IMPACT Harlem Youth "Artivist" Town Hall & Collaborative Performance on Black and AAPI solidarity
IMPACT Harlem youth will bring their community an open debate and interactive art performance on how the Black community can support the AAPI community in the wake of recent anti-AAPI violence.
Leader
Mary Jane Marcasiano
Location
West 135 th Street New York , NY 10030
About the project
The IMPACT Town Hall Project is an ongoing multi-platform series of actions to give agency to Harlem Youth to organize and participate in discussions on crucial issues to them and their community. The second edition of the IMPACT Youth Town Hall Project will be a multi-generational community Performance Art Event that will give a safe space for a community discussion in Harlem on Black and Asian unity. Harlem youth will bring to their community historical precedents, such as the rainbow coalition and the friendship between civil-rights leaders Malcolm X and Yuri Kochiyama. The current inspiration is the Black Lives Matter statement "When we call for the eradication of white supremacy, we are saying that Asian Americans, and every other marginalized racial group, deserves to be freed from the violence, intimidation, and fear. None of us are free until we all are". IMPACT youth will research, organize, invite guest speakers and lead a dialogue on this subject. The event will culminate in an audience participatory performance Chorepoem to engaging the community in creating art. Through call and response, improvisation, and creating a safe space to add to the collaborative conversation.
The Steps
IMPACT youth will work with leaders and staff to plan the Town Hall event, targeting discussion topics and the final artistic output.
They will reach out to guest speakers, create materials, and receive training in questioning, discussion techniques, performance techniques, and how to lead an audience in a participatory art event.
With the help of staff and consultants, they will learn to set up audiovisual materials and receive tech support for virtual and onsite sessions.
The youth will reach out to community members and invite them to discuss and instruct in performance techniques.
Throughout the process, IMPACT youth will use the Town Hall topic to devise and rehearse new materials into the IMPACT Repertoire on this subject which will be performed at additional community events.
Why we‘re doing it
IMPACT youth know what it is to experience anti-Black bias and violence and now witness the recent anti-AAPI violence. The project comes out of a desire to show solidarity and support for the AAPI community. Taking inspiration from the Black Lives Matter statement denouncing recent anti-AAPI attacks and the historical precedent of Black and Asian Activism – IMPACT youth use this platform to learn from current events and make compelling art. It will be a part of the Harlem community's healing process, which experienced a disproportionate impact from the COVID pandemic based on their race, socioeconomic status, and location in Harlem. In addition to coping with the COVID, our young people struggle with the death of young Black Americans and witness the global, national, and local attention on equality and racial justice. The ongoing IMPACT Town Hall Project is a multi-platform series of actions to give agency to Harlem Youth to organize and participate in discussions on crucial issues to them and their community.