Hey Garden(ers)!
For those of us in the States, this Wednesday is Juneteenth, a day for moving towards Reparations, reflecting on Black Liberation and radical rest. As a Black led space, we encourage all Black folks to take a moment to step back from the pressures created by toxic systems and find ways to center radical rest in your practice. For those seeking to be in better solidarity with Black Liberation movements, we will have some opportunities for learning and application later this Summer. Until then, we encourage you all to look up leaders like Callie Guy House who recruited some 300,000(!!!) people to be members of the National Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty, and Pension Association to fight for Reparations in the late 1800s-early 1900s.
As we lean into the coming Summer days, we are excited to share our Summer Solstice event schedule! This will be a 24 hour celebration starting June 22nd at noon (pst) and ends June 23rd at noon (pst). See the full list of the activities, movies, games (available all day), and workshops we have planned in our latest blog post. RSVP here.
⏲️Our events are typically listed in Pacific Standard Time (PST). Need help converting PST to your time zone? Check out this handy WorldTimeBuddy clock!
🫂The next Chronic Illness and Long Covid Support Group is on Thursday June 20th at 5:30pm-7:30pm PST with Chanelle! Navigating everything that comes with chronic illness can be difficult - from managing symptoms to experiencing grief over missing your pre-illness life. This is a peer support space where we can share our feelings about living with any chronic/long-term illness, including long Covid, during an ongoing pandemic. RSVP via the calendar on the visit page.
🌞Summer Solstice is happening next Saturday & Sunday for a full 24 hours! Check the schedule of events here! We'll have performances, films, workshops, games and some new experiences for you to explore! Help us make room for everyone by RSVP'ing!
🩰Want to learn ballet in a way that is anti-racist, accessible, body positive, queer, and covid conscious? Saturday, June 29th is officially Day of Ballet in Garden, hosted by Ashley from 11am to 3pm PST.
Tentative schedule:
11am - 11:15am PST: Arms-only/sitting ballet class
11:20 - 12:20pm PST: Beginner full ballet class with choreography
12:30 - 1:30pm PST: Some form of self-defense movement class/discussion
2-3pm PST: Lecture/discussion and/or movie screening relating to BIPOC ballet histories and experiences. RSVP via the calendar on the visit page.
🫁 Want to increase your lung capacity? Come to Breathing with BJ in the Knowledge Nursery! Every weekday at 9am PST.
🎥 Name That Movie (Night!) is Wednesday at 5:30pm PST! This week's movie is a sci-fi horror with queer themes and a whole new world glowing behind a tv screen. Think you know what it is? Come thru and find out!
🪷 Stretch it out as Caroline leads us in another weekly afternoon Yoga sesh this Friday at 2:15pm PST by streaming a yoga video from YouTube and following along. Videos will be between 25-45 minutes long between easy to moderate pace. Drop ins are always welcome! RSVP via the calendar on the visit page.
😷 Hang out, chill and play games with Black folks who take COVID precautions at the Bonfire in Garden! Every 3rd Saturday of the month from 5-8pm PST. The next Bonfire is Saturday, July 20th and will be featuring a special art exhibit by photographer Ohene:Waa! RSVP via the calendar on the visit page.
💻 Do you work from home and sometimes feel a little too isolated from others? Come Co-Work with us in Garden! We are a 24/7 drop in space for folks to join to co-work silently, listen to music, play a game or chat amongst each other in the chat box.
💐Arcos Dance and University of Texas are hosting a 4 day creative virtual gathering for movers, teachers, artists, organizers, and anyone who wants to gather safely, and get free! Called Apocalyptic Imagining: The 4th Annual Practice Progress UNtensive, they ask, "How must the apocalypse transform us?" June 20th-23rd. Learn more and register here.
🧑🏾🎨Tuesday, June 18th at 11am PST, Grantmakers in the Arts is facilitating the panel, Agency, Autonomy, & Affirmation: Empowering Cultural Self Determination in Trans and Queer BIPOC Communities. Panelists include: J Mase III, Morgan (Mo) Willis, Omni Romero & J. HD Goodridge. Registration is free and can be found here.
🎭Long Wharf Theater is calling All Black Trans Women Playwrights for the 5th annual Black Trans Women at the Center! Submissions are due by June 28th and interviews will be conducted via Zoom!
🍿The International Documentary Association is providing $25,000 grants in documentary filmmaking funds via their Enterprise Documentary Fund and Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund. The theme for the 2024 Pare Lorentz Fund will be Gender Justice. Apply by June 25th!
🎬AXS Film Fund is for creators of color in documentary filmmaking or nonfiction new media who identify as living with a disability. Each year up to five creators receive grants of up to $10,000 each to assist in finishing their projects in any stage of production. Due July 31st.
🍉Centering Palestine has a zoom every Tuesday at 5pm PST, along with other resources to show up for Palestine available here.
🎈 We are looking to open Garden up to community orgs who would like to share space with us here. If you are part of an org that may benefit from office/event space here, please email info@meetatgarden.com
That's all for now, until next our avatars meet!
😸Gata
PS: Have a one-time-event or a recurring event and need a place to host? Email us at info@meetatgarden.com!
Garden is a free 24/7 space, but it does cost money for us to maintain it on Gather.Town. If you'd like to donate to this work, consider throwing some money in the pot here. To send donations directly through our 501c3 fiscal sponsor, email us!