Mayela Rodriguez, Stephanie Brown, Anya Klapischak: Virtual Anti-Racism Workshop
Stamps alumni Mayela Rodriguez (MFA ’19), Stephanie Brown (MFA ’18), and Anya Klapischak (BFA ’15) have collaborated on a virtual anti-racism workshop
Do The Work: Hacking Together Your Own Anti-Racist Curriculum Via Digital Cartoneras is a three-part virtual workshop co-led by Mayela Rodriguez and Stephanie Brown in collaboration with The Hosting, an arts non-profit run by Anya Klapischak. During the workshop, participants are invited to contribute to a collection of virtual cartoneras that unpack their relationships with anti-blackness and anti-racism work. Originating from Buenos Aires, Argentina, cartoneras are a form of community-based publishing that makes literature more accessible through low-tech printing and grassroots distribution. Filled with a combination of original and found materials, the digital cartoneras created during the workshop series will be added to an online, public archive.
Although all are welcome, the workshop centers the perspectives of BIPOC and is intended for folks already committed to their own anti-racism practice. This series is pay-what-you-can, with all proceeds going to The Loveland Foundation. Suggested donations range from $10 – $100.
Workshop dates:
July 14 — 7:30 – 8:30pm
July 21 — 7:30 – 8:30pm
July 28 — 7:30 – 8:30pm
Mayela Rodriguez is a social practice artist reimagining institutional critique as a collective, inclusive, and healing process for Latinx communities. By facilitating the production of community-made collections, Mayela seeks to remind participants of the inherent power of their creative voices in making change. Originally from California, Mayela is currently based in Michigan. Most recently, Mayela has worked on collaborative projects with Latinx communities in Ann Arbor, Michigan and New Cuyama, California.
Stephanie Brown is a Jamaican descendant born and raised in Delray Beach, Florida. She holds a BFA in Photography from Savannah College of Art and Design, as well as an MFA degree in Interdisciplinary Art and Museum Studies Certificate from the University of Michigan. Stephanie grew up at the intersection of her Jamaican and Black American identities. Broadly her work is a reflection of her internal self/ancestral exploration. The work is a historical yet critical investigation of identity construction and the occurrence of implicit and explicit bias in the world around us. Stephanie visually navigates the concepts in her work with photography, object making, creative writing, and interactive installation to create thought provoking imagery and dialogue that ultimately challenge narratives in the world that informs who we choose to be as individuals.
The Hosting is an experimental artist residency program based in Ypsilanti, Michigan. We work with artists of all mediums, providing studio space and a curriculum that promotes accountability and sustainability in the life of the artist. Our mission is to be a good host to yourself, to others, and to art. The Hosting was founded in 2016 by Anya Klapischak in her one bedroom apartment in downtown Ann Arbor. By 2018, The Hosting had hosted three artist residents and closed its 20th art show. In February 2019 The Hosting received its non-profit status and moved into a studio and gallery space in Ypsilanti, Michigan.