Meet Christan Carter | Executive and Co-Artistic Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christan Carter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christan, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Djoli Kelen Inc. organization helps the community and the world in the following ways.

Cultural Preservation – We culturally preserve and promote Traditional African and Diasporic Cultural Arts through dance and drum engagements to ensure the continuation of rich traditions.

Educational Programs – We offer educational programs to teach about the African and Diasporic art forms to foster more cultural understanding.

Community Engagement – We actively engage with our local community through classes, workshops, and events creating opportunities for cultural exchanges and unity.

Youth Initiatives – We have youth focused initiatives that provide educational and artistic opportunities to develop skills and appreciation of our culture.

Collaboration – We collaborate with schools, organizations, and community groups to expand our reach and impact.

Inclusion – We strongly promote and encourage diversity and inclusion and celebrate our community’s cultural differences.

International Cultural Exchanges – We facilitate international cultural exchanges fostering a global understanding of and appreciation of African and Diasporic Dance, Music, History, and Cultural Arts.

These efforts collectively contribute to the enrichment of the community and the world by preserving cultural heritage, fostering education, and promoting unity and diversity.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I think that what sets me apart from others are the lessons from my teachers, elders, and predecessors I carry forward. For me, African and Diasporic culture, cultural education and exposure through dance, music, and history are languages that begin with love and service. Djoli Kelen Inc. was founded on the notion of love and service. We openly and lovingly engage and welcome all who are willing to learn. I am most proud of producing and facilitating Djoli Kelen Fest! After being and supporting the global African Dance and Drum Community in so many ways and gaining many years of experience in the field, it was only right to produce such and amazing, inclusive, and intentional festival.

In retrospect, I am here today professionally by trusting God and my ancestors to guide my steps. The work itself isn’t easy, but getting to where I am has been seamless. I’ve been able to overcome challenges by assessing what the bigger picture and larger impact would be.

There are so many lessons learned! The largest lesson I’ve learned is to love first and everything else will follow.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Funny, my family just visited. Thinking of what was important and where I took them, we went to Stone Mountain, it is a constant reminder of not only where we’ve come but how far we have to go. We ate at Bamba’s Cuisine, a Senegalese restaurant, Halal Pizza for African teas, pizza, and fish, and cooked a bunch of food. We visited a community dance class as well.

Food is the center of what I love to do. Outside of food and had more things been opened, I would have taken them to Yeye’s Botanica to visit the Orisha, to a couple waterfalls, and to the West End.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give a huge shout out to Djoli Kelen Inc. circle of elders, leaders, members, musicians, and supporters; More specifically, Sean and Mark Poret for holding down and being there consistently to support our music and music education; Shannon Byrd-Crossley for her vision and dedication to Djoli Kelen’s success as a Co-Founder/ Co-Artistic Director, and Kalah Byrd for stepping up, in, and sometimes over to ensure we are operationally successful. You all ROCK!!

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/djolikelen/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS4TK9ylbnaT0hwpXfT8Sxw