Artivism

What it’s like to be a Patient Navigator for abortion services: “It’s post-Roe, 2022. I’m on a trip from Texas to New Mexico, accompanying 15 people seeking abortion, one a minor. The clinic forgets to tell us to buy her mom a ticket, and the two get separated at the airport. Mother sobbing, daughter stone-faced and angry. I’m exhausted.”

In There Must Be Other Names For The River, we ask ourselves about our personal and structural relationships with the drying river that today we call the Rio Grande. In this sound performance, listeners hear the voices of six singers channeling the river. Each singer represents a point where streamflow data have been collected from the 1970s to now and into possible futures.

Billy McCall interviews Charissa Lucille about closing, then reopening Wasted Ink Zine Distro: “I have emotional whiplash from feeling so down — and then feeling so extremely excited and hopeful. So many community members stepped in and helped.”

Southwestness publisher/editor Samatha Anne Carrillo shares the worldview and inspirations that drive her work: “In the real world, facts exist and science is real. … Since Southwestness is my own site, I have the freedom to report on our corner of the world based on my own perception of the world. There’s no question that this perception is still evolving and thank goodness for that!”

Understanding social acceptability is important when creating art in the public sphere, such as political signs, street art and graffiti. Every time and place has its own set of rules.

Entrepreneur Lee Francis is the “Indiginerd” mastermind behind Indigenous Comic Con (aka IndigiPop X) and Red Planet Books & Comics. Dr. Francis dishes on cultivating Indiginerds, supporting community and how his niche bookstore thrives in the retail ocean.

We’ve got to focus. We are at a point before the election where the actions of the next few weeks have the potential to impact our lives — and the lives of immigrants, children and the disenfranchised, as well as our allies and others around the world — for years to come.

For the last few years, I kept checking for accessible foreign editions of some of these books. I reached out directly to Reza Dalvand, the illustrator of Ace, who put me in touch with his publisher in Iran.

Movement for Mercy is a live dance performance which honors the intersections of experiences and shared history throughout our community.

“Zahra, where is that from…oh, did you know that Iraq invaded Kuwait?” “Yes, I was there.” He asked what my thoughts about the Taliban were, twice.

The problem isn’t that our laws are flawed (even though they are). The problem is that we care only to the degree that it won’t be an inconvenience or mess with our comfort…or even worse, our narratives. This is our problem.

We’ve been living through such extreme weirdness that otherwise easy civic activities like voting and census-taking can somehow fall between the cracks — so we’re hosting this virtual event to help get you supercharged!

It goes without saying there’s a lot riding on the November 2020 election and change isn’t gonna happen on its own. We are going to have to hit this one hard, folks! Here are some tips and resources for getting ‘er done.  

We thought it would be helpful to periodically summarize what’s out there to calm the storm of information that seems to be swirling around us. So here is a resource list focusing on mental health, wellness and financial assistance to help soften the impact of COVID on all our lives. 

Hey arts-loving friends! Albuquerque’s Arts Hub is raising funds for artists impacted by the pandemic. Donate at their Facebook page or at their website at http://www.abqartshub.com/relief

I made a chatty video featuring music by bands who’ve had to cancel shows or tours cause of COVID19 self-distancing. If you like what you hear, go to their page and support an artist today — buy an album or some tracks!