Springs from Below: Art-Making Workshops
Woven Waterways
Resist Recycle Regenerate held their annual public paper making workshop at the Chatham Square branch of the New York Public Library. Local community members, as well as W.O.W. and RRR family and friends convened for an afternoon of confetti papermaking, graciously hosted in the library’s community space. Pulling sheets of paper was accompanied by a paper fish making and decorating activity inspired by the prompts: “What is home? Who is there? Why do we return?” These paper fish later featured as props in W.O.W.’s Springs from Below: People’s Abolition Parade.
Calling us Home: Learning Resistance
By the basketball courts of Columbus Park, Denise Zhou and Joy Freund led an iteration of the teach-in on Rikers history and the connections between policing, prisons, and US imperialist violence abroad. Folks took the time to channel their curiosity, hope, despair, rage, and love into wishes and commitments to a better future. Calling upon the imagery of plants, water, and words, the fabric strips participants decorated became the tentacles of three jellyfish puppets used in the Springs from Below: People’s Abolition Parade.
Pins, Patchwork, and Power: Patchwork Banner-Making Workshop
Summer Program Coordinators Cocoro Kitagawa and Sophia Kschwendt held space in Columbus Park for participants to create patchwork squares to contribute to a collective banner used at W.O.W.’s Springs from Below: People’s Abolition Parade. Using fabric, thread, ribbons, and found materials, folks responded to the prompt, “what do you dream for Chinatown in place of a jail?” The squares they decorated were pinned around the text, “Chinatown is a site of resistance,” and this banner led the front of the parade.
Ceramic Bells Making Workshop
CRNY artists Juliet and Singha led their final workshop with a group of elders from the Chinatown Kiwanis Club who they taught to make ceramic bells. Through an afternoon of conversation and hand building with clay, the group explored concepts related to safety, and the importance of our voices in the conversation about Chinatown and the jail right now. Robust bilingual facilitation support from Judy Lei and Chris Deng made it possible to have a cross-lingual conversation about safety and ceramics. Immense gratitude to our facilitators and to all the members of the Kiwanis club who shared such heartfelt hopes, and created such beautiful bells.
Carp Kite Making Workshop
Inspired by the Chinese legend of the carp leaping over the dragon gate, CRNY teaching artists Joy Mao and Lorraine Lum led two groups of participants in the design and hand carving of diamond-shaped “fish scales” symbolizing windows into our future. As the original fable highlights perseverance and strength in numbers, Joy and Lorraine translated this sentiment into a communal invitation for folks to design scales inspired by the prompt, “what can you imagine for our community?” in place of cops and carceral systems? Participants printed their fish scales onto fabric which was afterwards constructed into a series of carp-shaped wind socks that flew in our Springs From Below: People’s Abolition Parade.