamer
Pierce Freelon
Pierce Freelon is a GRAMMY® nominated artist, picture book author and podcaster. His GRAMMY® nominated children’s music albums AnceStars (2023) and Black to the Future (2021) have been featured on NPR, Billboard and Today Show. Pierce is the author of two children’s picture books with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers: Daddy and Me: Side by Side (2023) and Daddy-Daughter Day (2022). He is co-creator of the PBS Kids podcast Jamming on the Job and is the voice of its star Beat-master BoomBox! Pierce is a Dad to two creative and hilarious kids, loves reading Octavia Butler books with his wife of 16 years, and aspires to dunk a basketball with two hands as a 40-year-old.
Freelon founded Blackspace in 2014 after traveling the world, teaching kids music production through Beat Making Lab. He wanted to build a space for youth in his community to find radical Black creativity, visionary storytelling and emerging technology, “by any medium necessary” (MK Asante).
Meet our Mother Board
Pictured (left to right) Kevin “Rowdy” Rowsey (Executive Director *not on the board*); Dr. Brittney Coifed-Poole; Pierce Freelon; Dr. Margaret Brunson; Reginald “Rem” Morin; and (not pictured) Jess Vanhook. Blackspace’s Mother Board is an advisory board that sets a strategic vision for the organization, chooses which WokeShops we offer, and helps nurture our breathing space for teens.