For The Depths of Us
In the late 1800s a body of water that ran through Ravenswood to the East River was buried underground to make way for increasing industrialization. What in us has been buried in the name of progress– what have we sent down into the dark? Kin To The Cove artists Christopher Bisram and Audrey di Mola lead a neighborhood performance-walk tracing the path of Sunswick Creek down to the Cove, woven with personal and collective mythologies in the form of dance, storytelling, song, and ritual. What can be recovered when we make the ecological practice of “daylighting” a stream, metaphorical? What can be found, inside us, out of the Depths?
Kin To The Cove's full day event in Astoria/LIC, Queens: June 25th 10-11:30am beach cleanup, communal altar creation, and opening ritual at The Cove (31st Dr & Vernon Blvd) with Blue Bus Project; 5pm we gather at 16 Oaks Grove (21st St & 37th Ave) to begin the performance-walk down to the Cove, followed by a 'kindig' gathering as we move into sunset and nighttime.
June 25, 10 am beach clean-up and opening ceremony at the Cove
June 25, 5 pm FOR THE DEPTHS OF US, meet at 16 Oaks Grove in Ravenswood. The performance weaves storytelling and dance back down to the Cove.
Special thanks to dancers: Angela Eslava Jennifer Vazquez, Graciela Morena, and Nicole Ulloa.
For The Depths Of Us (Chris's Perspective)-
"The process of storytelling and dancing as a method to bring awareness to Sunswick Creek, was absolutely a journey. It was a bumpy Journey, but it was one that I admired, it taught me to be a listener, to slow down, and to honestly work with what I have. My partner in crime Audrey said that Sunswick taught her something, and it honestly taught me something too.
It taught me that it's okay if things fall apart a hundred times and its okay if you feel like things are broken, because in the end it will work. In the process of creating this lovely piece, I had 4 dancers and a singer leave the project. And each time I was terrified that I would not be able to pull off a performance, but I did. The performance was amazing and so much magic happened. From seeing a friend appear on super short notice to having another friend who just did hip surgery two days before showing up. It was honestly the best thing, and honestly a part of me wants to say it was Sunswick being a force of energy.
Even though she is underground powering our sewage, you can still feel her. As I was dancing, it felt like this force of energy pushing and pulling at me, almost as if I was a puppet. Due to this sensation of feeling a body of water, that is no longer present. I can't help but want to make this a series. To be completely honest I have been thinking about this for two weeks now (currently 06-27-22), however I thought I was just an 18-year-old dreaming up an impossible idea.
Yet yesterday that impossible idea happened, and I can't help but want to share that magic with everyone. So now that's my new goal in life no matter how long it takes. I will make it so these bodies of water emerge, this way they can feel the daylight."