Healing through art with T’Ajmal, Co-Director of Systems Support

Art has been a part of my life since I was very young. Memories of fashion sketches, self portraits, story writing, and music fill my mind when reminiscing. My friends and family supported me by showing up, asking questions, and believing in me. My recent life journey has been working on believing and supporting myself.

I grew up in Detroit, MI, and from the energy of the city, my people, and the creatives, there is no denying the effect of my hometown on who I am. I am often called back for my family and friends, city events, and the artistry. I went to Harvard for college, and that was a shock to my body, soul, and sense of self. I found groundedness in my chosen family on campus, who related to the shock and lack of reality at school. I continued to ground myself through art, finding that it was my only avenue to process my experiences, and find my sense of self that felt so lost. Art was my pathway to finding me again, and it held me through all the tough times, life transitions, and shifts. I am a multimedia artist, often answering questions of “what type of art do you do?” with the answer “Anything I’m called to. Finding space currently in print form with zines, and music with my violin.”

I took a chance and pivoted when joining the co-director team at  ACI. I mostly worked in youth direct service spaces, with organizations who provided resources and space to young people. Youth work and support is still a passion of mine; however, my soul was yearning for something new and something that would push me to grow in my artistry and find more artist community. Now, I am the co-director of systems support at ACI, supporting our team with developing and creating systems that make our work more easeful. I help with our gallery space, (first time curating!), and that is a new niche that has lit a fire in me. I’ve met a lot of new people who are all kind and powerful in their own ways, and have felt more at home and secure in my identity as an artist. 

So if you read this far, I ask you to support the organization that has supported me, with a donation. Any gifts would help continue growing and learning as a leader with ACI. Stay tuned for our 10th anniversary birthday celebration on May 20th, 2025!

Shifting Winds

A letter from ACI’s founder, Marian Taylor Brown:

Also available via Vlog, here.

Greetings, beloved ACI community,

I want to take a moment to thank each of you for our many moons of deep and transformational collaboration, working to build cultural equity and creative justice.

ACI was founded with the belief that artists come up with innovative solutions to pressing human rights issues. This core belief - in artists - and in arts and culture, remains true today, now ten years into our work. I’m proud of the many humans that have, currently are, or one day will, be a part of the ACI collective and wider community. You have and will continue to progress us towards shared liberation.

Together, we have built leadership nurturing programs including artist residencies, and multiple fellowship programs like our Youth United Artists, and Creative Justice Fellows. We’ve also met community need with emergency and solidarity creative grants.

Together, we have bloomed the Transformative Research Collective, publishing multiple articles, community findings reports, and an upcoming book focused on collective action and creative justice. Through each, we continue to center community and equity as we shape storytelling and meaningmaking.

Together, we dreamed widely and vastly to create the Cultural Equity Learning Community, training 3K ppl since 2020, we opened the Cultural Equity Incubator in 2021, supporting countless community partners while building home and meaning - alongside journeying with numerous partners through Consult With ACI.

It’s often challenging to know when it’s time to transition, especially as a founder. It’s an incredible thing to see what was once seeded truly bloom, and I am confident in our current season of change and evolution.

Three years ago we transitioned our leadership structure to a lateral co-director model. Although far from perfect, we have made great progress in learning and unlearning as we move towards deeper alignment. With this new model in place, and with T’Ajmal, mica, Andrea, and River co-leading as employee co-directors, alongside Jess, Mama Erdene, and Jazzmin as neutral co-directors, I am both confident in and deeply excited for the next steps and evolution in our collective work.

During this transition season I welcome you to support these co-leaders in any capacity that you can. Reach out to them for a coffee, come visit at the CEI, join future programming, and help sustain this essential work through making a one-time or recurring donation.

I am ever cognizant of the many, many guides who have poured into me, and my learning, along this path. I commit to passing their wisdom forward, with gratitude for the many gifts.

With love, thank you, thank you.

In solidarity,

Marian Taylor Brown

ACI Founder & former Co-Director of Collective Abundance

P.S. In case you’re wondering - up next on my path is a health, spiritual, and artistic sabbatical for the fall 2024 semester. I will also continue my work as a visiting researcher and lecturer at UMass Boston and as an adjunct lecturer at Harvard University. I welcome continued connection via mariantaylorbrown@gmail.com, with updates upcoming on my personal platforms: Website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram.

ACI moves in solidarity with life and land: Free Filastin.

Kamusta mga kasama ~ peace y’all,

Let’s notice this moment of togetherness where gravity is grounding us to a place, the universes in our bodies are growing & decaying & feeling, and we are reaching out to each other: we, a few people working together and writing to you all—and you all receiving, choosing to engage these words. 

In this noticing, we invite some unified care for our bodies. As feels right for you, we invite: a breath in together (welcome air) and releasing through a shake (let body shake as releases air). We invite: the next breath in together (thank you air) and gently patting ourselves as we release (any parts of you lovingly touch other parts of you). Lastly we invite: breathing in and out, noticing the shape of air in us and the shape of us carving through the air (we are presence). 

From this place of witness, we invite attention to how connections across this planet are and have been weaving tighter and vaster as we rely more on global migrations of people and resources via the internet and machinery. Emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic reveal that this interconnectedness is infused with complex responsibilities for one another. For centuries, masses of oppressed peoples have leaned into these times of apocalypse, understanding our liberation and futurity depends on each other. We see this in the international uprisings of summer 2020 and we see this across current movements calling for a Free Palestine, Free Congo, Free Sudan, Free Haiti, Free Guam, Land Back—a freer world guided by Indigenous sovereignty. 

[Image description: A hand holds a watermelon growing in the shape of a heart. On the hand’s index finger, there is a gold ring that reads: “alhamdallah” in Arabic writing.]

As we field the complexities surrounding us, we want to offer perspectives we have been moving through in community:

• No people in and of themselves are our true enemy. A shared enemy is how people design and use systems (governments, social orders, armed forces) to control who is “human” by deciding what happens to “non-humans”. (Inspired by Azi Khalili)

• Ceasefire now. We are responsible for each other. As descendants and survivors of genocides, wars, and legalized violence, we know it is our duty to halt any genocide as swiftly as possible.  

• Reactionary formations by survivors of immense violence are not new. For example, the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda was deeply shaped by Belgian colonization and the actions/lack thereof by foreign powers including the United Nations. We invite you to engage Hyppolite Ntigurirwa, 2016-2017 ACI Artist-in-Residence, a child survivor of this genocide who uses art toward cross-generational healing.  

• Multiple United Nations General Assembly resolutions acknowledge the legitimacy of peoples’ struggles for independence, territorial integrity, national unity, and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation “by all available means, including armed struggle”. International Humanitarian Law (IHL) recognizes that violence underpins the current world order, and thus IHL does not seek to stop armed conflict from happening, but to give rules to how armed conflict is conducted (“IHL, War Crimes, and Counterinsurgency in the Philippines”, Webinar by International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines-US & Liyang Network USA). 

• Colonialism as defined by the Oxford Dictionary is “the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.” This is a colonial war happening in Palestine.

• “Why do we wait for those carrying the batons to speak when our bruised bodies tell the whole truth? I know that I am native not because Jabotinsky said so; I know that the Zionists have colonized Palestine without the need to cite Herzl, and I know this because I have lived it because the ruins of countless villages provide the material evidence of this calculated ethnic cleansing.” (“Palestine: ‘Women and Children’ and the Politics of Appeal”, lecture by Mohammed El-Kurd). 

• State repression works to punish the voices of people who deeply know and are close to violence, while ironically employing the fallacy of “cancel culture” to play victim of a systematic censorship we only actually see harming the multiply oppressed. We witness this in the targeting of Palestinians in public spaces/arenas, including this experience Dalal shares and the censure of Rashida Tlaib: the only Palestinian-American in U.S. Congress.

• In a moment of collectively grieving the similarities of survival strategies in our unique lineages, bashexo reminded us that empires really do not change what they do very often—nor their methods/logics/techniques for doing it. This gives us time to learn from one another, strategize, and build solid communities for present, future, lasting, thriving generations.

• These genocides are attempted genocides. We organize with and/or as Wampanoag; Black peoples whose ancestors survive trans-Atlantic enslavement; Palestinians; Tutsis; Lumadnon; Taínos; Khmer; Kanaka Maoli; Jews; and heartbreakingly more peoples who have been targeted by ethnic cleansing. There are each of us in the future. We are all each others’ future.

[Image description: A sign that reads, “they tried to bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds”.]

We make a few invitations as we leave the shared space of the letter form. We invite you to join the global strike for Gaza by taking any of the following actions:

• Speak up and stand against unequal and unjust censorship and to be a voice of multiplicity, that tries to value and uplift diverse and on the ground perspectives. 

• Call for a ceasefire in Gaza in ways that feel authentic to your community.

• Educate yourself and your people, and take further action with any of the following resources:

• Asian American Advocacy Fund’s Resources for Palestine

• US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Activist Resources

• BuildPalestine’s Trusted Organizations to donate to Palestine list

• The Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA)’s Teach Palestine list

• These are a short list of many resources out there. We encourage you to find ones that are relevant and practical for you.

in solidarity,
The ACI Co-Director Team (mica, Andrea, T’Ajmal, and Marian) with support from Rayan as ACI’s Creative Justice Fellow

[Image description: A sparrow sits on top of a kite resembling the Palestinian flag. Below the kite are more kites flying in the air, and other sparrows flying beside them. Some of the kites read lines from Dr. Refaat Alareer’s poem “If I Must Die”.]

ARCHIVE: Ocean Gathering for MassAssembly 2.0

Above: bashexo adds a candle to the community altar they build with offerings from UnBound Bodies Collective and gatherers. Photo by JayPix.

Above: An altar by We Are Forests devoted to freeing political prisoners and honoring martyrs. Photo by JayPix.

From 2022 to 2024: Consult with ACI collaborates with the Massachusetts Assembly seeded by ArtPlace America’s Local Control Local Fields initiative. We support a series of gatherings that culminate in connection between each gathering’s peoples.

UnBound Bodies Collective shapes QUENCH: a rest and restoration retreat for QTBIPOC creatives and activists and healers on a farm called The Food Project.

The Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag tribes shape an online gathering for Native artists, and a circle for Wampanoag at the Mashpee Tribal Museum.

We Are Forests shape a gathering devoted to Reciprocal Returns at an Agroforest in Southampton.

Elevated Thought design the finale Ocean Gathering to connect communities from all the gatherings above. The event originally planned at their headquarters in Lawrence is cancelled. We honor all original contributors, compensating and offering to re-book them. Months later, Arts Connect International holds the rescheduled gathering at the Cultural Equity Incubator. Above and below are photos from this action.

Above: Smiling for a photo are David, Trish, Asa, Taquana, Jim, Mother Bear, and Talia. They are Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Members. Talia and Asa coordinated the Native gatherings with NaDaizja and Tysonnae from Aquinnah.Berta from Aquinnah and David served as Assembly 2.0 Advisors.

Above: Gina Marte basks in light on the Incubator dance floor, sharing original choreography adapted from duet to solo. Photo by JayPix.

Reflections from celine voyard

ID: celine poses with a large dandelion art piece as if blowing the seeds

A 21st century summer 

How the sun huffs its humid heat–

I feel it,

burning,

telling me to watch

out, knowing we run

to what little is left. Instead,

gather

I do with all of you.

Listen in the cool shadows,

slow pacing,

built by mighty brick.

We stay low, knowing what more we deserve,

dignified,

committed to a future rooted where trees grow–

over ashes filled with dry dust,

bones hollow,

surpassing mass destruct,

construct. Shown

are the borders and prison bars of today.

Let me cool off this sweat

and gather

with all of you.

Till the day comes when the world is on fire

burning ripe, ready

for us to join the flames.

At Alnoba Retreat Center, members of the Cultural Equity Incubator community gather around an outdoor table conversing, dreaming, and authoring.

peace aci community,

around the early stages of this DIAL experience, i watched as the seasoned artist continued to draw rectangles after rectangles, on her sheet of paper. when she felt it time for her to speak, she said to the group, "I want the world to understand that when it comes to artists, we are as important as bricks. Not feathery additions, but foundational. And foundational to the healing, change making process necessary to sustain our communities."  this was said amidst a story circle, where core artists came together to envision, build relationships, and strategize future actions for the CEI. this was also during a time of deep reflection, in which the uncertainties of tomorrow resurfaced to work towards building equitable structures implemented today. although i was just beginning to understand the histories of this specific collective, i found myself listening and reflecting deeply along with them–with all of you–gathering and preserving energy to build for a resilient revolution.

ever since then, most of my time has been down at the CEI, where i'm physically guarded by walls of brick, reminded of the voices of BIPOC artists and those within the margins who are but in tandem, leaders, educators, organizers, and cultural shapeshifters. Every so often, these voices would recharge the determined energy, as the space opened up for celebrations, creations, a place of refuge, and exchange. engaging in the practice of listening, i would take note of where there was collective alignment or misalignment; take part in local events to hold the experiences of community voices; learn from the takeaways and upcomings from my DIAL peers; and ensure the lessons shared from artists like those who participated in the CELC are honored through language and accessibility. 

after being a small (but exciting) part of ACI and CEI’s journey, i hope for this community to continue to grow, taking in the difficult but foundational strides to better nurture our world. i also hope to work alongside you all towards this shared vision whether it be in the realm of artistry or somewhere in close resonance.

thank you–in a matter of 10 weeks, i have felt welcomed, loved, and grateful to have met each of you no matter the length of time spent or distance traveled. thank you for your wisdom, warmth, and realness. while this is a goodbye, i’ve got a feeling we’ll still be seeing each other around 😏

till then, 
celine

ID: celine, slandie, micah, and Kay smile with Jaypix and Jay’s niece in front of Jay’s artwork in wiild negro is love at the Cultural Equity Incubator.

ID: celine poses with Jinyi, their mentor for the summer, with a big teddy bear in front of a shimmering red photo wall.

Introducing the 2022 DIAL Boston Cohort

DIAL Boston cohort members, including Arts Host staff, ACI team, and interns, sit and introduce themselves around a large conference table at the Cultural Equity Incubator. Light filters in from a large window, illuminating the wooden beams of the ceiling and earthy red of the exposed brick wall.

When ACI conducted the Cultural Equity Gap study from 2017-2019, one of the main levers for change in building equity focused on the importance of leadership pathways and pipelines. 5 years later, we’re thrilled to introduce the inaugural Diversity in Arts Leadership (DIAL) Boston cohort!

This year, ACI welcomes 5 interns who will work with local equity-focused arts organizations including Dunamis, Pao Arts Center, StageSource, The Theater Offensive, and us at ACI!

Meet the Interns

celine voyard (they/she) is a Boston-based community organizer of Haitian and Japanese ancestry. A current senior at UMass Boston, they major in Labor Studies, and minor in Human Rights, Latin@ Studies, and Cinema Studies. They are excited to continue strengthening practices of ethical storytelling through the mediums of film, poetry, and research, to better incorporate multilingual and diasporic accounts of healing. 

celine will intern at arts connect international

Kay Brown (she/her/hers) is a South Carolinian and part of the Mount Holyoke College class of 2023 majoring in Critical Social Thought. She is interested in exploring the relationship between language & power, Black Southern Womanhood, & how art can be used to break down institutional systems to create a new Disturbance in the world. Kay explores these themes and more through the founding & publication of her e-magazine entitled Disturbance, inspired by James Baldwin's quote that "artists are here to disturb the peace."

Kay will intern at Dunamis

Ana Boyd (she/her) is currently a rising Junior at Brown University, concentrating in Modern Culture and Media on the Practice Track with a certificate in Engaged Scholarship. She is a visual storyteller: working in photography, film, public art, and graphic design. Her practice aims to incorporate ethnographic methods, centering the narratives of communities of color in art spaces. Outside of this, Ana is an avid film and music enthusiast, working at the Blackstar Film Festival, Ivy Film Festival, and WBRU 360.

Ana will intern at The Theater Offensive

Ruzhen 'Anna' Zhang (She/They) is a first generation college student studying History and Museum Studies at UMass Amherst. She’s passionate about working to increase diversity and create artistic environments for the enjoyment of the Chinatown neighborhood this summer. In the future, Anna hopes to become a museum curator that can decolonize museum collections and connect with audiences.

Anna will intern at Pao Arts Center

Elliot Charis Haugen (he/they) is a 20-year-old theater artist from the Twin Cities, Minnesota. His mission is to stage plays through accessible, flexible, and non-hierarchical processes. He is currently studying Theater and Mathematics at Mount Holyoke College, and is a proud alum of Saint Paul Conservatory For Performing Artists.

Elliot will intern at StageSource

DIAL Mentors

DIAL interns are also matched with mentors who will provide support and guidance through a weekly call with the intern. Pictured above from left to right:

Angela Godin, Executive Director of Community Arts Center of Cambria County in Johnstown, PA (Mentoring Elliot Haugen)

Carmen Plazas, Communications and Community Engagement Manager at Mass Cultural Council in Boston (Mentoring Ruzhen “Anna” Zhang)

Dawn Meredith Simmons, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of The Front Porch Arts Collective in Boston (Mentoring Kay Brown)

Eboni Bell Darcy, Inclusion, Engagement and Training Director at Stages Houston in Texas (Mentoring Ayana Boyd)

Jinyi Duan, Co-Founder & Executive Director of The Flavor Continues in Boston (Mentoring celine voyard)

Meet ACI’s Co-Director of Congruence | Deidra Montgomery

ID: Deidra, a short-haired Black person with brown hair and glasses and a yellow-gold t-shirt, looks to the side contemplatively. Photo: Jeffrey Filiault.

Hello, dear ones,

I’m Deidra Montgomery (they/she), Arts Connect International’s Co-Director of Congruence.

Congruence lives at the forefront of mind and in my practices as an artist, consultant, facilitator, arts leader, coach, and human being. I strive to build my work, design my processes, and generally live my life in ways that align with my values—and to support others in their efforts to do the same. I’m grateful to continue this way of being through my work with Arts Connect International. 

I love and identify deeply with the concept of congruence, having first learned of the concept as a lover of math. As a youngster, I learned that two figures are congruent if they have the same shape and size, regardless of orientation. They can be pivoted, shifted, or flipped images of one another and still be congruent. However, if the lengths of their sides or the degrees of their angles are different, then they are not congruent.

My current relationship with congruence isn’t quite as rigid as a relationship between geometric shapes but still remains true to the idea. Presently in my life, congruence is about agreement, harmony, compatibility, and alignment. It is about actions reflecting feelings and intentions. To bring back the mathematical analogy, if the first figure expresses values, priorities, feelings, and intentions, then in order to be congruent, the second figure (representing actions, behaviors, policies, etc.) must reflect those values, priorities, feelings, and intentions. Because I seek to avoid causing harm, I pursue behaviors that cause the least amount of harm. If I seek to be anti-racist, then my behaviors, actions, and policies need to support anti-racism.

It’s not always simple, and there isn’t always one correct answer, but it’s important to try. That’s why I leapt at the invitation to join the core team for the first run of the Cultural Equity Learning Community (CELC) in 2020. The CELC is an online learning community open to arts and culture leaders committed to building racial equity in the sector. The CELC includes a go-at-your-own pace two-unit course with complimentary wrap-around learning supports. With so many arts and cultural organizations proclaiming allegiance with Black Lives Matter and commitments to anti-racism in the wake of the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the CELC provided an opportunity to reflect on what supporting intersectional racial justice would require of those organizations and the the people running and governing them: acknowledging and addressing privilege, oppression, and bias; confronting and changing unjust systems; acknowledging, using, and relinquishing power; continuously reflecting on and refining ways of being and doing; and more.

We are looking forward to welcoming new CELC cohorts beginning this summer. I am hopeful for the ways the CELC and ACI more broadly will continue to help arts leaders align their actions and those of their organizations to their values and increase equity—and congruence—in our field.

Until soon,

Deidra Montgomery
Co-Director of Congruence

Hiring a Co-Director of Finance!

Hello y’all! As ACI continues growing, we are excited to search for a co-director who can support the financial health of the organization. The full job description is here - please email micah@artsconnectinternational.org with questions, feedback, et al, and apply (share a resume and cover letter through this link) by Thursday May 26, 2022.

Please share with your neighbors and networks! Our co-directors live and collaborate transnationally, organizing across & against borders, but under current legal forces, we must hire this position in the U.S.

About the ACI Co-Director of Finance:

You are a visionary who knows how to nurture the financial well-being of non-profit organizations and collectives. You are committed to intersectional racial equity and believe that participatory budgeting is essential to collective well-being. You are a collaborator who values multiple perspectives and ways of knowing, and are excited about the community ACI has fostered and continues to evolve. You may or may not identify as an artist - but you believe in the transformative power of the arts. As we journey through decolonizing our bookkeeping and relationship to monies within this work, we look to you to support best practices and day-to-day fiscal well being as we steward this work collectively. 

As an employee of ACI you work to manage and oversee the receipt and allocation of money within and from ACI. This position reports directly to the other co-directors as a part of our shared leadership structure. The position is intended to grow over time and could expand into other work as opportunities arise. 

Image Description: A banner and logo. Blue text reads "Arts Connect International Building Equity and Inclusion In and Through the Arts" in all caps. To the right: our logo is overlapping multicolored circles with our name spelled in a circle around the pattern.

Meet ACI's Co-Director of Community Weaving | Andrea Gordillo

Good morning, creatives!  

Today I write to you from the Niquía ancestral lands, what was colonially named “Bello, Colombia.” One Niquía family survives today the centuries of genocide inflicted on their territory and community. 

This territory is one of many homes for me and my family, who include my wonderful Colombian wife, Silvana, and my two cats, Cumbia and Selva. We spend half of the year in “Colombia” and the other half in “Tijuana, Mexico,” where we live so I can study in “Los Angeles” and be together, since Silvana does not yet have arbitrary permission, AKA a visa, to cross into Gringolandia. I intermittently visit Fort Lauderdale, Perú, Boston, and Mexico City to see family and friends. 

As Co-Director of Community Weaving at ACI who inhabits so many different territories in any given year, community and weaving are increasingly important concepts for me. Here are some insights about community weaving I have gained in the past year or so, in no particular order…I hope that some resonate with you: 

1. Community weaving for social justice is not international or transnational, but transfronteriza: trans-borders. A transgression of borders. The nation-state is a colonial fallacy; what holds them together is what upholds imperialism, capitalism, neoliberalism, white supremacy, and the patriarchy. What would a world without borders look like?

2. De aquí y de allá: From here and there. Sometimes weaving together distinct communities in separate geographies can make me feel like I do not belong anywhere. I’ve been learning, this year, that it is quite the opposite: a bit of my heart lives everywhere I have grown roots and built community. 

3. Context is everything: Sometimes I feel like I’ve learned a Truth, that I’ve figured out an aspect of life. Then, I enter a new environment and find that it remixes that Truth, that there is no Truth without Context to make it real for us. That is why any interventions oriented toward social justice should always begin with context and informed by those closest to their communities’ “truths.” 

4. We all have something to learn (or unlearn) from each other. The most important educational platform we will ever have is our interpersonal relationships. I’ve found that stepping into other contexts and learning from people with perspectives different from mine has enriched my life; connecting different communities to learn from each other almost always enriches the lives of everyone involved.  

5. We are all inextricably interconnected. In the wise words of Lauryn Hill, “Everything is everything.” Even if we do not see it, even if we are not aware of it, our actions have tangible effects on the lives of others. Weaving together communities across borders allows us to see a bigger picture of the interconnectedness of our lives.  

Aside from my work at ACI, my time this year has largely been spent on nurturing Selva Records, a project of mine and Silvana’s, that aims to challenge the patriarchal, racist, classist musical industry by creating an intersectional feminist culture through elevating music created by women, trans, and non-binary folk. In our YouTube channel, you can listen to and watch music from artists who write about liberation. Check out the artists’ pages included in each video’s descriptions; each are artist leaders in their communities fighting to make the world better in their own ways. 

This upcoming year, I hope to continue my work of community weaving within ACI, Selva Records, and beyond, humbly learning from everyone in my path and moving resources for a more equitable world. 

I’m happy to chat with anybody who wants to reach out! 

Much joy and many blessings to all <3

Andrea Gordillo
Co-Director of Community Weaving

Meet ACI’s Co-Director of Design | Quisol

Image Description: Quisol wears a striped collared shirt with bright pastels of peach, lavender, and teal. There’s a deep blue backdrop. To the right of Quisol, a stack of cassette tapes, family photos, and a Tagalog language bible sit atop a marble stand. Quisol is holding a cream and blue electric guitar that has daisies painted on it. Photo by Mel Taing.

Dear Reader,

My name is Quisol (he/they) and today I write to you from the traditional lands of the Catawba and Sugaree people, otherwise known as Mooresville, North Carolina. A few months ago, I entered a new phase in my journey with ACI as Co-Director of Design. Today, I reflect on the key moments that brought you and I to this moment.

I first joined ACI as the Programming Fellow in 2017. At that point in my life, I had just closed out a chapter full of community organizing, producing music showcases, and finding my voice as a music artist. Then, I was blessed with the opportunity to attend graduate school at Harvard with a full scholarship. My goal was to use the time and resources that academia afforded me to build an organization that could leverage my passion for the arts and political analysis gained through struggle to create new, liberatory futures. I didn’t know it then, but ACI turned out to be the home for this intersectional work. 

The first big project I worked on with ACI was the first ever Arts Equity Summit. Drawing on my production experience and the expansive network that ACI had been weaving in Boston and beyond in years past, we manifested a convening unlike any other. Over the course of three days, we witnessed performance art, celebrated, heard inspiring keynote addresses, engaged in critical dialogue, and much, much more. The summit brought together creative leaders from across the City of Boston and from around the world, providing a hub for new conversations, introducing audiences to new venues, and catalyzing new collaborations that would unfold over the following years.

Holistic design was a central element of this work and is an ongoing area of practice and learning for me. In the Summit context, intentional design was integrated into every element from how we approached partners, conducted our call for art, and curated the workshop breakouts. These were projects of curation and facilitation, a skillset that I was able to articulate and sharpen through collective work with ACI.

In another sense, graphic design is a key component of my work both with ACI and as an independent artist. I’m passionate about design because it’s how we’re able to communicate our identities, values and even vision for things yet to exist. Oftentimes, the design choices we make paint a picture of the future and invite others to share in creating it.

More recently, my thinking about design has turned to look to the past and Afro-Indigneous permaculture principles to inform how we collectively build liberatory futures. Over the last few years, I’ve been reconnecting with my indigneous roots. For me, that means recalling the names and places where my ancestors lived: Ilocos, Tagalog, Arawak, Borinquen. It’s learning the stories, worldviews, embodied practices, and language that my ancestors held. It’s realizing how much of the culture we share today, such as día de los muertos, hammocks, and barbecue, which actually come from indigenous roots. It’s communing with other people who carry on the traditions and deepening our personal connection to the earth as much as possible. To my great joy, learning the ancient ways and natural systems has given me new language and frameworks for discussing today’s issues, especially within my work with ACI. 

Image Description: A portrait of Quisol, seated on a drum throne in the pose of The Thinker, with his head resting on his fist. Quisol wears a pair of white and beige checkered overalls, white sneakers, and a silver necklace. A light greenish-grey sheet hangs in the background. Photo by Gothika Magazine

I feel empowered reconnecting with my cultural roots, especially as an act of resistance since colonial powers attempted to erase them over the last centuries. A big revelation for me recently is that I actually have a role in preserving and extending these lineages as an artist. When I reflect on my music and visual art, I notice the hundreds of tiny ways I incorporate my cultural inheritance into my craft. Earlier this month, I put out the first installment of my project Dreamworld, In The Flesh: a song with three movements and accompanying film. The cover art contains a sun symbol that I designed, drawing from Arawak petroglyphs found carved into massive stones across the island of Borinquen.

Thanks for allowing me to share a bit about myself and my craft. Thank you for your ongoing support of Arts Connect International.

Sincerely,

Joseph Samuel Quisol

connect with me on instagram

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Image Description: Quisol wears a striped collared shirt with bright pastels of peach, lavender, and teal. There’s a deep blue backdrop. To the right of Quisol, a stack of cassette tapes, family photos, and a Tagalog language bible sit atop a marble stand. Quisol smiles at this camera while straddling the chair backwards. Photo by Mel Taing.

Throughout this fall season we will be highlighting our employee Co-Directors!

Interviewed by Artist in Community Fellow Mel Taing, each co-director will share more about themselves centering on what they're most excited about in their work, how they’ve been practicing self-care, and what they hope to manifest in the future!

Joseph Quisol (he/they) is the Co-Director of Design at Arts Connect International. You can follow their work on Instagram (@_quisol) or their website https://www.quisol.co.

What is the juiciest thing you're working on right now? What aspect of your work are you most passionate about in this moment? Is this a particular memory from the past month that you want to highlight?

This past month, I've been in New York and Boston working closely with Chanel Matsunami and Micah Rose for They Watch You Thrive. It's been a joy to work on this project since it's so aligned with the music album I've been working on called Dreamworld. I just closed out a year of working on this album with engineer Lucía Martinez and They Watch You Thrive came at precisely the right moment to help me pivot from the sonic to the visual elements of this project. I was blessed to work with Chanel Matsunami Govreau and Mel Taing on multiple photo shoots. Then we worked with Jay Hunt of The Loop Lab to film of live versions of my upcoming music blended harmoniously with the poetry of Micah Rose. I'm so excited to ultimately share these pieces with the world.

Meet ACI’s Co-Director of Creative Disruption | Zakiyyah Sutton

Image Description: A portrait of Zakiyyah seated in front of a red backdrop wearing a black t-shirt with the text “DANGER - EDUCATED BLACK WOMAN”. She holds a book open in her hands, about to turn the page. Next to Zakiyyah is a pedestal with several stacked books and a pair of glasses. Photo by Mel Taing

A love letter from Zakiyyah

My name is Zakiyyah (she/her). A few months ago, I had the honor of joining the ACI family. As I step into my fairly new role as the Co-Director of Creative Disruption, I’m reminded of the very long, and sometimes painful journey that led me here.

See I’ve been disrupted quite a lot in my life. I’ve been disrupted by men whose bias made my voice inaudible. By white people whose values deemed mine insignificant, and by a capitalist system that taught me that I am not worthy of living a good life unless I sacrifice my sanity--and my culture to do it. 

These are the lies that give credence to the idea that we must work with what we’re given, and not with what we can make. One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned from my art is that disruption doesn’t just have to be something that happens to me--it can be my path to salvation.

As an arts-activist, I’m constantly learning new ways of being, of lending my art to the charge that is social justice. Along the path I discovered Hip-Hopera, my own way of disrupting the social and artistic expectations of a Black girl whose classically-trained background meant she would gladly abandon the sounds that birthed her, for those that would be more easily heard and respected in the spaces that “matter”. 

I fell into disruption, and when I got up I found freedom. 

Disruption is messy. It’s unapologetic. Bold. Demanding. And it’s effective.

This is why I decided to join Arts Connect International. There are major systems designed to favor the few, and they require our disruption. Contrary to popular belief, “the system” was never broken, and that’s precisely the problem. Through ACI I’ve been blessed to work with a group of individuals who embody what it means to constantly rediscover your humanity through a commitment to self-disruption after a lifetime of societal conditioning. 

As I work with organizations who struggle with major inequities, seemingly imprisoned by years of tradition and capitalist incentives, I’m reminded of just how necessary disruption is. With platforms of greater power and influence, their own systems carry the weight that give all others validation and legitimacy. That is why I seek to disrupt those systems before they continue to disrupt the lives of other BlPOC beings whose very existence is a testament to why people in power fear disruption in the first place.

Now my focus is on working with my fellow ACI members to create the tune that makes all the others stop. We may not always get the notes right, but we always get better.

-Zakiyyah

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Image Description: A portrait of Zakiyyah seated in front of a red backdrop wearing a black t-shirt with the text “DANGER - EDUCATED BLACK WOMAN”. She has her left elbow propped up on the pedestal next to her, her left hand framing her face in an ‘L” shape. On the pedestal are several stacked books and a pair of glasses. Photo by Mel Taing

Throughout this fall season we will be highlighting our employee Co-Directors!

Interviewed by Artist in Community Fellow Mel Taing, each co-director will share more about themselves centering on what they're most excited about in their work, how they’ve been practicing self-care, and what they hope to manifest in the future!

Zakiyyah Sutton (she/her) is the Co-Director of Creative Disruption at Arts Connect International. You can follow her work on Instagram - @zakiyyah_official or her website https://www.zakiyyahofficial.com.

To ‘meet’ with Zakiyyah, read below!

What is the juiciest thing you're working on right now? What aspect of your work are you most passionate about in this moment? Is this a particular memory from the past month that you want to highlight?

I'm excited about a show I'm putting together for the end of September at the Museum of Science! The theme is all about decolonizing museums, something that is essential to our arts equity work, and I'm excited that I get to lend my own artistry to this cause.

How have you been filling your cup? How are you creating space for rest, care and joy lately?

I'm still struggling to find my balance. I have a hard time resting because that capitalist guilt seeps in and I start thinking about what I SHOULD be doing. I'm trying to stave off those thoughts by getting back into exercise. Exercise changes my mood in general and I don't really have an opportunity to think about my long list of responsibilities in that moment.

Looking into the near or far future, what are you hoping to manifest? What are you visioning into within this moment?

In the near future, I want to manifest my tribe. I've already found an amazing tribe in ACI, but in my artist life, I'd like to have a tribe that can offer me the support I need to enjoy my art and be able to engage with it without it feeling so burdensome. None of us can go it alone so that's very important to me!

Meet ACI’s Co-Director of Emergence | micah rose

Magandang araw!

My name is micah, pronounced however those letters vibe in your language 🥰

i use they/them pronouns, i’m a gender-transcending cousin to all life, and i wield words toward us re-membering ourselves to each other. Through my Artist in Community Fellowship, i grew into deeper relations with the peoples who make ACI, and so i’ve been growing into a continuing role as a Co-Director of Emergence 🌱

here’s what i know about emergence, in no particular order:

1. nothing

here are seven things i am learning & feeling about emergence, in an order like how poets decide line breaks ;)

1. like in all of nature, every emergence is unique, even if they share patterns; i.e. cicadas wield long gestations for brief & spectacular emergence, but different cicada species actualize this pattern differently and no two cicada from any generation will emerge in the same way or on the same time

2. time is a f#%@!ng mess! moving through this construct via verbs & relationships—to water and ground, to each other, to my body—is how i like to live and love on my madness. my spirit belongs to centuries that this cute lil vessel of flesh won’t reach herself!

3. trust is a wondrous—but complex—speed to move at; how can we be honest about this to honor Source? emergence is Source: “ancient” as in transcendent and eternal ~ an original way

4. not every seed i or we dream is one we or i need to grow; seeds can be beautiful gifts

5. seeds (of life, of thought, of feeling) thrive in interdependence

6. no word is universal ~ take time to learn what people mean as we use these wild inventions called vocabulary

7. “knowing” is a construct; queerying—asking “how?” and “why?” to innovate both intimate and shared living—is one way to destabilize “knowledge” {shoutout Roger Q. Mason for “queerying” and Ocean Vuong for helping me put word to experiences—and second shoutout to Roger for showing me the path of debunking ‘the singular author’ myth!}

i’m very grateful to shape my role as we cultivate circular, horizontalizing, anti-hierarchical ways of being all over our communities. Thought Partnering and Embodying across our Co-Directors feels extremely nourishing.

Elsewhere in my creative life…i returned to acting! I voiceover-recorded, with an incredible team, for 4 audio plays that are part of A.R.T.’s Arboretum Experience—now available to engage for free throughout the greenspace 🌳😁

And through loving support from The Theater Offensive, i’m continuing mentorship in Story Circles, a method nurtured by John O’Neal at Free Southern Theater & shared with me by his student Márquez Rhyne. shouting praise - praying blessings - and singing peace to you, Márquez ~ !

i have a couple more creative excitements to share soon…but for now i’m happy to share from some of the learning i’ve been up to!

A Smol Resource Log 🪵

Our earth is abundant with amazing people and creatures who enrich this world with their presence! Here are six sources of growth, joy, challenge, love, rest and/or more sensations that i’ve been present with over this summer; in no order:

• madina wardak’s instagram

• All My Relations podcast episode: Decolonizing Sex with Dr. Kim Tallbear 

• The rebirth of Brood X cicadas in my childhood home of northern Virginia! I was last around these cicadas when I was 5 years old—they’ve been burrowed for as long as I’ve been in “formal” education! It felt full circle in some wildly potent way to witness (and cry) at their birth alongside my graduation from college… 

• A Socialist, Feminist, and Transgender Analysis of “Sex Work” by Esperanza

• (un)seen exhibit at ConcordArt by Lyssa Palu-ay, Stephen Tourlentes, Rashin Fahandej, and Keith Morris Washington (reopening September 6 thru 12!)

• this meme reposted on Instagram by adrienne maree brown:

Image Description: screenshot from @adriennemareebrown on instagram. The meme is a person labelled “Yo” vigorously playing a card game labelled “una conversación casual” throwing down a card labelled “EL PROBLEMA ES EL CAPITALISMO”.

well, that’s all i have to share in this edition of field notes! i breathe into this transition from August to September greeting you with ease or other nourishment 🧡

[thumbnail image description: micah rose levitating in a gentle grove of eyes, teeth and hair sculptures lit with the trans pride colors. Photo by Mel Taing © 2021]

What We Offer - A note from Allegra Fletcher to the ACI Family

Dear ACI Family and Friends, 

It is with mixed emotions that I announce that I am stepping down from the role of Executive Director of Arts Connect International. This decision was neither simple nor easy to arrive at.

I began my journey with ACI in 2018 as a somewhat clumsy Programming Fellow with an uncanny ability to coordinate my outfits with the artwork on exhibit at the Open Door Gallery where we our offices are located. While completing my EdM in Arts in Education, my budding friendships at ACI proved to be a source of steady and consistent strength during difficult moments - walks, conversations, coffees and teas, Georgetown cupcakes, cathartic artmaking and impromptu karaoke sessions with our Youth United Artists were invaluable. In my moments of joy and victory, this same family showed up, and continues to. When I had a gig or sat on a panel, I could expect someone from the ACI fam to be there. I took my first trip to the continent of Africa with ACI family, and had the pleasure of taking the lead on this year’s virtual Arts Equity Summit where we supported artists and cultivated much needed community during these difficult times. 

And these times are indeed, difficult. I remain ever grateful for the friendships I have developed here, and I have many hopes for how ACI and the arts and culture sector as a whole can move forward, centering equity. It is my sincere desire that we model what it means to put people and community first.

The inequities that we see highlighted during this season were already in existence, and to many are far from surprising. The disparities we see in the arts and culture sector, in health care, education and beyond, also persist in part because we have not slowed down enough to allow ourselves to imagine different and new, and to take the risks necessary to push fragile newness into existence and nurture it in community. Sometimes we must step away to step into healing - for ourselves and for others. What have we to offer each other but ourselves? Let us do the work to not only be better, but to be well. 

I remain ever a part of this global family, in love and expectation.

Gratefully,

Allegra Fletcher

#AES2020 Partner Highlight: Conservatory Lab Charter School

Written by Conservatory Lab Charter School

At Conservatory Lab Charter School, we believe that students are already scholars, artists, and leaders who bring rich cultural resources with them to school. If more schools and arts organizations put students and participants at the center of their work, we believe that it would make educational and cultural institutions stronger and more inclusive.

At Conservatory Lab, because we believe our students can already participate as investigators, creators, and advocates, we put them at the center of their own learning. We treat music as a core subject and in all subjects, teachers and resident artists remove barriers to learning and create opportunities for students to connect basic skills like reading and math to the real world. Students investigate the world through fieldwork and teachers introduce them to the tools they need to understand themselves and others.

For example in 2019, kindergarten students observed trees like scientists in a learning expedition called “Trees Are Alive.” Teachers took students on two trips for fieldwork at the Arnold Arboretum in early and late spring. Each student had their own backpack equipped with tools for measuring, sketch pads, and a set of questions they worked with teachers to create. They shared their findings in science talks, journals, and artwork, enumerating what they learned about how trees grow, how trees affect other living things, and why trees are important for our human community.

In 2019, Conservatory Lab piloted a summer program focusing on Food Justice for students going into grades 3-5. To see for themselves how food is grown and transported to them, students observed their city taking trips to Drumlin Farms, the Blue Hills, a Dorchester Market and a regular grocery store. They worked together in the Lower School garden beds, connecting growing things and soil. Using a social justice lens, students questioned the equity of the different quality and costs of food at grocery stores and markets. Making connections to their lives, students considered how food is wasted, and brainstormed ways to abate waste in Boston and worldwide.

This March, students in Grade 8 celebrated their progress on the culminating experience at Conservatory Lab, the Eighth Grade Capstone Project. Students set up an Artist Salon presenting their capstone research on social justice issues. Visual artworks and poetry lined the walls of a classroom while families milled around to ask questions and students explained their research on social justice issues. The whole salon paused rapt with attention as students performed original spoken word and music about community violence, incarceration, and equity in education.

By taking the work our students do seriously, we honor their practice of reflecting on their own progress in context, so that as Conservatory Lab students grow they learn to approach opportunities and challenges proactively. Because we know our students are already scholars, artists, and leaders, students will be prepared to be independent civic agents and advocate for what they believe in the future.

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In an effort to responsibly curate community and activation during the COVID-19 pandemic, ACI is making #AES2020 virtual! We are still curating three days of art and conversation exploring issues of equity in and through the arts, and we hope to see you there. 

Tickets are free and donations based, and you can register for VirtualAES2020 HERE.

#AES2020 Session Spotlight && Open Mic Sign Up

Virtual AES2020 | 4.24.20 - 4.26.20

We are incredibly excited to bring the Arts Equity Summit to you in its new virtual format! You can still join us in community online for three days of art and conversation exploring issues of equity in and through the arts.

Only those who register via Eventbrite will receive breakout session Zoom links.

Tickets are free and donations based, and you can register for Virtual AES2020 HERE . 

REGISTER TODAY

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SESSION SPOTLIGHTS

We are so grateful to the community of cultural workers that has agreed to share their thought work with the AES2020 community, as we move to collectively build equity. Meet some of the activators, shakers and makers who help ensure the movement happens.

Equity-by-Design: Resistance in Arts Education Praxis through Inquires, Celebrations, & Creative Constructs

Through interactive activities and creative process, Danielle and Terrance invite us to collaboratively reconfigure HOW we think about and do arts and education, core pipelines to arts participation and leadership. Decolonize our imaginations by dismantling and redefining rigor, ensure access to meaningful experiences which transgress Patriarchal-White Supremacy-Capitalism-Ableism, investigate and get inspired by exemplars for centering creative practices which are equitable by design and empower diverse ways of knowing and being in order to expand our palette for applying equity-research. Bring your own insights and creativity!

Art & Global Health Center Africa, Lessons from Malawi 

Working together to share lessons from their work, Rodger and Sharon invite us to:

1. Look at the application of Umunthu, the pan African philosophical concept of humanity, in curbing health access disparities of LGBTI persons through creative participatory arts.

2. Look at the various participatory arts approaches that ArtGlo's UN SDG Action award winning MASA program uses to engage different audiences in gender and sexual and reproductive health and rights issues.

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#AES2020 COMMUNITY OPEN MIC!

Did you know that this year we're rocking an open mic for AES2020? Join us Friday April 24th at 8:30pm EDT , following AES2020 performances.

We want to hear from you! Sign ups are on a first come basis, and the line-up will be shared with artists on Friday before we start.

Hosted by Boston creative extraordinaire Amanda Shea

OPEN MIC SIGN UP

#AES2020 Partner Highlight: The Network of Arts Administrators of Color (NAAC) Boston, ArtsBoston

Written by Audrey Seraphin

For 45 years, ArtsBoston has been working to advance the arts and culture sector, and the establishment of the Network for Arts Administrators of Color (NAACBoston) in 2016 was the next chapter in that ongoing work. ArtsBoston believes that the arts are essential to daily life, integral to who we are as a region, and spur economic vitality for all. It works to unite, strengthen, promote and celebrate the diversity of arts and cultural organizations in Greater Boston because they each represent not only a creative vision, but also provide jobs, inspiration, education and community to the people who live, work and play here. ArtsBoston advocates for a more fair and inclusive arts community working to dismantle systems of oppression and eliminate biases in our culture – and within itself. As a sector, ArtsBoston believes we must create spaces that focus on stories by and for people of color, young people, and working-class people. We want to see equitable support given to organizations led by people of color, women, disabled people, nonbinary people. We believe in arts workers' rights with fair compensation, where working in any job in the arts is lucrative and respected. We want the arts and cultural sector to be recognized as the economic force it is, with innovative strategies around consumer engagement, data collection, and community building.

ArtsBoston works to create a shift in the culture through our programs to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). In response to the strategic planning process, ArtsBoston is looking to advance its EDI work beyond a few programs and trainings by more fully integrating an anti-oppression lens into its organizational strategy and core values. It is currently developing an EDI plan that serves as a foundation for infusing these values in all its initiatives, and establishes priorities and process for the work moving forward to best meet the needs of the sector. It also offers workshops for arts organizations on eliminating implicit bias, deconstructing white supremacy, and making all feel truly included and welcome through audience development.

ArtsBoston is also home to the Network for Arts Administrators of Color (NAAC) Boston, the only group made for and by self-identifying people of color (POC) to empower, elevate, and engage POC workers in the arts sector. Founded in July 2016, NAAC is now over 350 members strong, and is led by a POC volunteer steering committee and ArtsBoston staff members. Connected through an active list serve, NAAC Boston serves as a job board, resource share, social club and skill builder for its members. NAAC Boston specifically aims to offer safe spaces for POC arts administrators to unwind, create community, open doors, reduce sector burnout, and keep talented professionals in the industry. Workshops offered include seminars in salary negotiation, personal finance, personal branding and networking. NAAC Boston also provides public programming to showcase the talent and knowledge of our members with panel series like our Conversations with Leader of Color in the Arts, and organizes outings to both support artists of color and to take up space in traditionally white spaces.

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In an effort to responsibly curate community and activation during the COVID-19 pandemic, ACI is making #AES2020 virtual! We are still curating three days of art and conversation exploring issues of equity in and through the arts, and we hope to see you there. 

Tickets are free and donations based, and you can register for VirtualAES2020 HERE.

#AES2020 Artist Spotlight

We are incredibly excited to bring the Arts Equity Summit to you in its new virtual format! Join us in community online for three days of art and conversation exploring issues of equity in and through the arts.

Tickets are free and donations based, and you can register for Virtual AES2020 HERE . 

Check out the spotlights below to learn more about some of the performing artists who will be sharing their incredible talent and thought work with the #AES2020 community.

REGISTER TODAY

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ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

This lineup of performers will be live-streamed April 24th from 6:30pm-8:30pm EDT . 

Have a fun night in with us as we celebrate resilience and resistance through art!

In particular, we want to thank Red Sage Stories/Playback Theatre and Aysha Upchurch for creating pieces directly engaging with ACI's research on the cultural equity gap. Click HERE to read the research report, Moves Toward Equity: Perspectives of Arts Leaders of Color .

Red Sage Stories

A Dorchester/Roxbury based performance troupe of predominately People of Color, multi-cultural, multi-lingual, and intergenerational. RSS creates space for healing and empowerment for individuals and communities of diverse backgrounds through Playback Theatre and other performance art forms. They are the only Playback Theatre troupe that regularly performs with an ASL interpreter as part of their company.

Aysha Upchurch

Aysha Upchurch, the Dancing Diplomat, is an artist and educator who creates, facilitates, and designs for radical change. Whether on the stage or in a classroom, Aysha is on the move to crush borders and show how Hip Hop and movement education are D.O.P.E. - dismantling oppression and pushing education.

Red Shaydez

Red Shaydez is a multi-faceted, boxer robe-wearing bully of a hip-hop artist and the queen of cool, whose lyrical prowess leaves nothing standing in its wake. The Boston-born lyricist, filmmaker, and mentor has been featured on MTV, Fox 25 News, Hot 96.9 FM and performed at A3C, HubWeek 2018, BAMS Fest 2019. She has just been nominated for “Unsigned Artist of the Year” at the 2019 Boston Music Awards.

Ava Sophia

Laid-back R&B feels and emotionally-driven honest lyrics are what define Boston-based singer/songwriter, Ava Sophia. Ava has performed at numerous venues in the Boston metropolitan area, has toured in New York City, Los Angeles, Valencia Spain, and has been featured by MTV’s TRL. She is striving to inspire through her music.

Zakiyyah Sutton

Boston Performing Artist and Activist Zakiyyah is fusing her passion for social justice with her unique artistic background of opera, jazz, R&B, and Hip-Hop. She recently released her first single, "Shades of Black (The Hip-Hopera) to break barriers and encourage people of color to not compromise themselves in order to fit into white spaces. The single preludes her upcoming album African Import.

Dzidzor

Dzidzor (Jee-Jaw) is a Ghanian-American folk, performing artist, author and entrepreneur. Dzidzor’s style of call and response has re-imagined poetry and story-telling as a way to include the audience in a experience to challenge, inspire and encourage self beyond traditional forms. She began performing through slam poetry and now curates spaces like Black Cotton Club, and teaches at Grubstreet, Mattapan Library and Brookview House.

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POWERED BY HOWLROUND

Livestream for Friday night's programming is made possible by HowlRound Theatre Commons. You can watch the livestream HERE on April 24th, starting at 6:30pm EDT .

#AES2020 Partner Highlight: ARTE

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Written by ARTE

Since our first mural in the Bronx in 2011, ARTE has worked extensively with communities throughout New York City, providing quality, interactive arts-based activities that educate young people about human rights in schools, community-based organizations, and jails.

The first facet of our mission is to educate youth on human rights and equip them with the knowledge to identify the root causes of systemic inequity. Realizing that there was a great disconnect between human rights theory and practice in our students’ day-to-day life, we initially developed to support their communities in realizing and advocating for their inherent human rights.

We’ve found that participants become more knowledgeable, interested, and passionate in human rights through the process of public art and particularly in the creation of a public mural. Public murals are a valuable component in the our curricula, designed to empower both students and their local communities to engage in questions surrounding human rights justice and art as a tool for social change--allowing them to reimagine justice actively in their own backyards.

ARTE’s first mural focused on the issue of human trafficking. Since then, community members have learned and painted about human rights violations both within the United States and internationally. Some of these issues have included harsh sentencing, poor prison conditions, child slavery, gender inequity, and police brutality; inspiration has come from women activists and street artists of color.

Our artwork is motivated by history, another reason we prioritize equity in our pedagogy. We’re currently fundraising to publish a redesigned edition of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It’s a graphic and contemporary reconception of our founding document, one which feels esoteric and out of reach after 70 years of existence. To reassert its relevance in the lives of our students, we believe releasing the document as an interactive and sleek convertible booklet and poster will bring the text’s mission into the modern day.

ARTE strives to offer a platform on which students can freely and safely express themselves and their opinions, all the while providing an arts education their schools and communities often aren’t able to offer. We equip youth with organizing skills that enable them to collectively activate others in steering society towards justice, using their lingua franca and multisensory modes of communication.

From comfort with identifying root causes of systemic inequity to feeling empowered to uproot them through the employment of creativity and galvanization of resources and communities, ARTE ultimately equips our students to cultivate equity in their own lives. The tenor and adaptability of our workshops, interdisciplinary curricula, and deep commitment to social justice are why we believe equity is at the basis of our work as a non-profit.

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In an effort to responsibly curate community and activation during the COVID-19 pandemic, ACI is making #AES2020 virtual! We are still curating three days of art and conversation exploring issues of equity in and through the arts, and we hope to see you there. 

Tickets are free and donations based, and you can register for VirtualAES2020 HERE.

#VirtualAES2020 Keynote Announcement!

In an effort to responsibly curate community and activation during the COVID-19 pandemic, ACI is making #AES2020 virtual! We are still curating three days of art and conversation exploring issues of equity in and through the arts, and we hope to see you there. 

Tickets are free and donations based, and you can register for VirtualAES2020 HERE.

Check out the spotlights below to learn more about some of the speakers who will be sharing their incredible work with the #AES2020 community.

REGISTER TODAY

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Keynote Speaker Spotlight

Mark Charles

Mark Charles is a speaker, writer, and consultant. The son of an American woman (of Dutch heritage) and a Navajo man, Mark teaches the complexities of American history regarding race, culture, and Christendom in order to help forge a path of healing and conciliation for the nation. In 2012, Mark hosted a public reading at the US Capitol of the buried apology to Native peoples in the 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill given by the 111th Congress. He is the co-author of the book, Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery, and he authors the blog Reflections from the Hogan.Mark is currently an independent candidate for the presidency of the United States.

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Keynote Panel Spotlight

Wallace Juma

Born in Busia Kenya, Wallace is an experimental visual artist based in Nairobi. Wallace recently co-founded Kijani artist collective. Wallace uses an array of materials and techniques to visualize his message and thoughts. Most recently, Wallace won the ‘Manjano 2018’ first prize.

Yara Liceaga

Yara is a queer Afro-Caribbean Puerto Rican mother, poet/writer, performer, cultural worker, and educator whose work addresses issues of origin, gender, race, and class. Recently Yara became a Brother Thomas Fellow and was published by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture.

Cindy Lu

Cindy is a former scientist and has been making art full-time for the past three years. Her work emphasizes experimentation and uses materiality to explore the dynamics of interaction and the tension of intermediate states, particularly with respect to societal transformations. 

Edafe Okporo

Edafe is an LGBTQ rights activist, Author of the book "BED 26: A Memoir" and the off broadway show BED26 Play. He is the ED of RDJ Refugee Shelter in Harlem and considers himself as a bridge. He has spoken to world leaders at the UN, educational institutions and Fortune 500 companies. As an openly gay and proud Nigerian, he and his partner live in the heart beat of NYC.

Nayda Cuevas

Nayda was born in Puerto Rico, migrating in 1990 to Florida. As a means of negotiating alienation she turned to the arts to explore her identity. Cuevas' passion emerged for unearthing a visual language to better articulate through visual artsher observation and/or interpretation of her Latinx American experience.

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Live streaming of VirtualAES2020 Keynotes is made possible by HowlRound Theatre Commons. We remain incredibly grateful for their partnership!

During this trying time when the world is learning how to go virtual HowlRound is lending a hand on their knowledge and expertise!