The Loisaida Inc. Center is proud to announce

2017 Loisaida Artists in Residence:

Atomic // Culture

Atomic Culture

February 4th, 2017–March 18th, 2017

Objective

The objective was to utilize the Loisaida Center as a home to develop and explore cultural work that affirms a Latinx provocative spirit to impact local and broader cultural thinking through learning as it promotes diversity, equity, solidarity and community building that strengthens Loisaida and connects it, beyond its borders and limitations, to the broader global community. Atomic Culture’s dynamic residency projects will encourage active participation by creating art-focused social and cultural programs accessible to everyone.

Overview

Atomic Culture is the joint cultural productions between Matthew Galindo and Malinda Galindo. Whose mission is to become a temporary geopolitical idea-space where people from all backgrounds are encouraged to learn, create, and experience art in it’s myriad forms. Below are some words from Atomic Culture.

Loisaida’s artistic residency provides a home to develop and explore cultural work that affirms a Latinx provocative spirit to impact local and broader cultural thinking through learning as it promotes diversity, equity, solidarity and community building that strengthens Loisaida and connects it, beyond its borders and limitations, to the broader global community.

Atomic Culture’s dynamic residency projects will encourage active participation by creating art-focused social and cultural programs accessible to everyone. Their opening exhibit titled Futura Ahora // Future Now will map examples of Latinx arts and cultural practices from Southwest and New York based artists that integrate historical events and traditions to examine how futurism can be used as a decolonizing tool to reclaim land, natural resources, and ways of living that occupying forces have sought to wipe out.

Atomic Culture aims to improve the outlook of our cities by creating art-focused social and cultural programs accessible to everyone, while providing an experiential learning center where artists can create and interact with the next generation of creators and the community at large.

Completed Project

On February 4th, Atomic Culture presented an exhibition titled Future Now // Futura Ahora, which mapped examples of Latinx arts and cultural practices from Southwest and New York based artists that integrate historical events and traditions to examine how futurism can be used as a decolonizing tool to reclaim land, natural resources, and ways of living that occupying forces sought to wipe out. Through sound, installation, literature, and visual arts each artist presented compelling possibilities for the future by embracing and reclaiming their histories, traditions, and present-day experiences.

On March 3rd, Atomic Culture presented a performance with Guillermo Gomez Pena, Balitronica, and Alex Rivera, which was was a part of Future Now // Futura Ahora and posed important thematic questions to the viewers, such as how are art practices can be used as a tool to confront neo-colonialism.

On February 9th, with their during their 5:00 pm event, Atomic Culture hosted a panel titled “Walled Worlds: Border Publics, Cultural Activism, and Urban Planning,” which was informed by the presence of the renowned scholars, artists, cultural activists and critics Ricardo Dominguez, Teddy Cruz, Fonna Forman, and Ed Morales. The panel discussed their distinct yet cross-cultural geopolitical perspectives on the intersections of art and culture, activism and policy, and forced migration, as well as considering how cultural activism, advocacy, and participatory planning begin working to create stronger collaborative movements and build solidarity within and beyond our multiple communities. In the face of political uncertainties, they also considered what tactics and strategies work to strengthen cultural equity advocacy, to influence policy and to advance equity principles as part of what should be enshrined in NYC’s cultural plan. A report-back on the discussion was included as a set of recommendations to the New York City Council’s 10-year Cultural Plan.

Lastly, Atomic Culture hosted workshops throughout February and March that focused on the following:

  • Cognitive Mapping: realizing your space in a neighborhood Cognitive and poetic mapping with the Lower East Side neighborhood and in collaboration with Edwin Torres
  • Nativa Remedies by Celeste Casillas: community workshop on how to use traditional herbs in modern daily life and creating at home remedies influenced by elder and ancestral healing methods and the passing down of stories; where participants will make a salve to take home
  • Mural Workshop: with Navajo/Chicana Muralist Nani Chacon, focusing on the histories, identities, and traditions of the Loisaida neighborhood (in collaboration with Loisaida’s La Lucha Continúa exhibit about the history of community muralism in Loisaida)

Links

“Opinions like those expressed while in a panel, presentation, performance or through artwork are expressed by the author in their personal capacity and are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Loisaida Inc., its affiliates or staff.”