Volume 2
Support a grieving grandmother, Paa Joe’s otherworldly coffins, Brianna Hernández’ art on death and caregiving, and sloth babies and cat naps
ACTION ITEMS
The grandmother of 25-year-old Vinson Bragg is in need of support so that she may lay her grandson to rest. Vinson was a victim of gun violence who lived in the East Bay.
SUPPORT VINSON BRAGG’S FAMILY HERE
The families of Harpreet Singh and Riaz Ahmed are still seeking support.
Harpreet was son, Punjabi migrant and truck driver who was murdered while sitting in his car after going grocery shopping.
SUPPORT HARPREET SINGH’S FAMILY HERE
Riaz was a father, husband, Pakastai migrant and taxi driver who was murdered while working as an Uber Driver in Canada.
SUPPORT RIAZ AHMED’S FAMILY HERE
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
DEATH ART
BRIANNA L. HERNÁNDEZ - BELOVED ARTS
Multi-media artist Brianna L. Hernández uses her art to honor the dead and those who care for them. In Aquí Descansamos she creates living gravestones that invite us into conversations about grief, tradition and memorialization. In Utiles Curativos she honors the sacred work of caregivers by gilding their tools in silver, gold and copper. In her on-going work Anticipatory|Después she “captures the complex layers of trauma, dying, and grief through a caregiver’s eyes” so that viewers may explore their own relationships with these complexities. She also offers A|D workshops and resources “[offering] communal opportunities for healing, and an honest, open dialogue around death and grief.”
In developing as an artist, Brianna credits her late mother, Sylvia D. Hernández, as her most significant mentor and inspiration for the creativity, resilience, and compassion she demonstrated throughout her life. Through performative video art, immersive installations, and living sculptures, Hernández’s work expresses the complex layers of end-of-life care, the dying process, grief, and mourning rituals based on lived experiences, cultural research, and collaborations with others in the field.In addition to formal artworks, her practice offers workshops and informational resources for viewers to self-educate through the safety of the creative process. (source)
Right now through July 1 she has an exhibition entitled ‘Beloved Arts’ showing at Ma’s House, an indigenous led communal art space based on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation in Southampton, New York.
PAA JOE AND THE ‘PROPHECY BOXES’ OF THE GA
Theorized to be echos of the long history of palanquin* use by the Ga peoples of Ghana, abeduu adekai (lit ‘prophecy boxes’), figurative, or ‘fantasy’ coffins have evolved into a regional cultural tradition and way of celebrating life, as well as an international art phenomena. Paa Joe, one of the most well known figurative coffin artists in the West, has a collection of work entitled Gates of No Return which consists of architectural models of Gold Coast castles and forts:
This production alludes to Paa Joe’s coffins, seen as vessels ferrying the dead in the afterlife, speaking to spirits separated from bodies in trauma. Archival documents and recordings accompany the show. (source)
If you would like to support Paa Joe in creating an Art Academy in Accra you can donate here.
*you can read more about the history of palanquin use and figurative coffins here.
CARE AS THE ENGINE OF EMPATHY
In a beautiful interview with Angela Garbes, author of Essential Labor-Mothering as Social Change, and Anne Ishii, writer and director of the Asian Arts Initiative, our very own Resham Mantri explore the art of caregiving and the many shapes it takes over our lifetimes. Focusing on motherhood, pleasure and community, this interview provides alternate frameworks for understanding caregiving and how it is mirrored through never-ending acts of love. Resham writes:
I identify as a mother, because of my particular birthing and child-rearing journey. When I read modern writing about motherhood, I’m often left wanting to read more about the connections between caregiving for children and caregiving in other contexts. I want the experience of motherhood to connect me to other parents, yes, but also to other humans who know deeply the value and pleasure of caregiving beyond only the role of motherhood.
OFFERINGS WE LOVE
Queer + Trans Reproductive Loss Support Training with King Yaa
JULY 5- AUGUST 11 over Zoom.
One of King’s many incredible offerings, “this 6 week intensive training will explore various aspects of queer reproductive justice and health care and agency access to provide you with the skills to be a decolonial, anti-oppressive, trauma-sensitive queer reproductive loss companion.”
How to Talk to Your Immigrant Parent About Death with Meso Community
Virtual live courses including two 1:1 sessions and four group sessions
Begins July 9!
”MESO emerged from our own needs and experiences. As daughters of Korean and Thai immigrants, we each have searched for resources in the lead-up to and aftermath of our parents’ departures. Grief and end-of-life resources are plentiful, but nothing in the landscape seemed to acknowledge the complexities of our familial relationships and customs”
SIMPLE PLEASURES
Asking for a friend
Better than Shakespeare
Our favorite Elton John
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day
