Week 2: Embodying Solidarity
As writers and artists what does it mean to deal with the ongoing horrors of settler colonialism, white supremacy and misogyny in a way that does not merely reenact or re-traumatize? How do we hold the countless beloveds that have been stolen from this world by state sanctioned violence in ways that do not make them into flattened symbols but actually center their humanity? What roles can art and writing play in the struggle for social transformation and generational healing? What is the artist's or writer’s responsibility to themselves, to history, to the ancestors, to the future and to the audience here and now?
Difficult Conversations for a Beautiful World is a curated series of community conversations that will happen throughout 2021. Each conversation will have invited guests from partnering organizations, artists and activists on Lake Street and will be facilitated by Ellen Marie Hinchcliffe and Meena Natarajan. Difficult Conversations for a Beautiful Worldis part of Pangea's Lake Street Arts!- Circling program.
Our first conversation, focused on Art, Trauma and Healing, took place this Monday and will be aired as a live watch party tonight at 6PM CDT on Facebook Live. Click here to tune in- we can’t wait to see you in the chat!
Meet the Artists
Ananya Chatterjea is a contemporary Indian dancer and scholar. She is the founder, artistic director, and choreographer of Ananya Dance Theatre, a professional, contemporary Indian dance company composed of women artists of color. She is also a professor of dance at the University of Minnesota.
Michael Kleber-Diggs is a poet, essayist, and literary critic. He was born and raised in Kansas and now makes his home in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His debut poetry collection, “Worldly Things,” won the Max Ritvo Poetry prize and will be published by Milkweed Editions in June, 2021. Michael teaches creative writing through the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and at colleges and high schools in Minnesota. When he isn’t writing, he is usually hitting a golf ball out of bounds, riding his bicycle, or walking Ziggy and Jasper, the family’s precocious goldendoodles. Michael is married to Karen Kleber-Diggs, a tropical horticulturist and orchid specialist. Karen and Michael have a daughter who is pursuing a BFA in Dance Performance at SUNY Purchase.
Angela Two Stars is a public artist and curator. She is the director of All My Relations Arts, a project of the Native American Community Development Institute in Minneapolis, MN. Angela is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and received her BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design. Angela's professional arts career began at All My Relations Arts gallery as an exhibiting artist, which then led to further opportunities including her first curatorial role for the exhibition titled, Bring Her Home, Stolen Daughters of Turtle Island, a powerful exhibition highlighting the ongoing epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Angela's public art graces the shores of Bde Maka Ska and honors the Dakota people of Mni Sota. Angela was recently selected as the finalist for the Walker Art Center's Indigenous Public Art Commission which will be installed in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden in the fall of 2020.
At Pangea, we know that another world is possible, and giving space for conversations like these to unfold is a vital part of that world we dream of together. You can be a part of this work by tuning in to tonight’s conversation and making a contribution to this #25DaysFor25Years fundraiser today!
