Our Story
The EnColor Collective
The EnColor Collective was born from the deep knowing that art can do more than entertain...it can heal, resist, remember, and restore. It began as a vision, a prayer, and a response to the silence, erasure, and fragmentation that so many Black women experience in both creative and communal spaces. Founded by Maiya Sinclair, The EnColor Collective exists as a living altar for Black voices where storytelling becomes ceremony, creativity becomes survival, and truth becomes the most powerful art form of all.
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Rooted in Chicago and the South Suburbs, we build soul-centered spaces that hold grief and joy, rage and rest, resistance and renewal. We are curators of sacred experience through theater, writing workshops, healing rituals, cultural events, and collective reflection. Our offerings are grounded in Black feminist traditional theologies, ancestral wisdom, and the radical belief that our stories are not just worth telling, they’re worth honoring. We believe that art is sacred. That every monologue, poem, prayer, and movement is a portal as a way back to ourselves, to each other, and to something freer than what this world has offered us.
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At The EnColor Collective, we are not waiting to be included. We are building what we’ve always needed: spaces where Black women and our communities can live, resist, create, and heal...in full color. Whether through performance, community dialogue, or cultural commentary, we reclaim art as a liberatory tool and build collective power through truth-telling. This work is more than creative...it’s ceremonial, intergenerational, and urgent. And it’s only just beginning.
Writer. Speaker. Cultural Curator. Restorative Practitioner.
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Maiya Sinclair is a multidisciplinary creative, cultural strategist, and the founder of The EnColor Collective. Her work sits at the intersection of art, healing, and Black feminist practice. With a background in journalism, film, performance, and social justice education, Maiya brings over six years of experience amplifying Black voices across media, academia, and community spaces.
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She holds a Master’s degree in Critical Ethnic and Women’s Studies from DePaul University, where she designed her own interdisciplinary graduate program rooted in Black feminist pedagogy, theology, and storytelling. Her thesis project, Grace, explored the sacred dimensions of Black womanhood and birthed the foundation for her ongoing creative and spiritual work. She also holds a BA in Integrated Marketing Communication with a minor in African American Studies from Roosevelt University, where she first began shaping her voice as a student journalist and cultural worker.
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In the realm of theater, Maiya serves as the creative director of Talitha Cumi: Damsel Arise, a two-act resurrection stage production that she co-leads with her mother and Executive Producer, Patricia Shines. Under her leadership, the production has expanded into a spiritually and culturally rich performance that blends monologue, movement, poetry, and music to explore the evolution and emotional terrain of Black womanhood.
Her work as a former Director of Operations and Programming, curator, and circle facilitator positions her at the forefront of community-rooted performance and liberation-centered storytelling.
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Maiya is also a certified Restorative Justice Circle Keeper, holding sacred space for community healing, dialogue, and transformation across her creative and civic work.
Our Founder
Our Inheritance
The EnColor Collective isn’t just an organization...it’s an inheritance.
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Our foundation is deeply rooted in the legacy of Patricia Shines, the Collective’s Board President and Executive Producer of Talitha Cumi: Damsel Arise. With over 20 years of experience in social services, faith-based leadership, and community-driven theater, Patricia has spent her life cultivating spaces where healing, creativity, and spiritual growth can flourish, especially for Black women and girls.
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As a former Sunday School Superintendent and Drama Program Director, she used the arts as a ministry, teaching scripture through story and guiding countless youth toward self-expression and confidence. In 2008, Patricia debuted her original play, Talitha Cumi: Damsel Arise, to a sold-out audience at Freedom Hall in Park Forest. That play laid the foundation for a legacy of faith, artistry, and liberation.
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Now, that legacy continues through her daughter, Maiya S. Shackelford, who has expanded Talitha Cumi into a full-scale, two-act production under The EnColor Collective. Together, mother and daughter carry the work forward bridging generations of vision, resilience, and truth-telling.
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This is more than art. It’s a resurrection. A lineage. A promise kept.
