At a complicated time in our history, when the news can be polarizing and narratives are frequently weaponized, Emmy Award–winning artist Jon Boogz (who was last here celebrating Juneteenth in 2025) and Time magazine–featured storytelling activist Mohsin Mohi Ud Din are coming together, in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCASB), to bring Santa Barbara an immersive community gathering and performance exploring how communication and storytelling shape our mental health and human rights.
The free event — which takes place on Sunday, February 15, 2-4 p.m., at the museum in Paseo Nuevo — is a storytelling ceremony with live dance, spoken word, and guided storytelling activities from Boogz and Mohsin, who is the founder of #MeWe International Inc. (#MeWeIntl), a global nonprofit that builds communications and storytelling interventions for psychological well-being, leadership development, and community engagement. He leads a global network of artists, program developers, community facilitators, and scientists who for more than 10 years, across 15 countries, innovate communications interventions that enable individuals to transform themselves so that they can transform the world.
His work has reached thousands of people across more than 12 countries, beginning with his Fulbright Scholarship in 2010, and he has been a featured speaker at the World Economic Forum, United Nations, MIT, and TEDx, and his work on #MeWeSyria has been published on UNHCR Innovation, Vice, and Al Jazeera.
Boogz, who was in town for a UCSB Arts & Lectures residency with his frequent collaborator Lil Buck (see the Independent’s 2024 cover story here), is a groundbreaking force in the global dance community. Renowned for his visionary storytelling through movement, Boogz is on a mission to shift perceptions of dance as a powerful narrative tool across film, theater, and fashion. He made history as the first African American street-dance choreographer to win an Emmy for his work on Lionsgate/Starz’s Blindspotting. He is currently directing and writing his first feature film with Spike Jonze as executive producer, developing a Broadway show, and developing a dance-driven action-adventure TV series with Anonymous Content.
In addition to live performances and activities, both featured artists will screen short films and lead participants through interactive and communal storytelling and healing practices. A Q&A on the role of art and mental health will follow the gathering. This panel will also include insights from For Freedoms (a nonprofit organization that works to deepen civic engagement through the arts) cofounder Michelle Woo.
This Stories Are Living Things (SALT) event is funded by and part of #MeWe International’s storytelling and community health series. To RSVP, please email hello@mcasantabarbara.org, space is limited.
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