As an artist in residence with Fleisher during the Bring Your Own Project initiative, I facilitated a collaborative process of art making over 1 year from Jan 2018 through a culminating presentation at Cherry Street Pier in May 2019. Below is an essay published in BYOP Fleisher Catalog reflecting on the process.

From my first day on January 31, 2018, the energy of the group was palpable, and their desire to share and be heard was evident.  

As the invited project facilitator, my role was to use my artistic abilities toward creating openings, possibilities and sparking new ways of thinking. To do this, I also had to break down the idea of Artist and Teacher, guiding activities that demonstrated the creative abilities we all possess, and inviting each participant to identify and share their unique skills. 

The women found strength in the power of this ‘third space’ where they could learn, share, improve their craft, and ‘sacar lo de la semana.’ Above all, it was a space for convivencia: sugarcoated, caffeinated and spicy at times. 

The women didn’t come with a project. 

They came with themselves. 

It felt more like Bring Your Whole Self. 

February - March // Sembrar  

Early on, we engaged in quick exercises such as collage, zine making, photography, paper mache, and printmaking. These activities helped the women define and discover the potential of expressing personal meaning and story through different mediums.  They found power in the ability to transform something with little value into something new and inspiring.            

A field trip to the Magic Gardens brought these ideas into focus even more. In Zagar’s work, they witnessed the power of symbolism and visual language to represent deeper personal stories, experiences and trauma. It was a profound turning point for many of the women.  It liberated them to move away from literal representations, and affirmed the ways that shapes, colors and recycled materials can tell stories without relying on spoken language. 

April- May // Cultivar

To access their stories, a series of guided meditations helped create a space for vulnerability and reflection; ideas started to take shape and speak themselves into being. 

As we started making decisions about how to bring individual ideas into a collaborative process, it raised the question for me: “How do you cultivate leadership within a group without creating power imbalances?” 

It became clear how important support systems are in this process. When people open up and share, you have to be prepared to respond appropriately. I didn’t always feel equipped to do so. Listening felt insufficient at times. 

In May, the group defined their mission. The theme of legacy emerged.  “Basado en valores de solidaridad, equidad y dignidad, el proposito es motivar a mas mujeres para que no solo estanquen sus talentso en el hogar asi no lo que suenan tambien puedan lograr.”

May – August // Criar

In May, my role shifted, and this coincided with the birth of my son. Not being present, forced the women to make some decisions to move the process along.  It was both challenging and exciting for me to leave a process in one place and come back with it in another. The decision to start working on the curtain was underway. 

Throughout the process, we worked hard to encourage all the women to share their talents and interests as a means to build confidence in their own existing abilities- from sewing to cooking, crafts and beyond. All of these skills made their imprint on the project.

Upon returning and bringing baby Phoenix into the space also shifted my role. I became a participant. I learned how to crochet.  It felt good, but as weeks passed it also felt like the process needed more guiding.  I was torn between embracing the flow, and pushing for a timeline and definition. 

The process of recording audio interviews and small group conversations, helped further define the meaning of the project. There was a strong desire to create something that held space to acknowledge all the participants, years past and present.  The central Queztal figure was chosen to honor a past participant, but also signify freedom from captivity, healing and compassion.   “La escala del trabajo refleja el valor de que muchas personas juntas pueden crear fuertes conexiones y un trabajo hacia un objetivo unificado.”

The group was literally weaving symbols and pieces from companeras no longer physically with us, but spiritually present.

September- December / Cosechar

By late summer we were all moving toward a shared goal. The Crochet- a-Thon was meant to push us toward the finish line. The project was introduced to the public. It was also an opportunity to collaborate with another artist, Marbufs, who shared her technique of crocheting with plastic bag yarn (plarn). The exchange of skills and ideas between the participants, Marbufs and the public, further affirmed and uplifted their role as artists in the community. Bringing all the pieces together was the final stage. The initial vision organically took shape as the composition and its elements became more defined.

Reflections 

In the end, the individual stories became embedded in the materiality of the piece. They remain hidden, bound together with strength, determination and creative will.  Where names are not foregrounded, each contribution, small and large is literally woven together to make something stronger than its individual parts. 

In an anti-immigrant climate, this piece creates an alternative vision- a porous wall, impregnated with stories, narratives and personal experience. Transforming cosas tiradas into beauty, bound together for a greater good, shining light on their potential.

It demands that we see differently. What is in front of us, is not what it seems. If we can work together, we can all replace walls with curtains.