Yhane Smith
Project: Harlem Queen: an audio drama based on the life of Madame Stephanie St. Clair, "Numbers Queen" and patron of the Harlem Renaissance. Yhane Smith will continue her research on the Harlem Renaissance and the history of Harlem during the 1920s and 30s in order to write and produce more episodes of the audio drama, which will culminate in a live radio show performance of the series.
Smith is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, producer, folklorist, film festival founder, Bundles Community Scholar at Columbia University and nine time Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) grant recipient.
For nine years, Smith amplified the work of women filmmakers through her non-profit Chicks with Flicks Film Fest. She curated the film festival, garnered the local film and art community’s support and partnered with corporations such as Kodak and LMCC to showcase the work of independent women filmmakers.
In 2019, Smith independently produced and launched Harlem Queen, an audio drama based on Madame Stephanie St. Clair, “Numbers Queen” and patron of the Harlem Renaissance. Harlem Queen is listed as a Top Podcast on Apple Podcasts Fiction and on Discover Pods’ "14 Audio Drama Podcasts to Get You Hooked on Fiction." Harlem Queen recently made an appearance on the ABC primetime documentary, The Story of Soaps.
Smith's interest and research in folklore, music, and culture throughout the African diaspora has led her to travel to Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Jamaica, Sint Maarten, and the Lesser Antilles as well as England, Portugal, Italy, and France.
She was born in Hammonton, New Jersey, the “Blueberry Capital of the World," and now lives in Harlem.
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