Placemaking Conference
“Entering the Zoraverse: People, Places, Spaces”
A two-day convening where scholarship, art, and community intersect to explore Zora Neale Hurston’s enduring cultural impact.
29-30
January, 2026
- Day 1: Thursday, 8:30AM - 5:00 PM | Eatonville and other locations & Virtual
- Day 2: Friday, 9:00AM-5:30PM | St. Lawrence AME Church (Morning), Multiple Venues (Afternoon) & Virtual
- Varies by registration category (details below)
For nearly 100 years, Zora Neale Hurston’s writings have influenced and changed the fabric of American literary culture. Hurston’s work is multi-disciplinary, inter-disciplinary, and cross-disciplinary. It reaches deep, far, and wide, and even beyond her lifespan, as scholars have continued to posthumously resurrect her work.
Each year, the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities attracts thousands of people to Eatonville, Hurston’s self-described “native village” – the place that gave birth to her words, the spaces in which she molded her first characters. For this reason, the 2026 Placemaking Conference will focus on the theme of Hurston’s work as it relates to, is connected to, or makes meaning of communal spaces and places.
- What is the essence of the continued appeal of Hurston’s work?
- Why are Hurston’s texts still so popular with readers?
- In what ways is Eatonville an embodiment of an African American Dream?
- What qualities from Eatonville help to define African American culture?
- What epistemological connections can be forged between Hurston’s work and geographic places and/or physical spaces?
- Are there ways in which Hurston’s work illuminates contemporary conversations about place and space?
This two-day multi-disciplinary program includes a mix of thought-provoking presentations, performances, and sensory experiences focused on the genius and cultural legacy of Zora Neale Hurston. Please join us!
– The 2026 ZORA! Festival Placemaking Conference Program Committee
Scot A. French, University of Central Florida
Michelle Bachelor Robinson, Spelman College
Michelle Cowin Gibbs, California State University Long Beach
Anna Lillios, University of Central Florida
Featured Highlights
Keynote addresses from leading academics and cultural thinkers
Scholarly panels on Hurston’s literary and anthropological legacy
Networking reception for attendees and presenters
Virtual sessions for remote participation and global engagement
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Fred Opie
Dr. Frederick Douglass Opie is Professor of History and the Baldwin Richardson Foods Term Chair at Babson College. He is the author of Zora Neale Hurston on Florida Food: Recipes, Remedies and Simple Pleasures and other titles. In addition to teaching, publishing, and public speaking, Opie supports the work of producers, journalists, and documentary film makers. He also shares his research interest and musings as a blogger and the producer and host of The Fred Opie Show. Learn more about him at Fredopie.com
Dr. Frederick Douglass Opie is Professor of History and the Baldwin Richardson Foods Term Chair at Babson College. He is the author of Zora Neale Hurston on Florida Food: Recipes, Remedies and Simple Pleasures and other titles. In addition to teaching, publishing, and public speaking, Opie supports the work of producers, journalists, and documentary film makers. He also shares his research interest and musings as a blogger and the producer and host of The Fred Opie Show. Professor Opie forthcoming book is titled Food Rebels: Why Freedom Requires Rebellion. The book is about Tuskegee Institute, the Farmers Improvement Society of Texas, United Negro Improvement Association, Nation of Islam, The Black Panther Party for Self Defense, and The Brooklyn based organization called the East through the lens of food. Opie is working on a documentary about precolonial African food traditions with episodes on weddings, births, adulting celebrations, funerals, farming, and fermentation in rural Nigeria. If you would like to support the documentary please contact him at Fredopie.com and to learn more about him.
Dr. Deborah Plant
Dr. Ruthe Sheffey
Featured Participants
(Full conference program and panel schedule
to be released in December 2025.)
Keynote Speakers: Dr. Fred Opie, Dr. Deborah Plant and Dr. Ruthe Sheffey.
Presenters Who Responded to the Call for Submissions
General Public Registration
Details
Registration Includes: Ground transportation from conference hotel to all conference activities, as well as the 2-day conference schedule.
Day 1: Thursday, January 29 (8:30 AM – 5:00PM)
Day 2: Friday, January 30 (9:00AM – 5:30 PM).
Early Bird Registration
(Available Nov. 1 – Dec. 14, 2025)
$200
Standard Registration
(Dec. 15, 2025 – Jan. 20, 2026)
$275
Placemaking Conferees' Registration
Details
Registration Includes: Access to all regular conference sessions from
Thursday, January 29 (2:00 PM) through Friday, January 30 (5:30 PM).
Early Bird Registration
(Available Nov. 1 – Dec. 22, 2025)
$100 – Full-time Employed Professionals
$75 – Independent Scholars, Artists, Part-Time Instructors, Adjuncts, Graduate Students
Standard Registration
(Dec. 23, 2025 – Jan. 20, 2026)
$125 – Full-time Employed Professionals
$100 – Independent Scholars, Artists, Part-Time Instructors, Adjuncts, Graduate Students
EXCLUSIVE!!
For Placemaking Conferees Only
(Add-On Options*)
*Must RSVP no later than January 5, 2026
Maitland–Eatonville Mobile Tour
Date:
Thursday, January 29, 2026
Time:
8:30 AM – 11:45 AM
Cost:
$75 (Includes motor coach transportation)
Details:
Guest to meet in the parking lot of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, 412 East Kennedy Boulevard, Eatonville 32751
Lunch Inspired by Zora Neale Hurston’s Research
Date:
Thursday, January 29, 2026
Time:
12:00 PM – 1:45 PM
Cost:
$100 (includes signed copy of Dr. Fred Opie’s Zora Neale Hurston on Florida Food: Recipes, Remedies & Simple Pleasures)
Details:
Guest to meet in the parking lot of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, 412 East Kennedy Boulevard, Eatonville 32751
Enjoy a curated luncheon inspired by Zora’s culinary research, featuring Dr. Fred Opie, author, historian, and food scholar. Dr. Opie will present insights from his book and discuss Hurston’s influence on Florida’s cultural food traditions.
RSVP Required: Participants wishing to attend either or
both special events must register by Monday, January 5, 2026.
Day One
Thursday, January 29, 2026
MORNING: Special Ticketed Event
- 8:30-11:45
A Connection through the Arts – A Mobile Tour of Maitland and Eatonville.
Guests to meet in the parking lot at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, 412 E. Kennedy Boulevard, Eatonville. Motor coach provided. Tour departs at 8:30 a.m. sharp.
Led by Seminole State College humanities professor Trent Tomengo and Maitland Art & History’s Curator of Collections Katie Benson, this guided cultural excursion offers participants a firsthand look at the spaces and places that shaped Zora Neale Hurston’s world.
Stops include:
- The Moseley House Museum
- The RISE Mural Site at Elizabeth Park
- Eatonville Branch Library
- Eatonville’s Historic St. Lawrence AME Church
- The historic Franklin property (“Cheyenne”)
- “St. John’s Hole,” now Lake Lily – site of the area’s earliest African American settlement
- Maitland Research Studio
- Meets at Art & History Museums Maitland, 231 W Packwood Ave, Maitland, FL
LUNCH: Special Ticketed Event – Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church Fellowship Hall
- 12 Noon-1:45 PM
Lunch Inspired by Zora Neale Hurston’s Research / Talk by Food Scholar Dr. Fred Opie
Enjoy a curated luncheon inspired by Zora’s culinary research, featuring Dr. Fred Opie, author, historian, and food scholar. Dr. Opie will present insights from his book and discuss Hurston’s influence on Florida’s cultural food traditions
Advance ticket required. Limited space. No on-site registration.
- Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 412 E Kennedy Blvd, Eatonville, FL
AFTERNOON: Placemaking Conference Keynote - St. Lawrence AME Church
- 2:00-2:10 PM
Welcoming Remarks
- N.Y. Nathiri, Executive Director, Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community (P.E.C.)
- Lyman Brodie, Executive Associate Dean, College of Arts & Humanities, University of Central Florida
- Bruce Janz, Director, Center for Humanities and Digital Research, University of Central Florida
- Scot A. French, Chair, ZORA Festival Academics Committee
- St. Lawrence AME Church, 549 E Kennedy Blvd, Eatonville, FL 3
- 2:10-3:30 PM
Zora Neale Hurston Lecture & Keynote Address – Dr. Deborah G. Plant
- St. Lawrence AME Church, 549 E Kennedy Blvd, Eatonville, FL 3
- 3:45-5:00 PM
Preserving Eatonville’s Legacy Through Story and Stitch
Join us for a powerful conversation celebrating the Eatonville History Preservation Project — a community-wide collaboration that weaves together oral history, art, and heritage. This engaging discussion brings together the voices behind the project — community leaders, artists, and storytellers — as they share insights on the creative process, the importance of preserving local history, and the enduring legacy of America’s oldest incorporated Black municipality.
Panelists:
- Sara Brown, MBA, Manager of the Eatonville Library
- Ruthi Critton, Lifelong Eatonville resident and descendant of Joe Clark, co-founder and former Mayor of Eatonville
- Dr. Candace Finley, Educator, Community Advocate and Founder/Director of eSTEAMED Learning, Inc.
- Lisa G. Moore, Fabric Artist & Quilter
- Eatonville Branch Library, 200 E Kennedy Blvd, Eatonville, FL
PANELISTS
Sara Brown
Eatonville Library Manager
Sara Brown manages the activities, programs, and staff at the Eatonville Branch of the Orange County Library System. She serves on the Board of Directors for Women in the Arts, Inc. and is the founder of Success & Beyond Consulting, LLC. With extensive experience in nonprofit public service, community outreach, personal finance education, grant administration, and public speaking, Sara brings a well-rounded skill set to her work. She holds an MBA and resides in Apopka, FL.
Dr. Candace Finley
Founder/Executive Director of eSTEAMED Learning, Inc.
Dr. Candace Finley is the founder and Executive Director of eSTEAMED Learning, Inc. A product of summer programs organized by the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc. (P.E.C.) in the early 90s, she has become a visionary, STEAM educator, and community leader, who has shared her passion for STEAM education globally as well as sparked the impact of increasing STEAM identity among under-resourced communities.
Lisa G. Moore
Fabric Artist
Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Lisa’s heritage traces to the Propino/Proctor family in St. Augustine and the Gullah Geechee of Beaufort, SC. She holds degrees in Elementary Education and Educational Leadership. A former teacher, Lisa fell in love with history and storytelling, which led her to quilting – her way of preserving ancestral stories through art.
Ruthie Critton
Day Two
Friday, January 30, 2026
MORNING SESSION - St. Lawrence A.M.E. Church, 549 E Kennedy Blvd.
- 8:30-9:00
Check-In/Reception
- 9:00-9:10
Welcoming Remarks – Placemaking Conference Program Committee
- Scot A. French, Ph.D., Chair, ZORA! Festival Academics Committee
- Michelle Bachelor Robinson, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Placemaking Program Committee
- Michelle Cowin Gibbs, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Placemaking Program Committees
- 9:15-10:15
An Interview/Conversation with Dr. Ruthe T. Sheffey, Founder of Zora Neale Hurston Society
- 10:15-11:45
Intergenerational Panel: Zora Neale Hurston and Place
Curated and moderated by Dr. Michelle Cowin Gibbs, this panel brings together an intergenerational group of scholars whose multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and cross-disciplinary approaches to Zora Neale Hurston’s work continue to shape and expand Hurston studies. Reflecting the 2026 conference theme, the panel considers how Hurston’s legacy has been sustained and reimagined through attention to communal spaces and places. Together, the panel will reflect on the collective labor and collaborative strategies through which Hurston’s legacy continues to take shape across scholars, artists, and communities.
Panelists:
- Dr. Deborah Plant, Independent Scholar (African American Literature and Africana Studies)
- Dr. Roshanak Kheshti, University of California Berkeley (Theater and Performance Studies)
- Dr. Sondra Bickham Washington, Florida Atlantic University (American Literature)
- Dr. Eric Glover, Yale University (Drama)
- Dr. Michelle Cowin Gibbs, California State University Long Beach (Theatre Arts)
- 11:45-12:30
Break for Lunch
AFTERNOON SESSION - Placemaking Symposium: “Entering the Zoraverse: People, Places, Spaces” – Multiple Venues
This multi-disciplinary program includes a lively mix of panels, performance, and poster sessions. Please note multiple venues for concurrent sessions: St. Lawrence Church Sanctuary (main entrance), St. Lawrence Church Fellowship Hall (side entrance), and Eatonville City Council Chambers.
- 12:30 - 2:00
Session 1: Zora!, Woman on the Mountain: Exploring Hurston at Middlebury College - Bread Loaf School of English and Beyond
Moderator: Michelle Bachelor Robinson, Spelman College
Paper 1: “Recording the Folk: Hurston, Storytelling, and Podcasting”
Presenter: Mackensi Crenshaw, The Francis Parker School, Louisville, KY
Paper 2: “Hurston, Progenitor of Womanism, the Liberation of Mules, and All!: The Unapologetics of Black Womanhood in the Works of Zora Neale Hurston”
Presenter: Donte Tates, Upper School English, St. Paul’s School for Girls, Brooklandville, MD
Paper 3: “Ethnography as Empowerment: Hurston’s Legacy in Student Storytelling”
Presenter: Katie Cheng, The Collins Academy STEAM High School, Chicago, IL
- Venue: St. Lawrence AME Church Sanctuary (Front Entrance)
Session 2: Archiving Zora!
Moderator: Julian C. Chambliss, Michigan State University
Paper 1: “Visual Story(re)telling and Place-Based Memory: Engaging Hurston’s visual anthropology in contemporary arts-based community research”
Presenter: Beverly Muzii, Florida International
Paper 2: “Hurston’s Florida: Mapping Black Mobility and Literature.”
Presenter: Elizabeth Cornick, University of Miami
Paper 3: “The Brazilian Nieces of Zora: Hurstonist Legacies and Anthropology by Black and Latin American Women”
Presenter: Nicole Batista (USF/Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais-Brazil)
- Eatonville Town Council Chambers, 307 E. Kennedy Blvd.
- 2:15- 3:45
Session 3: Placemaking
Moderator: Kibibi Mack-Shelton, University of Central Florida
Paper 1: “’Go there tuh know there’: Unhomely Place and Third Space in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God”
Presenter: Renee Vincent, University of Louisiana Lafayette
Paper 2: “Mapping the Storms: Black Girlhood, Place, and Pathways to Resilience in Zora Neale Hurston’s Work”
Presenter: Michelle McClaine, Independent Scholar
Paper 3: “Are We Still Looking For Zora? Zora Neale Hurston and the Cultural Compass to Epistemology”
Presenter: Catherine Saunders, University of Florida
- St. Lawrence AME Church Sanctuary, Front Entrance
Session 4: Heritage Spaces and Black Speculative Practice
Moderator: Marissa Bellenger
Paper 1: “Heritage Spaces and Black Speculative Practice: The Case of Hungerford School and Eatonville, Florida.”
Co-presenters: Julian C. Chambliss, Michigan State University, and Scot A. French, University of Central Florida
Poster Session: The Eatonville Project – UF CityLab Orlando
Presenters: Chad D. Jones, AIA, and students from UF CityLab Orlando Graduate School of Architecture
- Eatonville Town Council Chambers, 307 E Kennedy Blvd.
Session 5: Creativity and Audience Appeal: How Hurston still Attracts Special Interests
Moderator: Clarissa West-White, Bethune-Cookman University
Paper 1: “Zora for Kids: The Place of Hurston in Children’s Literature”
Presenter: Kenneth Kidd, University of Florida
Paper 2: “In Search of Zora Neale Hurston in the Pages of the Journal of African American History”
Presenter: Nicole Dixon, Northwestern University
Paper 3: “Parallel Places and Spaces: Zora Neale Hurston’s Continued Appeal”
Presenter: Alice Nicholas, California State University Long Beach
- St. Lawrence AME Church Fellowship Hall (Side Entrance)
Session 6: Speaking Truth to Power: Exploring Spirituality and Religiosity in Hurston
Moderator: Walter Greason, Macalester College
Paper 1: “‘We See with the Skin’: Zora Neale Hurston’s Methodology”
Presenter: Roshanak Kheshti, University of California, Berkeley
Paper 2: “Mediating Ritual Spaces and Experiences in Zora Neale Hurston’s Mules and Men”
Presenter: Jennifer O’Reilly, Syracuse University
Paper 3: “Not a “talent in ruins”, but her most ambitious, most provocative and most underrated novel ever: Zora Neale Hurston’s The Life of Herod the Great”
Presenter: David Muller, Indian River State College
- St. Lawrence AME Church Sanctuary (Front Entrance)
Session 7: Pedagogy, Teaching, and Learning
Moderator: Trent Tomengo, Seminole State College
Paper 1: “De Turkey and De Law by Zora Neale Hurston: A syllabus curated by The Black Drama School”
Presenter: Korinn Annette Jefferies, Independent Scholar
Paper 2: “The Classroom as Pulpit: Womanist Teachings as Liturgies of Liberation”
Presenter: Desiree McCray, Independent Scholar
Paper 3: “The Brazilian Nieces of Zora: Hurstonist Legacies and Anthropology by Black and Latin American Women”
Presenter: Nicole Batista, University of South Florida/Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais-Brazil
- St. Lawrence AME Church Fellowship Hall (Side Entrance)
- 4:00- 4:45
Session 8: Roundtable
Moderator: Diedre Houchen, Independent Scholar
Dialogue: “Ma Zora the Teacher and Triumphant Priest: A Dialogue”
Diedre Houchen, Independent Scholar
Terri Bailey, Independent Scholar
Keturah Acevedo, Independent Scholar
- Eatonville Town Council Chambers, 307 E. Kennedy Blvd.
- 4:45- 5:30
Session 9: Performance
Moderator: Marianne DiQuattro, Rollins College
“The Porch: Where Zora Speaks”
Performers: Monica R. Woods, Independent Scholar, and Lililita Forbes, Independent Scholar
- Eatonville Town Council Chambers, 307 E. Kennedy Blvd.
VERY, VERY SPECIAL FESTIVAL PRESENTER
Dr. Ruthe Sheffey
Dr. Sheffey is “A ZORA! Festival Favorite.”
PANELISTS
Dr. Deborah G. Plant
Dr. Deborah G. Plant is an African American Literature and Africana Studies Independent Scholar and literary critic specializing in the life and works of Hurston. She is editor of Hurston’s The Life of Herod the Great (2025) and the New York Times bestseller Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” (2018); author of Zora Neale Hurston: A Biography of the Spirit (2007), and Every Tub Must Sit On Its Own Bottom: The Philosophy and Politics of Zora Neale Hurston (1995).
Dr. Roshanak Kheshti
Dr. Roshanak Kheshti is a cultural anthropologist and theorist, born in Tehran, Iran, and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds the position of Professor in Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Her work sits at the intersection of sound, the senses, film and performance studies with an emphasis on diaspora and race. Her forthcoming monograph We See With the Skin: On Zora Neale Hurston’s Methodology, considers Hurston’s corpus — from her films, to her essays, to her plays—as archives of a fugitive sensorium documenting Southern Black hoodoo-inflected ways of perceiving the world.
Dr. Eric M. Glover
Dr. Eric M. Glover is an Associate Professor Adjunct at David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University, where he practices dramaturgy and dramatic criticism. Glover’s first book, African American Perspectives in Musical Theater (Bloomsbury, 2023), is a case study, where he reads notable works by and about Black people—from Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins to Stew—closely. Additional criticism either appears or is forthcoming in the Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays, programs, Theater History Studies 2024, Theater magazine, and elsewhere. Glover has served as a production dramaturg for the Binger Center for New Theatre, DGSD Season, Zora Neale Hurston’s Spunk (Yale Repertory Theatre, University Theatre, New Haven, 2025), Yale Cabaret, and others.
Dr. Sondra Bickham Washington
Dr. Sondra Bickham Washington is Assistant Professor of American literature at Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University where she specializes in African American literature and Black girlhood studies. Her scholarship is featured in the digital humanities book, Beyond NOLA: Exploring Zora Neale Hurston in Bogalusa, Louisiana’s Magic City, and in print publications including Xavier Review and Palimpsest: A Journal on Women, Gender, and the Black International. Currently, she is writing a monograph highlighting historical and contemporary literary representations of Black girls and girlhood and the specific intersectional struggles that such characters face.
Dr. Michelle Cowin Gibbs
Dr. Michelle Cowin Gibbs (Moderator) is an Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts at California State University Long Beach. Her research interests are in interdisciplinary fields in early twentieth-century Black theatre and performance, dance criticism, performance studies, and critical identity studies. She has publications in the Black Theatre Review; Journal of American Drama and Theatre; Cultural Studies – Critical Methodologies; Detroit Dance Research; and book chapters in Impacting Theatre Audiences: Methods for Studying Change (Routledge 2022), Enveloping Worlds (University of Michigan Press 2025), and forthcoming, Hurston in Context (Routledge 2026).
