PHOTO COURTESY OF SSF

Miami, Fla. – A She Votes panel and how women change and impact the world are highlights of the thought-provoking programming being presented during the Spoke Soul Festival (SSF).

The annual event helps advance the careers of a variety of women artists, including poets, fine artists, photographers, filmmakers, and designers. The festival also gives talented female performing artists and craftswomen from South Florida a free venue to showcase their talents

The She Votes panel, challenging the narrative of the commemoration of the 19th Amendment and the role Florida played in the suffrage movement, kicks off the events March 19, 3 p.m. at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, Peacock Education Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, in partnership with the Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator (DVACI), and WomenArts. Free and open to the public, the event requires RSVP at education@arshtcenter.org.

The opening night reception also will take place on March 19, from 5-7 p.m., and open the exhibition, “A Woman Speaking to Women: The Political Art of Nina Allender.” Allender is considered one of the most significant political artists who captured the struggle for women’s rights as it happened, providing a unique window into the intense chapter in women’s history. Rosie GordonWallace curated the exhibition.

Spoken Soul INReach Day will host middle and high school students, teen museum groups to have a guided tour of the exhibition on March 20, from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Attendees will participate in arts activities to create poetry and art work that would reflect a modern-day Miami suffrage movement. The results will be featured at the SSF showcase.

The main event, Spoken Soul Showcase Vol. 13 – SWAN Day Miami, March 21, 7-9 p.m., will spotlight 10 South Florida women artists through a free and open to the public showcase at the Peacock Foundation Studio of the Arsht Center. The selected artists will present new interdisciplinary and collaborative commissioned works based on the theme “The Women’s Right To Vote.” With an Artist Meet & Greet after party, 9-10 p.m. Free and open to the public, requires RSVP at arshtcenter.org

Spoken Soul’s Vanessa Baez Memorial Women’s Brunch, March 22, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., is the festival’s fun and fabulous fundraising event. This year’s guest speaker is State Rep. Dotie Joseph, hosted at BRAVA by Brad Kilgore at the Arsht Center. She will speak on her personal story and the 100th anniversary of the women’s right to vote. Tickets $80-$125 available at spokensoulfestival.com. The free and open public exhibition, 3-5 p.m. requires RSVP at education@arshtcenter.org.

At the Spoken Soul Festival closing event, Spoken Soul’s She Talks: A Review of Women Artists Affiliated with Florida, March 31, 6:30-8 p.m., fine art and furniture appraiser Celeste Davis will present a history of select women artists associated with Florida and how the women’s right to vote has led to the success of women artists. RSVP at education@arshtcenter.org.

“Now more than ever, a women’s voice is not only important but needed,” said Deborah Magdalena, Spoken Soul Festival founder and director.

Visit spokensoulfestival.com or arshtcenter.org for other information.