Tag: socrates sculpture park

and so it begins (!!!)

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FRIENDSSSS!

my favorite seasons are upon us (spring! summer!) and the world is waking UP-

some fun & exciting things to share . . .

– NASTY WOMEN UNITE FEST kicks off this week at venues across the city! i’ll be speaking on their panel about community engagement and activism (alongside my queens queen wendy angulo of canvas of words!) on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26 @ 8pm at PAPERBOX in bklyn, followed by music and dance performances. PLEASE check out the FULL lineup- fest runs through april 30 and founder allison brzezinski did a mammoth task in bringing everyone together! MORE INFO: [website] [facebook invite]

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– my best friend NICK NEON‘s award-winning short film ULTRA BLEU just hit the internet for its digital premiere on 4/23/17 and for the first time ever you can now WATCH IT ONLINE! lived & written & shot in seoul, south korea, it’s a testament to turning your ache into art. ‘we won’t always be 20something + lost’ … so proud of you, bebeh XII MORE INFO: [facebook]

– i’ll be returning to perform at inspired word NYC’s 3rd annual QUEENS LIT FEST which i helped to curate in its inaugural year. now at LIC LANDING in beautiful gantry plaza state park, mike geffner & megan dibello do a fantastic job of curating (100!) queens poets & writers plus musicians over the whole weekend, in addition to open mic opportunities. i’ll be performing at 6pm on SUNDAY, APRIL 30. come out and meet your queens lit community!! MORE INFO: [website] [facebook]

– one of the most personal pieces i’ve ever written, ‘reliquary: the body‘ was recently published by yes, poetry magazine, edited by the lovely joanna c. valente. THANK YOU! [check it out here]

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– psstttt.. a little birdy told me that MY THIRD BOOK will be published LATER THIS YEAR! stay tuned on that… ;) !!!

– and of course…

THE 2017 SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK SEASON of PUBLIC PROGRAMS has been announced!! please CHECK OUR WEBSITE for FULL details about all of the FREE events, workshops, music, film, festivals, yoga, kayaking, dance and MUCH MORE happening in our LIC waterfront park, outdoor art museum, and community space from MAY 6 through OCTOBER 28. this is what i’ve been working on since the fall and i am so excited to finally announce it!

including . . .

** MADE AT SOCRATES, my brand new series of DIY adult (18 yrs. & up) workshops running SELECT SUNDAYS, 1-3pm, MAY THRU SEPT, including: sub-irrigated tomato planters, custom metal stamping, silkscreening, essential oils, soap-making, indigo dyeing and more, all with awesome local partners!

and

** my brand new mini-festival WILDFEST! (AAHHHH) SATURDAY MAY 20, 12-3pm
Wake up your inner explorer with a new mini-festival celebrating outdoor adventure, native folklore, and a richer relationship with the natural world! Join us for a variety of earthy art and awareness activities from Trees New York, SacredWaters, and Embodied Learning, as well as compass work and orienteering with wilderness guide Sam Combs. Earth Living Skills will pop up on-site to share primitive skills and exercises such as flint-knapping and cordage, camouflage, and bowdrill making. In addition, local organizations will share their upcoming outdoor programming, and attendees can enjoy a Native American cultural presentation from the First Nations People of the Americas with Tecumseh Ceaser Matinecock, and Wampanoag Pokanoket and Chief Reggie Herb Dancer Ceaser of the Matinecock tribe Turkey Clan, with hoop dancer Donna Kolm and the Red Storm Drum and Dance Troupe.

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here’s also a great article (with lots of amazing photos!) that was published in this month’s issue of BORO MAGAZINE and online at QNS.com about this year’s socrates season, celebrating our vibrant history and charging forward into the future . . .

Looking toward the next 30 years, the team at Socrates hopes to continue its growth and uphold its mission to serve its community. They hope to bring in more cultural organizations and artistic mediums and expand their audience.
Dimola said that the goal is “for everyone to see themselves represented in Socrates and see it as a place that they can belong- no matter if they grew up here or just moved here, what income what background, what ethnicity.”

hhf-heart

don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have questions or want to get involved or work together this spring/summer! i will pretty much be pitching a tent to live in the wilds at socrates, running around like a loon, and working on my book ;)

can’t wait to see you all out & about in the sunshine . . .

THANK YOU AS ALWAYS for your love, fire, and support!

XO

a.

vignettes, victories

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some wonderful, wonderful, wonderful things:

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i took one of the lil wild ones i babysit to a park in ravenswood i spent so much time playing in when i was little.. most of it has changed but some things remain, like those concrete tunnels. what a trip it was to crawl through them again, see the same vantage points, lean my back against the cool surface in the shadows. // i am an intensely, heartquakingly nostalgic person, to the point that my present is consistently affected by my past. ‘everything i’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it.’ // yet i realized- our task is not to forever mourn the innocence and precious discoveries of childhood, always looking backward, tears in our eyes. but to recognize that we are eternally children in the wake of the world’s wonder. we must STILL learn to use our bodies, expand for new thoughts and ideas, new questions, new perceptions. tear down everything we know to start again with something new. the wonder isn’t over once we learn to walk or talk, balance or write. keep remembering to forget that just because you’re older doesn’t mean you’re done learning and you can just relax into ‘this life,’ the day-to-day, the grind, whatever it is. we owe it to ourselves- past, present, future- to remember we are forever children, forever explorers, forever students of the word, the earth, movement, adventure, imagination.. light.

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do your heart’s work! my heart is so full helping out for a cause i wholeheartedly believe in- creating a new space for literature and literacy in queens with my beautiful and kickass friends at the queens bookshop initiative. getting to play and read to these kids was so wonderful- i even got to share one of my own favorite books from childhood, ‘the land of many colors.’ stories are forever, creativity is forever. we have to foster it in our kids as young as possible.. if you want to support them in their effort to build a second bookshop in queens (we only have ONE in our massive borough right now) please donate to their kickstarter and stay updated throughout their journey!!

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making. this. real. coming to the former wills building at 43-01 21st st, may 18-22, 2016 for the 6th annual LIC arts open festival // Known throughout Queens for her explosive poetry, performance, and curatorial work, this is LIC native Audrey Dimola’s first art installation. ‘go slowly, see miracles’ is an immersive amalgam of hidden treasures and alcoves of memories, a cross between a lost boy’s wilderness hideaway, a secret grotto in the mind, and the gritty intersections of love, identity, and nostalgia. It features a variety of never before seen mixed media art pieces, 3D poetry, found objects, sound and visuals, and more- exploring wild spirituality, descents into darkness, reclamation and annunciation. The work is specially presented in this form for LICAO 2016.

things like THIS happen in the promo video they shot..!

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(video no longer exists)

and most recently…

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after MANY years of wanting to do this, and running along with checking off bucket list items (like the polar bear plunge!) in my 29th year… i finished the five boro bike tour this past weekend!!! // i was so emotional at so many points throughout this trip. just remembering the darkest moments and feeling this, NOW. knowing there’s no limit to life, to the way it can surprise you, how things you dream of are even better when your sweat and hard work make them REAL. despite the rain & cold we didn’t back down from the challenge today.. here’s to riding hard, living wild, and renewed faith in my own strength. i let out a peter pan crow while whizzing down the verrazano to the finish. i will never forget this day & the one soul i had beside me the entire time.. love and eternal gratitude for this entire experience and my wonderful family for being our pit crew in LIC!

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to survive in this world we constantly have to remind ourselves that wildly multitasking is not the goal, going faster than everyone else is not the goal.. being fully present** is.

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also… i could not feel more blessed about working as the new public programs coordinator at my beloved socrates sculpture park!!!

30 years ago, this year, socrates sculpture park and i were born in long island city. i am so proud, elated, excited & inspired to announce that as of last month, i’m the park’s new public programs coordinator! socrates sculpture park has given me SO MUCH- for literally as long as i can remember i’ve spent days and nights playing, writing, observing, and seeking solace within its gates. its home has always been my home. now in its 30th year, which will also be my 30th year this august, i get to give back.. gratitude doesn’t even begin to describe.

never give up // never give up

[all upcoming events are listed HERE

keep the fire in your belly & the gratitude in your heart.. biggest big love!

XO

a.