Biography

Three-time Boston Music Award-winning Spoken Word artist Amanda Shea is a Black, queer creative at the intersection of poetry, music, social justice, and culture. WBUR lauds her EP God, Again as “bridging the gap between poetry and music,” seamlessly blending spoken word with genres like hip-hop, rap, rock, opera, jazz, R&B, and contemporary sounds. With work featured in the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, The Boston Globe, TEDx, Netflix, Prime Video, BBC News, and GBH, Shea’s voice honors African and Puerto Rican oral traditions, while pushing the boundaries of what poetry can be—and who can access it. Her art reflects her personal life, explores social justice issues, and serves as a tool for healing through trauma.

Described by Boston Globe culture columnist Jeneé Osterheldt as a “connector of creativity and community,” Shea co-founded and curates Activating ARTivism, a community festival that amplifies artists of color, harnessing art as a vehicle for resistance, healing, and empowerment. Shea curates and hosts GBH’s Outspoken Saturdays, a platform that elevates local poets.

A recipient of The Boston Foundation LAB Grant in 2024, Shea is the producer of the award-winning documentary BLACK: Narratives in Boston’s Black Queer & Trans History. Premiering at the Roxbury International Film Festival in June 2023, the film delves into the complex, rich stories of Boston’s Black LGBTQ+ community. In 2024, Shea curated HELLABLACK VOL. 6: SACRED at the Boston Center for the Arts, a powerful celebration of Blackness through dance, art, spoken word, and music, and she will curate HELLABLACK VOL. 7: SHIFT in 2025. Shea is currently the Arts & Culture Director at 617PEAK and is a contractor educator at various Boston Public Schools. Shea is set to release her first poetry collection, Pieces of Shea, in 2025 with Balboa Publishing.