A Celebration of Deaf Culture featuring Raymond Antrobus and Ian Brennan

In celebration of Deaf Awareness Month, the GRAMMY Museum is thrilled to welcome award-winning Jamaican British Poet and Spoken Word Artist Raymond Antrobus and GRAMMY-Award-winning producer and author Ian Brennan to the Museum’s Clive Davis Theater. The free afternoon program will feature a discussion and performance highlighting Raymond’s recently released album, Another Noise, (which was produced by Brennan and is a collaboration with Evelyn Glennie, who is the only deaf musician ever to win a Grammy— which she has done twice along with five other nominations), and Brennan’s latest book, Missing Music: Voices from Where the Dirt Roads End. The program will be moderated by Schyler O’Neal, the GRAMMY Museum’s Senior Manager, Education & Community Engagement.

Antrobus, a Ted Hughes Award winner, often tackles the struggles faced by deaf individuals as well as the racism encountered by the son of a Jamaican immigrant father through his work. Only 37 years old, Antrobus has been elected a Fellow in the Royal Society of Literature (RSL) and holds a master’s degree in Spoken Word from the University of London. In 2021, Antrobus was awarded an MBE title for his service to literature. He’s also written books, including The Perseverance, which was lauded as the Poetry Book of the Year by two renowned newspapers, and Can Bears Ski?, an illustrated children’s book which details his experience as a deaf child.

Ian Brennan, a GRAMMY-winning producer (Tinariwen, Zomba Prison Project, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott) has worked with a diverse array of artists, including Fugazi, Merle Haggard, Sleater-Kinney, and John Waters. Since 201o, Brennan has produced over forty records by international artists from five continents, resulting in the first widely released original music from many nations. His work has been featured in the New York Times, PBS television, CNN Live, and in an Emmy-winning segment of “60 Minutes.” Brennan’s only sister was born with Down Syndrome, single-sided deafness, and is non-ambulatory. His grandmother, mother, and two of his mother’s three siblings experienced hereditary hearing loss, which in two of their cases led to deafness.

Live ASL interpretation will be provided. 

Check-in: 12:00 pm

Program: 12:30 pm