Ross Gay & Angel Bat Dawid on Poetry

The Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago is a site for rigorous inquiry and exchange that encourages the examination of complex issues through the lens of art objects and artistic practice. Through strong community and scholarly partnerships, the Museum incorporates diverse ideas, identities, and experiences into its exhibitions and collections, academic initiatives, and public programming. The Smart first opened in 1974. Admission is always free.

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Poet Ross Gay and composer and multi-instrumentalist Angel Bat Dawid host an evening of creative exchange inspired by Alma Thomas.

Poet Ross Gay and composer and multi-instrumentalist Angel Bat Dawid host an evening of creative exchange inspired by the vibrant abstractions of Alma Thomas. Opening with a call-and-response, Gay will read a poem inspired by Thomas’s work, followed by Bat Dawid’s improvisational musical reply—an unfolding dialogue that moves between language, sound, and sensation. From this shared beginning, the artists will expand into conversation, reflecting on how Thomas’s use of color, pattern, and movement resonates across poetry and music, and how her work continues to shape contemporary practices rooted in joy, improvisation, and the natural world.

Ross Gay is the author of four books of poetry: Against Which; Bringing the Shovel Down; Be Holding, winner of the PEN American Literary Jean Stein Award; and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. In addition to his poetry, Ross has released three collections of essays—The Book of Delights was released in 2019 and was a New York Times bestseller; Inciting Joy was released in 2022, and his newest collection, The Book of (More) Delights was released in September of 2023.

Angel Bat Dawid (she, her, hers) is a Chicago-based composer, conductor, clarinetist, pianist, vocalist, DJ, and recording engineer with over 35 years of professional experience. A 2025 United States Artist Fellow and current Artist in Residence at Northwestern University’s Black Arts Consortium, Dawid is recognized as an Afrofuturist artist. Her practice utilizes speculative aesthetics and technology to bridge historical scholarship with contemporary production, documenting and advancing Black musical lineages.As a classical composer and conductor, Dawid specializes in large-scale works utilizing formal orchestration. Her 14-movement composition, The Souls of Black Folk Suite, premiered at the <a href="https://www.harristheaterchicago.org/angel-bat-dawid" title="https://www.harristheaterchicago.org/angel-bat-dawid" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Harris Theater</a> in 2026. This followed Blk Metropolis Apocalypse, a work commissioned by the string ensemble D-Composed and premiered at Theaster Gates’ Land School. Her expertise as a conductor is rooted in spontaneous composition, directing ensembles through complex arrangements that merge formal scores with improvisational rigor.Dawid’s technical proficiency in recording engineering and scoring is central to her work. She composed for Season 2 of Terence Nance’s HBO series, Random Acts of Flyness, and has scored for Adidas, independent films, and festivals. Her debut album, The Oracle—which she produced, performed, and engineered entirely herself—was released via <a href="https://www.intlanthem.com/artists/angel-bat-dawid" title="https://www.intlanthem.com/artists/angel-bat-dawid" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">International Anthem Recording Company</a> to critical acclaim from NPR, The Guardian, and DownBeat. She also produced and mixed the collaborative album Journey to Nabta Playa with interdisciplinary artist Naima Nefertari on Spiritmuse Records. Her collaborative credits include André 3000, Moor Mother, Lonnie Holley, Saul Williams, and Shabaka Hutchings; she has also maintained a five-year residency on <a href="https://www.nts.live/shows/angel-bat-dawid" title="https://www.nts.live/shows/angel-bat-dawid" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">NTS Radio</a> dedicated to Black music documentation.An established global performer, Dawid’s international tours have reached Europe, Japan, Brazil, and South Africa. Her history includes performances at <a href="https://www.carnegiehall.org/Explore/Articles/2022/02/18/Angel-Bat-Dawid" title="https://www.carnegiehall.org/Explore/Articles/2022/02/18/Angel-Bat-Dawid" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Carnegie Hall</a>, the Barbican Centre, Newport, and Montreal International Jazz Festivals, with a 2026 premiere at the Western Front Art Centre in Vancouver, BC.

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Ross Gay & Angel Bat Dawid on Poetry

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Ross Gay & Angel Bat Dawid on Poetry

More events from Smart Museum of Art

Discover more events from Smart Museum of Art, from Arts to other experiences you might love.

Family Day: Zooming in and Zine-ing Out: What Does Science Mean to You?

Tuesdays Together: Family Tours

Tuesdays Together: Family Smart Find

Friday Tour: Composing Color

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