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Dreaming Care into Being

#makelovegoviral with Naj Austin

April 21, 2022, 6 pm, Dia Chelsea

Event Details

Thursday, April 21, 2022, 6–8 pm

Dia Chelsea
537 West 22nd Street
New York, New York

Dreaming Care into Being is free and open to the public. Space is limited and reservations are required. Register for individual or multiple sessions here.


Session Description
Kamra Sadia Hakim and Naj Austin discuss love and invite participants to define love for themselves.

Dreaming Care into Being Program Details

Thursdays, April 14–May 5, 2022, 6–8 pm, Dia Chelsea
Saturday, May 7, 2022, 12–2 pm, Judson Memorial Church

Facilitated by artist and Activation Residency founder Kamra Sadia Hakim, Dreaming Care into Being is an experiential learning series celebrating the release of Hakim’s book Care Manual: Dreaming Care into Being. The series comprises five workshops developed in collaboration with a series of guest artists, each exploring themes from the publication. This program is inspired by the framework of transformative justice: praxis ought to align with values, and what you believe is how you show up in the world. Dreaming Care into Being is designed to take participants on a somatic journey through the literary work. 

Kamra Sadia Hakim was born in 1992 and hails from O'odham Jeweḍ land, where they cultivated their passion for world-building and writing. Hakim has been featured in publications including ASU News, The Creative Independent, The CUT, VICE, ArtNews, Supermaker, Hooligan Magazine, and Caesar Live N Loud. After graduating from the Center for Global Affairs at New York University’s School of Professional Studies, Hakim carved out a distinct space for themself in the arts industry, founding Activation Residency in 2018; releasing their debut record, Verdant Banks, in 2021; and publishing Care Manual: Dreaming Care into Being in 2022.

Naj Austin is the founder and CEO of Somewhere Good and Ethel’s Club, platforms that center identity, community, and joy. She has spent most of her career in the real estate and tech industries, building digital and physical products designed to make the world a more connected and intentional space. She was recently named one of Inc.’s 100 Female Founders transforming America.

Sessions are free. All materials and resources are provided. Copies of Care Manual: Dreaming Care into Being will be available to participants.

Session participants will be joined by an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter and a licensed arts therapist.

Dia Chelsea has accessible galleries and gender-neutral bathrooms. 
 
Wheelchairs are available for participant use at Dia Chelsea.
 
Working assistance and guide animals are permitted at Dia Chelsea.

Hakim acknowledges and thanks disabled Black and brown elders and peers for crafting disability justice praxis to inform this work. They remember “access is love”—the words of Sandy Ho, Mia Mingus, and Alice Wong. They aim to use inclusive language free from jargon and are open to feedback when falling short of this goal. Hakim understands justice as constantly shifting patterns and always changing lived experiences. Their take on justice prioritizes survivors and acknowledges the complexities of healing and exploring pathways to address harm. 

Participation
Participation is intended to be both fluid and sturdy, shift alongside needs, provide clear pathways for safer engagement, and center the most vulnerable always.

Care Before Impact
Prioritize taking breaks, canceling, and slowing down. Work to hold your own and others’ needs. Without proper care, impact is limited.

Consent No Matter What
No pressure for anything ever. Violating consent comes from a hierarchical history.

Protect Autonomy
Participants are encouraged to actively acknowledge and rectify dynamics and behaviors that challenge and diminish personal autonomy. Each person’s intuition and innate wisdom of their body must be respected.

Solidarity, Not Charity
Reparations are due. Pay up.

No Anti-Blackness Ever
No expression of anti-Blackness will be tolerated.

Center Marginalized Folks
Center survivors, undocumented folks, and sex workers. Value and humanhood are not dictated by capacity. Hakim believes in the wholeness of disability and interdependence.

Honor Land and Water
Acknowledging Indigenous peoples who protect the water and land is crucial. Native Land is a resource. Find out whose land supports you.

Disclaimer
There are real structural and capacity limitations to the space that can be held. Hakim is not an expert but rather a curious artist eager to hold space for this work to be done.

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