REZidency pt. II
From August 20 to August 31, 2022, The Chapter House held a second REZidency at Transformative Arts in Downtown Los Angeles. Featuring pieces from Emma Robbins and Meztli Projects, we worked with facilitators to provide fun arts programming for visiting community members.
To kick off our REZidency, Lauren Nicole (Tongva, Chumash) led us through a paint workshop. Kimberly Robertson (Mvskoke) led the Land Acknowledgement Beading workshop, followed by Kinsale Drake (Diné) leading a poetry writing workshop. Finally, Thanh Mai (Chumash) taught us about Native plants and plant medicine. We capped the whole REZidency off with piccadillies lovingly constructed by Kayla Miller (Diné).
Dria Yellowhair and her niece painting at the REZidency pt.II.
About the Workshop Facilitators
Lauren Nicole | Tongva, Chumash
Lauren Nicole (LN) is a Southern California-based artist. Her emotive, vibrant, and colorful work centers around freedom of expression and emotions. Lauren encourages viewers to expand their view of what Native and Indigenous art and storytelling look like. Her work has been shown at The Muckenthaler Cultural Center, The Potocki Center for the Arts, and La Gallerie Numerique.
Paint Workshop Facilitator
Kimberly Robertson | Mvskoke
Kimberly Robertson is an artist, anti-violence advocate, scholar, teacher, mother, and citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Robertson is an active member of the Los Angeles Indian community and an Associate Professor of American Indian Studies at CSULB. She facilitates beading and art-making workshops for Native communities both locally and across the United States.
Land Acknowledgement Beading Workshop Facilitator
Kinsale Drake | Diné
Kinsale Drake (Diné) is a writer and narrator whose work has appeared in The Adroit Journal, Yale Literary Magazine, TIME, NPR, Torrey House Press, Abalone Mountain Press, LACMA, NYU Gallatin, and elsewhere. She previously served as a National Student Poet; she currently edits Changing Wxman Collective. She is an Indigenous Nations Poets Fellow, and the winner of the J. Edgar Meeker Prize for Poetry.
Poetry Workshop Facilitator
ig: @kinsalehues
Thanh Mai | Chumash
Thanh Mai (they/them) is a plant tender based in Tovangaar. Thanh grows, dries, and prepares blends of medicinal teas as a way of [re]connecting with the plant traditions + exchanges in their lineage. They work specifically with plants of the southeast Asian + Pasifika diaspora, and Chumash + coastal Natives of Southern California. Thanh encourages folks to learn about the native plants + traditions in their area and support Indigenous-led land work.
Native Plant Workshop Facilitator
About Transformative Arts
Founded by curator jill moniz, Transformative Arts is both an arts nonprofit and a physical space intended to nurture participation in the arts and to develop Visual Literacy that contributes to sustainable communities worldwide. With a focus on freedom, equity, accessibility and diasporic narratives, Transformative Arts nurtures local arts projects that make art accessible through collectivity and collaboration, by and for LA communities.
