WE ARE HERE, a three-day arts festival exploring Indigenous past, present and future, comes to Abrons Arts Center next week, beginning Thursday, Sept. 5 through Saturday, Sept. 7. The festival is curated by Abrons Arts Center 2019 AIRspace Curatorial Resident Aru Apaza. They write:
The festival will include work by Indigenous visual artists, filmmakers and musicians who utilize their own technologies, ancestral knowledge, and survival tactics to reflect on what it means to live a “balanced” life during the “unbalanced” times of late stage capitalism.
Aru Apaza (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist who favors working in performance, installation, and analog film media. Based in Lenape territory, Aru is Aymara, connecting her to the sacred lands of so called Bolivia. Currently, Aru explores late stage Capitalism through the lens of a space ndn, portraying the myriad of experiences surround Urban Indigeneity. Often lost in the dissonance of Capitalism, imagination becomes vital in initiating an important dialogue of indigenous liberation and survival. Apaza’s work is situated within the vast intersection of Ancestral Technologies and modern day Western Imperialism.
The schedule includes events like a Morning Water Prayer and Plant Walk at the East River Ampitheater. Check out the full schedule below:
SEPTEMBER 5
Thru her Eyes: Indigenous films
Playhouse • 6:30 – 9:30pm
Sliding Scale Admission: $5, $10, $15, $20
SEPTEMBER 6
Morning Water Prayer
East River Park Amphitheater • 7:00 AM
Plant Walk with HERBAN CURA
East River Amphitheater • 9:00 AM
$10 and $20 suggested donation
WE ARE HERE
Exhibition curated by Aru Apaza
September 6-October 3
Opening Reception with Sounds by DJ beeso and Chhoti maa: 6:00-9:00 PM
Emily Johnson/Catalyst: Kinstillatory Mappings in Light and Dark Matter
Amphitheater • 7:00 – 9:00 PM
A ceremonial fire, community, and story telling to honor and give gratitude to the Lenape Land Abrons is situated on. Bring food to share!
SEPTEMBER 7
Communal Sand-Painting with Bert Benally
Abrons Amphitheater • 12:00 PM
Free! With RSVP
All Nations Day Party
Amphitheater • 1:00 – 4:30 PM
Free! with RSVP
The Kinship Spaceship
Experimental Theater • Doors at 6:30 PM, Performances at 7:00 PM
Sliding Scale Admission: $5, $10, $15, $20
SEPTEMBER 20
El Salón
Main Gallery • 7:00 – 9:30 PM
Free! With RSVP
SEPTEMBER 15, 22, 29
Creating Other Worlds: Scifi Writing Workshops with Lou Cornum
Abrons Room 201 • 1:30- 3pm
Free! with RSVP
OCTOBER 3
Emily Johnson/Catalyst: Kinstillatory Mappings in Light and Dark Matter
Amphitheater • 7:00 – 9:00 PM
A ceremonial fire, community, and story telling to honor and give gratitude to the Lenape Land Abrons is situated on. Bring food to share!
