Join comedian Nekia Hampton and special guest Sheila Gaskins for a true “happy hour” on using humor to help navigate life under lockdown.

Join Nekia Hampton and special guest Sheila Gaskins for a workshop on navigating life during quarantine while using humor to survive. In the workshop, Nekia will talk about ways laughter helps her get through the hardest days and offers tips to help others incorporate humor into their daily lives. Participants will also brainstorm what will replace the hug and the handshake in Baltimore and beyond in the post-quarantine world.

Nekia Hampton is a stand-up comedian, producer, and your newest best friend. Her anecdotal comedy has been described as refreshing, thought-provoking, silly, and inspirational. Born and raised in West Baltimore, one of her first memories was seeing her mom on stage making a crowd full of people laugh. Although those memories lasted in her head over the years, it wouldn’t be until she moved to Seattle that she would actually get on stage herself. She has recently returned home to Baltimore to bring laughter & light to her own community. In less than two years, she has performed on numerous stages around the country including at the NW Women’s Comedy Festival in Portland 2018 and the Black Girl Giggles Festival in New Orleans 2019.

Nekia also opened the stage for national headliners like Paul Elias (Conan), and Jared Fried (JTrain Podcast), Jackie Fabulous (America’s Got Talent), and Jordan Rock (Comedy Central, Netflix). She produced & headlined two wildly successful comedy shows, one in Seattle (Aug 2019) and one in Baltimore (Feb 2020) both sold out. Ms. Hampton doesn’t ask for permission in life. She feels the true meaning to life is being authentic and loving the skin you’re in. She lives out loud and suggests you do the same!

Sheila Gaskins is a teaching artist, activist, playwright, facilitator, stand-up comic, and healer. Sheila teaches in the Community Arts Program at MICA. She is a drama teacher at the Forbush School in Glyndon, where her special needs students performed 5 of her original stage productions. She is an experienced facilitator in the civic dialogue of the art of theater of the oppressed. She is the playwright and director of “The Last House Standing,” which premiered at the Arena Playhouse. Among other performance pieces, she has created “Surprise,” a birthday party for Trayvon Martin at the Transmodern Festival, and “Hired: Knot!” at the EMP Collective. Credits include, HBO’s “The Wire,” “BET Comicview,” and “The Salon.” Gaskins was recognized for her art activism in the Baltimore Sun’s “10 People Who Make Baltimore Better (2018).” She is one of the co-founders of “Artpartheid: Bridging the Gap of Disparities in the Baltimore Art Scene.”