Vairavan at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, Bdote, in “A Cleanse Unseen / Matriarch Waters” a dance film for the Asian Women United of Minnesota (AWUM) fundraiser in October 2020. Photo by Nancy Wong.

Dr. Martinez shares her beautiful idea that understanding, feeling, and being persuaded by the facts of climate change must be done through art and dance as well as through facts and evidence.

Chitra was invited by Dr. Martinez to perform her work titled ஜன்னல்/Jannal/Window Into Healing, a personal meditation. a offering. a ritual. a practice. a vibration. a heartbeat. a dedication.

Re-bloomed Lotus
by Chitra Vairavan

a part of JOBSITE
Directed by Theo Langason Cinematographer: Serena Violet Hodges
Camera Operator: Adam Foster Jacobs

Artist Talk Series: Consent, Awakening, and Reclamation // Conversations between Artists of Color and Indigenous Artists

The Artist Talk Series: Consent, Awakening and Reclamation is made possible by the support of McKnight Foundation and our East Side Freedom Library collaborators and staff. Thank you all sincerely for your funds, labor and time.

Gabrielle Civil (black feminist performance artist, poet, writer and educator) joins Chitra Vairavan (dancer/choreographer, performance artist and former staff at the ESFL) in conversation this month, to discuss liberatory performance practices and her latest performance memoir, Experiments in Joy (2019), celebrating black feminist collaborations and solos in essays, letters, performance texts, scores, images, and more.

This feature focuses on Twin Cities Asian American artists + educators perspectives, identities, political labor, Anti-Blackness, and the ongoing Uprising in our communities. Learn and listen to the many ways in which these women of color carry their work into creative, personal and communal spaces. Join us for another 45 minute conversation and collaborative session with Chitra Vairavan.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS + EDUCATORS

Anita Chikkatur (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Studies at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota. Her research and teaching interests include student and teacher perspectives on issues of diversity and difference in educational institutions. She is currently working with youth, parents, and educators on a participatory action research project in Faribault, Minnesota.

Current work:

She collaborates on two public scholarship projects: a co-authored blog with Adriana Estill about campus politics and a podcast about books with Adriana Estill, Crystal Moten, and Todd Lawrence. She is also a member of the Minnesota Chapter of the Education Liberation Network, which is focused on educational justice.

Pao Houa Her is a visual artist living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She works across multiple genres and technologies of photography to address Hmong identity and related notions of desire and belonging within the Hmong American community.

Artist website: http://www.paohouaher.com/

Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay is a Lao writer. Her plays have been presented by the Smithsonian APAC and Theater Mu. Awards include a Sally Award, Jerome Foundation, Knight Foundation, Playwrights’ Center, Loft Literary Center, Forecast Public Art, and elsewhere. She’s named a Mellon Foundation National Playwright in Residence at Theater Mu.

Artist website: www.SaymoukdatheRefugenius.com

ABOUT THE SERIES

The artist series is built on consent, awakening and reclamation, as we speak of stories and experiences in our chosen fields that break norms, boxes and ask us to co-create and collaborate our way forward. What are our new ways forward in this time? What are we co-creating? What are we reimagining? We ask each other where we have been, where we are now and where we are heading.