 How's everybody doing? We'll invite the responsive place-making Discussion up just after this. We will take a break. Please feel free to stretch your legs Step outside, and then we'll be in the last portion of the program Welcome greetings peace salam everyone How's everyone doing? I have to say I'm really grateful because of the Rich conversation that we've had so far for that moment to ground ourselves and to breathe so thank you for that Patricia My name is Asad Ali Jafri. I am a artist a cultural worker and organizer based here in Chicago I'm a founding member of space shift collective that seeks to reimagine the ways in which we work live create and play With healthy doses of joy and mischief making as well Our session is responsive place-making Thinking about the context that we're gathering in and the the wonderful framing we had this morning I'm wondering if it's really about how place shapes us and how we respond to that as well So maybe we can think about this conversation in that context Part of the work that space shift collective is doing currently is also relevant to this conversation Because we're building a space to grow and to gather called Shamiana Across four corners of an intersection on Devon Avenue, which is Chicago's South Asian neighborhood and I wanted to start in proximity To that because we are in Chicago and maybe take you to the other edge of the city all the way up on the north side and Ask Patricia You lead access labs in Uptown in Chicago And you're also the designer for the Chicago torture justice Memorial project What intersections yeah, give it up give it up What intersections do you see between this work? For yourself as an individual as well as for the communities that are involved Yeah, thank you for that question There's so many different ways that I can begin answering it The first is Chicago is so deeply segregated in so many ways, right? so how do we understand how to connect and build communities through cultural work and through artistic intervention in different ways and a Lot of the times racial antagonism arises because different races are pitted against each other and so the different work that I do in these different communities is really about like thinking intersectionally and So my parents are Vietnamese refugees. They came here by boat Or not here they came to they went to the islands in Indonesia and Malaysia and then made their way to the United States but These slides are going to advance in different ways, but the for folks who are not familiar with the Argonne neighborhood in Uptown it's historically known as a port of entry for immigrants and refugees and It's actually this nexus of where During the Indian Removal Act a lot of Native communities from different parts of the Midwest came to Chicago looking for job opportunities in a place to Make a home in a different way, but of course there are really, you know violent challenges to that And then there are also folks who were coming up from the Great Migration African Americans poor white Appalachians who were also coming into this neighborhood at the time too and then in addition to that There are also Vietnamese Cambodian Laotian refugees who are coming in the aftermath of the Vietnam-American War and Also before that were folks who were Reset trying to find a place to call home after Japanese Concentration camps as well. And so it's like this nexus of so many immigrants refugees Indigenous and black folks who are coming into the neighborhood in different ways And so we really wanted to create a space that honors we make sense of that history and That's one part of the work that I do And organizing with different types of cultural workers theater makers filmmakers Herbalists all of that and then this other work that I do Chicago torture Justice Memorial projects is to Honor and support survivors of police torture who were tortured under birch John birch who was actually trained by the CIA CIA to assassinate and torture people in Vietnam and then took those torture techniques back to Chicago to implement unperdominated black communities in the city and so Working on this is really thinking about the transnational history and the connection between the military and prison industrial complex And so I can delve deeper and more into the kind of other work that we're doing, but it's really focusing on abolition through different types of artistic intervention And thinking about how do we make life-affirming institutions in the face of death-making institutions? Thank you for that Patricia We're gonna move a little further north and then go to Detroit. I'm Augusta. You're with sidewalk Detroit and Place community and inclusivity seem to be really integral to the work that you're doing How do you navigate these? While balancing them with strategy growth and impact Great question. Yes community is at the heart of everything that we do and In Detroit, we are a predominantly black city. So the people that we are representing are primarily black people And we are working in communities all over the city We work with artists. We work with community leaders. We work with the government in ways that How we kind of Work within these different spaces is we host community conversations and community engagements So the slides that you'll see today are these kind of different areas and avenues where we're doing art We have music festivals and I think there was maybe an earlier presentation, but I think this is an example of kind of everything and The way that we kind of curate these performances these festivals these sculptures is through Community conversations and it's driven by those needs and those priorities And we take those conversations and then we kind of identify the types of artists that are work well with these So some of these you see here this jet, which is a very much Detroit based dance There's examples of Dapke. We have the largest Arab population outside of the Middle East And we have here a Dapke lessons This is sidewalk festival We are in nine years of doing these community-based neighborhood arts festivals and we're able to go into these different Neighborhoods because we are invited in we're never just kind of going in there and plopping ourselves So we are working with community leaders black club organizers Artists that are in those areas and really just kind of like neighbors and residents that want to get involved So we host these kind of open community meetings and also have a curatorial council that helps inform Who those artists are? Some of the other spaces that we work in this is Eliza Hall Park. This is Detroit's I think it's the third largest park in the city It's over 250 acres and the city of Detroit kind of abandoned it and it stopped putting in infrastructure So we raise funds for the park. We started an infrastructure plan in 2016 and with the Residents of that neighborhood. We were able to establish a framework plan And we understood that the type of art that they want is natural materials so through kind of research and We found the artist Patrick Dougherty who in that image of the stickwork sculpture If you go back a few slides that he works with Volunteers to kind of construct that so that was a 21-day process Can you go back a couple slides? Okay, right here right here So this is a 21-day process And we had over a hundred and fifty volunteers come and work with us on this Working with the parks all over the city To cut down these saplings so we had to not only Kind of like we made these relationships with the parks But also we had to get federal permission from like the federal Park Department to work in some of these areas And we cut down kind of these saplings and really have this beautiful process I think there's a slide maybe a couple before which shows a little bit of how we Made okay, here's an aerial view of it But now this is a space where it's like we can host performances Gatherings talks workshops. It's temporary. We're in its third year. It's like a two to three year temporary Sculpture, but we're hoping we can kind of have it for much longer But some of the ways we do Engagement and our strategies which make us I feel like very successful is we create really joyful kind of meetings and yes There's always food and kind of the engagement activities are interesting and there's art making and there's a lot of feedback and Once we process that feedback and like analyze that data We give it back to them and we're like, okay, are we hearing everything right? Are these the priorities kind of create a mission a vision and kind of a set of values And then we work with artists to kind of like sometimes make these things happen like this one and then Think the last one The last slide of this This is our current actually a couple before One before this here. Okay. This is our current iteration. We're working with this artist right now Jordan Weber He's based in New York, but he's Midwest artists, so we love that and this is a Sculpture That we're working in this community. It's called East Cantal village It is two blocks from the Stalantis factory And if you've seen the slantist factory in the news or the media, it's putting out pollutants these pms that are extremely toxic to our Whole bodies asthma rates are through the roof similar to an area in Southwest Detroit Delray community, which the same thing is going on you have these factories inside of your neighborhoods The residents are suffering so this sculpture Well, we may look very pretty. There's a lot more depth that goes into this We are putting an air quality monitor So we're able to understand what the air quality looks like we're also planting trees and other Perennials to remediate the air So we're working across these kind of Intersections of environmental justice environmental racism and we are working there's a school right across the street the Barack Obama Academy School Working with kids teaching them about tree health tree kind of equity and planting trees with them There's an air quality monitor that's being installed Already installed right outside their classroom another air quality monitor. That's measuring the VOC is the bio tile Something components and I'm not the male the oh I'm learning all of this as we are kind of Unfolding this this project specifically what started as a three month residency is now a year and a half because these projects take that long permitting with the city architectural renderings You know as community partners grow. We just got an email last week was like oh, we have 50 Conifer trees would you guys want them? We're like we were looking for you like six months ago when we wanted to install all these trees But to show that people are interested in this type of work and climate change is happening in real and I think as an arts Organization we want to be working a lot in that space and more in that space and open spaces. So I Think I'll leave it at that Thank you. I'm really Seeing the parallels that are coming out amongst the work that's represented here I'm in a shout-out to Detroit jit hardcore Detroit and strings from from their representing on a global scale We're really lucky to have a fellow here with us right now who's in residence Lately you've transformed maybe even preserved a historic space in Baku Turned it into salam cinema a radical creative community space Who is the space for what's programmed there and how do you make those decisions? So hi everyone Yeah Who is the space for I think like Depending on the different perspective the answers will be different if you ask some people then that space is for the marginalized The LGBTQI plus Etc. But for us is actually the space is for everyone and In the context also of a queer space we are also thinking about like how Inclusive our queerness Can be and what it means so for us is it's a radical inclusive space, but also a safe space and The inclusivity of it stops when our safety is under threat But It's space that welcomes artists and anyone who is willing to try itself in creative practice and We don't Operate throughout any forms of theories actually. I think we just do stuff and Sometimes we fail and then we do again and Sometimes if we feel like not doing then we stop and That's how we operate but of course we try also to Listen to what is needed and I guess our programming is based on listening and trying to answer to those needs If you feel like we need to elaborate further on a certain topic Then we decide to do on it for example now it's a global popular topic the topic of the colonization and I think like our practice is in general very the colonial also towards the institutions and Very critical and at the same time we we were like voicing it out constantly We're very critical of institutions. We're criticizing them. We are not an institute We're not implying to be but of course there is some kind of a Structure that is starting to build because we are a group of people and we're growing and we need to make some kind of structure and then it's also a constant reflection like what are we criticizing and why and Yeah, I think it's also Regarding the the colonial topic what I want to say also that it becomes also popular in Azerbaijan where the space is located but And we were very busy with that and then we see how the colonial topic is being used To give a space for almost like nationalist Discourse which we find very frightening and scary So now we're for example developing like how we can criticize that at the same time. This is how we are curating and programming as a form of reaction and listening and Trying yeah Just to pick up on something you said I'm in creating and facilitating spaces and experience that are relevant to specific communities or experiences What sort of negotiating do you have to do? What are the challenges that come with having to make that negotiation and what kind of support would be helpful? You don't have to answer all of those but if anyone wants to kind of jump into that I feel like one thing that comes up in a lot of our meetings is the trauma that Comes in to when you are dealing in spaces that are underserved so oftentimes they're really mad at the system and How to facilitate and so how to be a good facilitator and hear that person? And where they're coming from and just I think be a good listener And I think that's what a lot of us in this room are doing or we're listening. We're being observers And we're being sensitive to what those needs are so I think I Feel like that was the first thing that kind of came to my mind when you asked that question And yeah, like we don't always have the answer but we can listen and try Could you repeat the first part of the question because I What sort of negotiations are you making when creating these kinds of spaces? Yeah Yeah, because like I think when I heard the question the first time I think it was also about what we kind of Discussed earlier and something that you know, there is always like there are people that And you also said like radical I'm not sure what that means in general because like there is an understanding of radical Theory and then people call something radical when it's something radical. How is it radical and? Previously there was a talk about this independence and interdependence and I Don't I don't know if this is an answer in general, but I Feel like in for unfortunately in our context and It's very difficult to voice us out, but we have to make Very often to compromise this and we have to often think about like Where are we ready to take those compromises? because In our context to do something that is understood to be radical is not always It's never sustainable. It's never like a long-term thing. So we need to compromise our Existence sometimes To Negotiations or conversations or silencing Against our will So this is the first part of the question. We may be we can continue Thanks for this question. I'll answer it in terms of how I've navigated with access lab and working through the nonprofit Structure in many ways and thinking about funding right and we've been lucky enough to work with People from the Field Foundation tempest was there at the time who spoke earlier and then also crossroads Like they had a different kind of lens on on what it means to like offer funding in some ways And so it allowed us a way to like maneuver and navigate and redistribute funds to the community in ways that we felt Were grounded and aligned with our values and politics But that's not always the case right a lot of the times funding. It's like 30 million questions And they give you five hundred dollars right and then they want this like 30 page report And so it's like how does that actually Confine you and bind you to the creative opportunities and possibilities you could actually do and so part of the way We've navigated working as a nonprofit organization is like when using that status actually helps us and supports the kind Of work that we're doing but also how to maneuver in ways where sometimes it has to be like When we are volunteer run in some ways or where we're navigating more creative streams of funding how it gives us a different kind of mode of operating and doing things that actually Thinks about how we redistribute funds thinks about how we actually ground it in the voice of the community and Gives us the expansiveness to be experimental in ways that A report can't actually capture or quantify right And then with the Chicago torture Justice Memorial project it is you know It there's something to So the Chicago torture Justice Memorial projects actually part of the first reparations ordinance in the United States that addresses racially motivated police violence and Part of that reparations ordinance includes a memorial because you know There is so much that money, you know money is important to survivors need to be paid and And but that money can never do justice for the time that they were forced to serve in many ways And so what then does aesthetics and an art offer? as a mode of repair as a mode of justice as a mode of Cultivating a different world that continues to demand more on our systems that continue to take from us in many ways And so there is something to it being part of this reparation ordinance and making sure the city pays for it Making sure the city gives us land for it making sure the city actually follows through on their commitments And and so it's playing with in the different realms of work that I do It's really thinking about what can support this work and how and who we hold accountable to doing the work and and how to Navigate that in ways that At the end of the day can be liberatory right because sometimes people will hold the money like a carrot stick And so how do we make sure that we also push them as they're trying to push us or we pivot entirely? Can I also follow up question? I'm curious how you hold the city accountable and how you're able to Navigate and kind of move that Project Amazing it's it's it I came like later There were decades of organizers like I want to give shout-outs to the mothers whose sons were incarcerated Who fought for reparations the lawyers the organizers the activists folks who are part of project NIA BYP 100 we charge genocide like these amazing intergenerational black-led organizations that really pushed for reparations and then continue to push the city in different ways like Artistic interventions train takeovers like all these different things that are like you promised us Don't forget like and and it's really thinking about how to apply pressure in ways that isn't just about Pushing, but also how do we community build as we're doing that too like where we're We're resourcing and supporting our people and we are regrounding ourselves It makes me also think about power or energy and when that's with the people or when it's with like a city infrastructure For example, and what that means about the questions We're asking the permissions we may need or perceive to need and not existing in a binary But like how we go down that path that can often feel like it's not a straight line And when the decisions get made and ask people who have to make those decisions I'm interesting in continue to hear like when we decide a certain type of support is necessary and how we balance that Especially lately in your in your situation even just being in the space that you're in I think a way of the way we practice of Or have on learned or trying to learn at the same time is to take time as well There is a certain rhythm in the cultural industry of expectation of how time goes and how things how quickly things have to happen as well and And how fast you have to react to certain situations even What are these are like political situations and I think like one of the very actually recent Analysis that I've had is that maybe not to rush and to take to allow yourself to take the time to pull poles to press a pulse and Think about it together and Communicate together Listen to each other and evaluate it, but that's time and and I when I say time it's really Really taken a time to reflect on it and that not as a checkpoint of a quick meeting but So yeah, that that is something I would imply for yeah Do you do you want to describe the physical space you have to at the Salam our temple? Because I feel like we kind of glossed over that Yeah, I think maybe in the next slide you can see the space the picture of the building and I don't know if you can Next slide, but it is yeah next one. I think yeah It's actually very symbolic space because it's really located in the center Which is really like super gentrified at the moment and there is only like super luxury Places and they're also getting more and more expensive and then you have this Big building which was built in 1913 as a Malachan prayer house and Malachan's where was a Russian ethnic group that Was in exile from the Tsarist Russia because they would not Accept the Orthodox Church, so they were able to build this building So it was initially meant as a community space Which is very symbolic for us and as a form of resistance and then it became a radio station and now It's three stores of artist studios a cinema theater Sewing lab a huge garden where we plant so it's a it's a yeah multi interdisciplinary space and you own this building We do not own the building we are squatting the building with Electricity that is illegal with water that is illegal and Yeah, we have no registration no legal anything Except ourselves We only have a couple of minutes So I just wanted to see if any of you want to leave us with some parting thoughts or have a question that you want to leave people with Just two things one is I forgot to say this run show. I'll go Grant also helped us out with Mariela in the back and and also the name of the memorial is called breath form and freedom so kind of connecting to the earlier Talk on breath and really thinking about what shape this freedom take and and How do we give more life and offer more life through that space? I think one thing that I've talked a couple folks about is the type of engagement that we do and I'll say I'll leave if anyone's familiar with Adrienne Marie Brown an emergent strategy The one thing that we really focus on is Mild deep inch wide So really getting into the folks that you're talking to in the communities as long as you can and as many Conversations as you can rather than trying to cover as much land so And I would just say that I hope that we can continue to build these relationships because even just being a part of this conversation Has really helped me understand the work that's happening in different places Across the globe and how much we are really all connected and that we need to go mildly with our Relationships first in order to have the power that we're hoping to kind of have collectively as people Thank you you