Gigi McGraw

• Website: https://1cupofcoffeeconversationbooksprojects.wordpress.com/

Gigi McGraw is a performance artist, writer, maker, and public speaker who has her Master’s Degree in theater from Villanova University. She resides in Philadelphia where she is developing several plays, projects, and books that combine performance and history. Currently, Gigi is creating a series of projects that document Philadelphia’s hyperlocal histories. Her 2018 play, “Letters to Aunt Hattie” focused on the Philadelphia-based Forten and Purvis families of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Both were affluent, African-American families living in Philadelphia. They played an important role as educators, abolitionists, and first-generation activists for women’s rights. Gigi wishes to continue their stories, as well as, the countless others detailing the lives of people of color.

Gigi strongly believes that social practice art, that is- art that focuses on engagement through human interaction and social discourse, is impactful because it entertains, as well as, educates. This form of art can be used as a positive catalyst for change. Gigi is fascinated with the life stories of individuals; a concept which is best exemplified by the Federal Writers’ Project of the 1930s, that recorded the narratives of the formerly enslaved. Gigi’s artistic repertoire ranges from local storytelling to international collaborations.