Join us for a FREE outdoor performance in Prospect Park!
An evening of dance and story, land and sky, choice and possibility.
I've created a very special evening specifically crafted for sunset time together in Prospect Park. Gather, sit, or lay down with the ground, on and amongst 84 hand-stitched quilts—a 4,000 square-foot installation designed by Ojibwe artist Maggie Thompson. Created over the past decade by hundreds of volunteers over multiple geographies, these quilts reflect a collective vision toward better futures. They hold record of historic actions alongside personal histories, migrations, and dreams. You’ll be invited to take part—stitch with us, and add your ideas to this monumental project: what are your non-negotiable care actions? How do we defend land in a city? How do we disrupt the misuse of the terms: great, free, he, she, illegal, migrant, border?
We’ll listen to stories and provocations transmitted from artists across territories and First Nations. We’ll take in a little silence and also the booming sounds from famed Lower East Side DJ Dat Gurl Curly! You might decide to dance. You might decide to join Ashley Pierre-Louis near one of the park’s oldest trees, or take a guided tour with Prospect Park Alliance, along one of its paths. You might learn the backstitch from Korina Emmerich, Nishina Loft, or another audience member. Maybe you’ll teach the stitch, too. You’ll take home a bundle of herbs specially prepared to support the summer harvest and our nervous systems—and pollinator seeds from PECaN to support the human and more-than-human ecosystems of New York City.
Our time together is choreographed by Emily Johnson and held by the gorgeous contributions of DJ Dat Gurl Curly; dancer Ashley Pierre-Louis; authors IV Castellanos, Camille Georgeson Usher, Kai Recollet, and Emily Johnson; quilt care-takers Korina Emmerich and Nishina Loft; PECaN (seeds); twelve volunteer stewards from Celebrate Brooklyn, a pop-up nature activity center designed for young people by Prospect Park Alliance as well as their excellent trail guides.
We hope you’ll join us.