Join Emily Johnson and IV Castellanos at Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio as we build a Kinstillatory Fire and collectively think, dream, and activate community futures through forms of dance, song, feasting, and witnessing.
Building the fire itself is a process; a practice of provocation; an offering of seed, of vessel, of protection, of becomingness; a way to bring us out of the catastrophe of now. Fireside, we will gather to think and practice, as artists and community leaders articulate thoughts on protection, our collective futures, and other possibilities.
“Fire’s capacity as a kin-making technology resides in the ephemeral effect, the pauses and breaks of the in-between spaces created by the flames.” (Emily Johnson & Karyn Recollet, 2019).
The evening is presented as part of GATHER: Conversations Led by Black & Indigenous Changemakers, co-produced by Guild Hall and Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio. Revenue from the program will equally support Learning & Public Programs at both Guild Hall and Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio. Patrons are highly encouraged to carpool to Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio.
ABOUT EMILY JOHNSON / CATALYST
Emily Johnson / Catalyst is based on Mannahatta in Lenapehoking. We work to pay respect to Lenape homeland, people and ancestors past, present, and future by organizing with communities from the Lenape diaspora to build pathways for Lenapeyok return. We have been taught to name Lenape Nations and say cama’i to our relatives from Delaware Tribe of Indians in Bartlesville, OK; Delaware Nation of Oklahoma in Anadarko, OK; Stockbridge-Munsee and Mohican Community in Wisconsin; Moravian Delaware of the Thames in Ontario, Canada; Munsee-Delaware Nation at Munceytown in Ontario, Canada; Delaware of Six Nations in Ontario, Canada. We strive to be in good relations with our kin—human and more than human—and in effort to support growing kinstillatory relations and sovereign, liberated futures we are anti-colonial and abolitionist in all capacities. We are committed to on-the-ground water and land protection, consistent decolonization work, and Land Back. Quyanaqvaa-lli elpeni to all Sovereign Nations, Indigneous and First Nations people who live in relation to and from Lenapehoking and upon whose lands we work and tour.
ABOUT GATHER: CONVERSATIONS LED BY BLACK & INDIGENOUS CHANGEMAKERS
GATHER spotlights the voices of BIPOC scholars, artists, and leaders, providing lessons on Black & Indigenous histories & traditions, and strategies for moving forward together. The program is co-produced by Guild Hall and Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio. Founded by Jeremy Dennis, artist and tribal member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, Ma’s House is a communal art space that includes a residency program for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), an art studio, and library. The series was awarded a 2022 Engaging Communities Award of Merit from the Museum Association of New York.
