Curated by Ali Rosa-Salas
Presented by BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange and The Helix Queer Performance Network
With Akeema-Zane, bklyn boihood, Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Erick Hernandez, Katrina Reid, Kenny Rivero, Taja Cheek, Jon Henry, Jonathan Gonzalez, Liberation Cuisine, LifeCycle Biking, Melanie Charles, MINKA brooklyn, Natalie Sablon, Rena Anakwe, Shala Heather Miller, and YATTA
Thursday, November 2 – Sunday, November 6
Tickets & Times vary (see schedule below)
All events will take place at MINKA brooklyn
Submerge — BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange’s annual festival of queer and trans artists of color — returns for its fourth season with Submerge 2017: Break Time, curated by Ali Rosa-Salas. With this year’s festival focusing on issues of grief and care, BAX is producing Break Time entirely off-site at holistic healing space MINKA brooklyn; the program features, not just performances, but therapeutic breathwork, creative therapy, a visual art exhibition, a meditative bike ride and a community meal. Responding to traumas both intimate and global, curator Ali Rosa-Salas has crafted a program that resists “the pathologization of sadness” and provides space for queer and trans people of color — and their communities — to inhabit a full spectrum of emotions in a world of stress, violence and heartbreak.
Curatorial Statement
We are concerned with the expectation to bounce back, the practice of checking in, the call to take care.
How do you sound when you break?
What does it feel like to pay grief its rightful dues?
We want to know how you are doing.
Break Time brings together healing practitioners, visual and performing artists in a network of support and contemplation around grief. A transformative process that we all inevitably encounter, grief breaks and makes conceptions of our very being and the sensorial phenomena of time, memory and permanence. Break Time proposes that healing is an interdependent practice, and that no loss is too small to mourn.
The festival will feature performances directed by Jonathan Gonzalez; an evening of round robin musical duets curated by Taja Cheek; a community bike ride hosted by bklyn boihood and LifeCycle Biking; sliding-scale healing modality sessions by MINKA brooklyn; and a grief work seminar and brunch facilitated by Natalie Sablon of Harriet’s Apothecary. Throughout the festival, Multiple Sides of the Bed, a visual art exhibition curated by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., will be on view.
| DATE/TIME | EVENT DETAILS | TICKETS |
| Opening Reception November 2 6-9PM On View November 2-5 6-9PM | Multiple Sides of the BedCurated by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr. My mother has collected a number of angel figurines over the last fifteen years. In each of the homes that my mother has lived in over the course of owning these angels, they have always been placed on a prominently visible surface. Each of them bears a name, along with their divine title, under its base. Most, if not all, of these angels have fallen from their displays, caught in the crossfires of childsplay or other benign violence. Some have been repaired, while others are missing pieces altogether. Amari, Angel of Strength, lunges forward with steadfast eyes, one arm triumphantly raised above his head, and the other impaired to a point just beneath his ear. Amadi, Angel of Happiness, rests on top of a stool with her hands positioned to play a missing harp that has left a chalky imprint in the grip of her palm. When do you insist on being seen while broken? Framing grief in terms of visibility, specifically the ability to see yourself during this time, this is my proposition to you. In Multiple Sides of the Bed, visual artists Erick Hernandez, Jon Henry, Shala Heather Miller and Kenny Rivero share their organizing frameworks for making sense of grief processes. | FREE |
| Friday, November 3 - Saturday, November 4 8-9PM $5-$15 sliding scale; Capacity limited. Advanced Reservation Highly Recommended | Obeah (A Black Ritual)Directed by Jonathan Gonzalez Obeah (A Black Ritual) is an alchemical choreography contemplating grief in the sensorium of a social gathering. The unnamed potential of depth is met with the elusiveness of deep water as sound artist Rena Anakwe and performing artist Katrina Reid propose a collective descent into the undercurrents with an insistence on superstition. Their dialogical improvisation composes an ever-expanding blackened surround, which submerges its witnesses in the dynamism of the wave—a habitat of specters and impressions—as it calls for togetherness with ardent yet detestable desire. Due to capacity, advanced reservation highly recommended. There will be a limited number of tickets available at the door (cash only). | HERE |
| Saturday, November 4 10AM Admission: $5-$15 sliding scale; Advanced Reservation Required | Leave It on The RoadPresented by LifeCycle Biking and bklyn boihood Leave It on The Road is a healing, meditative cycling practice presented by LifeCycle Biking, a cycling collective focused on highlighting emotional health and community building through cycling, particularly for communities typically left out of the sport (women, people of color, low-income, LGBTQIA). Central to the practice is the belief that through physical activity, we can bring more intention behind our thoughts and use our bodies to heal. LIOTR will coincide as a part of the monthly ride series, Different Gear, a cycling collaboration between LifeCycle Biking and bklyn boihood. The 10-20 mile ride* will begin and end with intention setting and healing modalities. *Ride duration and route to be determined closer to date of ride. Please check events.bax.org/break-time for more information. While we understand that everyone's financial, physical, and mental attributes are different, we ask that you wear a helmet. Please bring a lock to secure your bike after the ride and cash to purchase things along the way. All riders will be provided with a complimentary bottle of water and a light snack. This is a no drop ride, so no one will be left behind. Due to capacity, advanced reservation highly recommended. There will be a limited number of tickets available at the door (cash only). | HERE |
| Saturday, November 4 12:30-4PM Admission: $25-45 sliding scale Advanced Reservation Highly Recommended | Full Moon Intentions (Presented by MINKA brooklyn)HeArt Healing with Stephanie Moreno An intuitive creative therapy session, including guided meditation, Art therapy, and Self-Love guidance, facilitated by Stephanie Moreno. Sessions will be in 30 minute increments from 12:30-4pm | Capacity: 1 per slot Due to capacity, advanced reservation highly recommended. There will be a limited number of tickets available at the door (cash only). | HERE |
| Saturday, November 4 1:00-3:00PM $15-40 sliding scale | Full Moon Intentions (Presented by MINKA brooklyn)Full Moon Circle With Written In The Stars with Carmen Mayes Full Moons are our monthly opportunity to accept the ending of a cycle. We either harvest the fruits of our labor or have to accept that things didn't turn out as planned. Either way, this period is a time of reflection, healing, self-love, and release. The Moon Circle is a space where women and femmes can gain insight, be vulnerable, and support each other in growth. We will look at the astrology of the full moon to understand where we are being called to release and heal, partake in a ceremonial release ritual to remove mental and emotional blocks, and set our intentions for manifestation and growth for the beginning of the next moon phase. Due to capacity, advanced reservation highly recommended. There will be a limited number of tickets available at the door (cash only). | HERE |
| Saturday, November 4 3:00-5:00PM $20-40 sliding scale | Full Moon Intentions (Presented by MINKA brooklyn)Full Moon Breathwork with Jordan Pagán Pranayama Breathwork is an incredibly powerful, effective self-healing practice that releases trauma, stored pain, emotional blocks, and stuck energy in the body. Breathwork is a fast and easy way to get clarity about a situation, release old programs and patterns, and restore your physical, emotional and spiritual body to a state of wholeness. In the circle, we will discuss the themes of the Full Moon and the energies it brings. During the session, Pagán will hold space for you and support your journey with love, essential oil blends, palo santo, sweetgrass and Reiki. Due to capacity, advanced reservation highly recommended. There will be a limited number of tickets available at the door (cash only). | HERE |
| Sunday, November 5 11AM-2PM Admission: $30, includes family-style brunch catered by Liberation Cuisine Capacity limited. Advanced Reservation Required | Healing the Grieving SoulFacilitated by Natalie Sablon, with a family-style brunch catered by Liberation Cuisine Grieving is a necessary process: it is the act of letting go and accepting that change occurs in one’s life. It is the work of moving on that must be accomplished or we will remain stuck in the past. The purpose of this workshop is to uncover and identify self care and group care strategies for the grieving soul, which will allow for expansion around the grieving process. Together, we will journey through handmade herbal remedies to soothe the aching heart, commemorate the love we have lost, and set off on the journey of healing and recovery. Due to capacity, advanced reservation highly recommended. There will be a limited number of tickets available at the door (cash only). | HERE |
| Sunday, November 5 7-9PM Admission: $5-15 sliding scale | 8 RitesCurated by Taja Cheek With Akeema-Zane, YATTA, and Melanie Charles Taja Cheek invites musicians Melanie Charles, Akeema-Zane, and YATTA to participate in an evening of "round robin" performances: a rotating series of solos and duets. 8 Rites explores the eulogistic potential of sound and song, and contemplates the fluid relationship between individual and collective grief. Due to capacity, advanced reservation highly recommended. There will be a limited number of tickets available at the door (cash only). | HERE |
Notes about Venue, Directions and Access:
MINKA brooklyn is a shoes-free facility.
MINKA brooklyn is located on 1120 Washington Ave, Third Floor, 2 blocks away from the Prospect Park Subway Station, which has elevator access.
MINKA brooklyn is located in an accessible building with elevator access. The bathroom is all-gender. If you have specific access questions or needs please email Minkabrooklyn@gmail.com.
