HomeClasses and EventsEventsStudies Project: Activating the Decolonization Rider (Part 1)
A square of blue fabric on a woven straw mat, hand-lettered in black with the words 'A changed relationship to time.
ID: A square of blue fabric on a woven straw mat, hand-lettered in black with the words 'A changed relationship to time.

Emily Johnson/Catalyst returns with another Studies Project on the Decolonization Rider. The Decolonization Rider is a powerful tool designed to advance decolonization processes within cultural institutions while protecting artists, their work, and collaborators. In this two-part presentation, the Decolonization Rider’s author Emily Johnson, along with Decolonization Rider Analyst & Strategist Leomary Rodriguez, will share how the Decol Rider works from both sides of an engagement. For artists, makers and scholars, it is a tool they can bring into agreements: a way to set terms, safeguard their work and collaborators and to initiate any necessary decolonization conversations with the organizations that present them. For cultural institutions, it is a framework to turn inward: a way to examine and change internal policies and practices so that engagements with artists and communities become safer and more justice-centered.

They will share research generated from their Decolonization Assessments, which asks: What changes have we seen in the field? What persists as perceived challenges toward decolonization? And what are some brilliant success stories? Participants will gain actionable insights for institutional transformation and learn from documented examples of successful decolonization practices.

Part 1 takes place Thursday, November 19th from 6-8pm at Abrons Arts Center as part of the Kinstillatory Fire, organized in partnership with Movement Research through the Studies Project program. This session is centered toward artists, scholars and makers who work with institutions; focusing on how the Decol Rider protects their work and supports them in shaping safer, more equitable engagements with institutions.

Part 2 takes place Wednesday, December 2nd from 4:30-6:30pm at New York Live Arts. This session broadens the conversation for artists where we also invite institutional representatives, funders, and others invested in field-wide change, offering research findings, an interactive workshop and practical pathways for institutional transformation.

More info about Part 2 is available on the Live Arts website – https://newyorklivearts.org/event/activating-the-decolonization-rider/.

This presentation is offered in collaboration with New York Live Arts, Movement Research, and Abrons Arts Center.

For event-related questions, please email studiesproject@movementresearch.org.

 

Accessibility Notes

  • This event includes auditive guidance.
  • This event includes high intensity, moving, or flashing lights.
  • This event includes a projected presentation.
  • This event includes readings.

To request ASL interpretation or Audio Description, please email accessibility@movementresearch.org, subject line “ASL/Audio Description Request, Studies Project ” at least three (3) weeks prior to the event date.

For access-related questions and requests, please contact accessibility@movementresearch.org, subject line “Studies Project.”

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    Artists

    Emily Johnson

    Emily Johnson

    Emily Johnson / Catalyst makes dances and large-scale performance gatherings that insist on thrivance, radical reworlding, and just futures. Based in Mannahatta in Lenapehoking, Catalyst works in deep relationship with a community of collaborators and organizes its work across four branches: the Branch of Making, the Branch of Action, the Branch of Scholarship, and the Branch of Knowledge.

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    Leomary Rodriguez

    Leomary Rodriguez

    Leomary Rodriguez (she/her): Afro-Taína descendant Decolonization Rider Analyst & Strategist, Emily Johnson / Catalyst Leomary Rodriguez [LAY-oh-mah-ree = Leomary] is an Afro-Taína descendent, a data analyst, storyteller, and strategist who uses data to support decolonial frameworks.

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