“Applying Collective Liberation for BIPOC Artists”

4-week intensive: January 25, February 1, 8, & 15, 2021 | 6 PM – 9 PM EST

White Supremacy is present in every aspect of cultural production, no matter our individual identity. If artists continue to make their work using the methods and tools of racialized capitalism, can their art ever be a tool for liberation? This workshop series, for a BIPOC-only affinity group, aims to support and create a community for artists who are ready to apply, or are already applying, liberatory and anti-racist frameworks into their work. Participants will leave this intensive with a network of peers engaged in similar work, plus tools, collectively generated strategies, and concrete next steps to intentionally build alternative models into their own creative practice, production and/or performance.

This intensive will be conducted over Zoom and each session will consist exclusively of BIPOC artists, including the facilitators and technical administrators. It is best suited for artists already implementing or ready to implement liberatory and anti-racist frameworks in their practice and community. Sessions will be designed with the intention that participants are able to access and use a computer. Participants who will need to use only the Zoom app on a smart device will still generally be able to participate. Participants who will only be able to call in may struggle to get the best experience. The session will be presented in English only.

Participation will be limited to 15 self-identified BIPOC creative practitioners currently living in the Greater Boston area. Artists are asked to submit a form of interest, which the facilitators will review to select a balanced group. Interest forms will be accepted through January 4, 2021, with notification at least a week before the intensive starts.

DEADLINE EXTENDED to January 8, 2021

This opportunity has past. We hope to offer this opportunity again soon!

APPLY: For our 2021 Capacity-Building Grant Program

READ: How Assets for Artists is venturing to work
more broadly within an anti-oppression framework.

ABOUT THE FACILITATORS:

Daniel Park is a queer, bi-racial, theatre and performance artist based in Philadelphia. His work is interdisciplinary, combining live performance and game design to create hybrid experiences that explore the boundaries of human agency. He co-founded Obvious Agency, a worker-cooperative that creates interactive live performances blurring the lines between audience and performer, theater and game. Daniel has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and the University of the Arts. Daniel is also an activist and organizer, focusing on racial justice in the cultural sector. He has provided his services as a facilitator and consultant nationally through the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, and has worked with organizations such as The PA Governor's Commission on Asian American Affairs, ArtPlace America, and Headlong Dance Theatre. He also acts as the membership and engagement coordinator with Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists, a community group that brings together folks of pan-Asian descent involved in the performing arts.

Deen Rawlins-Harris is an artist-educator from Boston, MA. In 2014, they were trained by Interaction Institute for Social Change in facilitative leadership. They’ve utilized their experience as a special education teacher designing curriculum and lessons to build workshops that are interactive, accessible, and grounded in a trauma-informed approach. Deen has facilitated and developed LGBQ/T+ trainings and Racial Justice trainings for people of all ages throughout the East Coast. Their approach is rooted in Patricia Gurin’s pedagogy for intergroup dialogue. All of Deen’s work serves as an intervention on oppressive thought, oppressive practices, and oppressive force.

This online intensive is organized in partnership with, and thanks to generous support of, the City of Boston’s Office of Arts & Culture, with additional support from the Barr Foundation and the Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund (Bank of America, N.A.,Trustee).