Speak Freely | Poetry Writing with Amalia Ortiz

Looking for another way to express yourself? Whether you’re an aspiring poet, an experienced writer, or just looking to try something new, join us at the Contemporary for a poetry workshop. Acclaimed performer, playwright, and author Amalia Ortiz will lead attendees through writing exercises to create autobiographical poems of angst, heartbreak, and rebellion inspired by the music of their youth and the Mosh Now, Cry Later exhibition.

Educators can receive 1.5 hours of CPE credits for this program. For details contact our Education and Public Programs Manager at Juan@Contemporarysa.org

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required (below).

About the instructor
Amalia Ortiz is a Tejana spoken word performer, playwright, and author of 2 award-winning books of poetry. She was awarded the 2020 American Book Award for Oral Literature, and appeared on three seasons of  Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry on HBO and the NAACP Image Awards on FOX. She was awarded a City of San Antonio Individual Artist Grant and her band, Las Hijas de la Madre, were awarded a Democratizing Racial Justice Artist Residency from the Mellon Foundation to complete their new project Diatribas Punk. The band was awarded a Project Development Grant from Alternate Roots to record their album due out in summer 2025 She currently is in the Spring 2025 cohort of Music to Life’s Musician Changemaker Accelerator Academy. Amalia received her MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.