Thrilled to be one of 23 contributing authors to this new book that translates into “Nose Wise, Fragrance Atlas of the Low Countries” that just launched in Amsterdam in October. Many thanks to Caro Verbeek who invited me to share thoughts on the role of olfactory arts in my heritage and creative practice. She also asked me to share notes about the social history of spices such as nutmeg that are found in the Dutch speculaas cookies. I then got permission from my Lunaapeew friend Brent Stonefish to discuss the "Indian Cookie" that uses spices from the Banda Islands.
Dear Artists #WFH featured on FRONT Triennial's Whisper Session #4 →
Dear Artists #WFH in the time of COVID-19
Trying to Stay Grounded and Centered during the Pandemic
In response to how many of us have been thrust into isolation in face of COVID-19, I am sharing my experience of working mostly from home in hopes that this resource may help stabilize this challenging time so that you can continue to do your amazing work of uplifting broader communities, while still taking good care of yourselves in the process. We are as strong as the weakest link in our ecosystem. This applies to our larger communities as well as each individual’s physical, mental and emotional health. If we can maintain a collective calm in this difficult time, we will be better equipped to support our communities while reverberating with inner strength and resilience.
These pages focus mostly on organizing time and space as I hear many people struggling with finding a comfortable flow these days. Our routines and sense of normalcy have been disrupted (and will be forever changed), which has led to reduced capacity to make sound decisions as anxiety, worry, fear and real life-threatening illnesses cloud our spheres. While some are experiencing income loss, others have become Zoom Zombies with no break from an increased workload (ie. transitioning to online teaching, conferences, etc) and nonstop screen time. Many have increased labor as caretakers with dwindling personal time. Others have thrown themselves into relief efforts and are quietly exhausting themselves.
Putting out fires amidst these changing times has made our sense of time become abstract as we are caught within a 24-hour loop in the same domestic environment. The shape of time is no longer recognizable. While I don’t have all the answers (I am not a parent nor am I caring for an elder), I hope these pages will help steer you towards recovering a sense of groundedness and feeling centered. I also acknowledge that I am writing from the privileged perspective of someone working remotely in the company of a supportive and caring partner. Please take what is useful for your unique situation!
In solidarity and with compassion,
Beatrice Glow
April 6, 2020
Queens, New York
If you are in the position to give and found Dear Artists #WFH helpful, please consider donating to support my work during these difficult times. Like many freelancers and artists, I am dealing with canceled/postponed gigs and income loss. Any support is appreciated!
$5.50 Pays for our family of 2 to take that 1st subway ride once quarantine ends
$10.00 Helps pay for our internet, electricity and phone bills so we can stay connected
$20.00 Feeds two working artists juggling creative practice with 4 combined part-time jobs
$50.00 Supports our rent bill that hasn't been canceled
ART, COMMUNITY AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE ANDES
American Arts Incubator (AAI) is an international creative exchange program developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by ZERO1.
Beatrice Glow, one of their exchange artists, spent a month in Otavalo, Ecuador leading an American Arts Incubator exchange with a diverse group of community members, including Afro-Ecuadorian and Indigenous populations. The host partner organization was Casa de Artes Yarina that was based in Museo Otavalango. Together they used new media art to tell stories that shift dominant narratives — utilizing art and technology to address social inclusion.
In the Time of Corn: Harvest and Sustainable Growth →
”Arriving in Ecuador during the time of corn harvest, I was deeply impressed by the magnificent cornfields. I envision that was what parts of Manaháhtaan (precolonial Manhattan) used to look like. I also was delighted to learn that the companion-planting agricultural practice of the Three Sisters Garden (interplanting squash, corn and beans together to support each other) was also prevalent in Ecuador; another proof of shared knowledge across ancient Americas.”
Activating an Art, Community and Technology Incubator in the Andes →
American Arts Incubator — Ecuador visits Pakarinka Learning Center. Photo by L. Merinio Maldonado.
I am in Otavalo, Ecuador directing the American Arts Incubator - Ecuadorprogram where I taught a two week "Art, Community and Technology" workshop that addresses social inclusion through digital arts and am now coaching local community projects to reach their maximum impact. I will speak about the process next Monday April 16 at 6:30 pm at Arte Actual FLACSO as part of US Embassy Quito´s cultural program. I also share the experience in this blog. Here is a snippet:
"While I teach augmented reality workshops, I am also taking weaving classes in the old factory and getting an inkling of how contemporary machinery evolved from this ancient practice. Weaving is coding in binary motions, performing mathematical calculations, enacting geometry and executing precision. It is also about transmitting oral history, ancestral knowledge and following the movements of those who came before us in the social fabric." Read more here >>
My new young friends from the Colectivo Umama posing with my #workinprogress AR-activated portrait of Doña Mary
Towards Runificación: Weaving Indigenous Revitalization and Extended Reality →
[kichwañol, inglés sigue abajo] Imanalla mashikuna - Queridxs compañerxs, Escribí este blog sobre mi intercambio con American Arts Incubator e incluí unas reflexiones sobre mi aprendizaje del idioma kichwa en Nueva York y también la experiencia con ZERO1 mientras que preparo mi viaje a Ecuador desde NYC para la próxima semana. Aquí va un extracto traducido:" Nuestro proceso será una co-investigación sobre como los nuevos medios puedan amplificar las voces fundamentales para el futuro y a la vez desafiar la noción de que la indigenidad y la modernidad son incompatibles." Yupaychani por haberme inspirado!
[English] Dear friends, I wrote this blog post about my upcoming exchange with American Arts Incubator in Ecuador with some insight on my kichwa language class in NYC and my experience with ZERO1 as I prepare for travel next week to Ecuador from New York. Here is a soundbite: "Our process will be a co-inquiry on how new media can amplify voices critical to futurity and challenge the notion that indigeneity and modernity are incompatible." Thank you for inspiring me! #Artsincubator #CulturalDiplomacy #ExchangeOurWorld
Asian Latin American Belonging
The Banda Islands Anthology
Thrilled to receive my author's copy for my contribution to this hot off the press The Banda Islands Anthology! Amazing to be in the same publication with so many esteemed colleagues, inspirational thinkers and history's giants! #dream #amitavghosh#gilesmilton #desalwi @lookman_alibaba thank you @joella89 for trekking around the globe with this gift!!! thank you @kabarmediabooks for the invitation and @pradilagaluh for making the connection!!! #bandaislands #nutmeg#socialhistoryofplants #spice#Rhunhattan #treatyofbreda
Banda "Spice" Islands in "Our Ocean Guide" at Venice Biennale with Map Office and Lightbox Group!
Circulating Undercurrents, Artist Feature, Cultural Politics Journal, Duke University Press
I'm thrilled to share this feature article of my recent work as well as my cover art "Banda Island Archipelago" gracing the cover of Cultural Politics Journal of Duke University Press. Check out the article and the issue here.
I want to acknowledge the generosity of curator Deborah Frizzell and the editors for inviting me to organize and share my thoughts on this platform. I also want to thank Jim Blasi for the gorgeous graphic design layout. And lastly, the beautiful convergence of August 2017 for having my Banda Island Archipelago print on the cover of Duke University Press' publication while also showing the actual silk print at the Jame B. Duke House (NYU Institute of Fine Arts)...all during the 350 year commemoration of the Treaty of Breda.
See the article here: http://culturalpolitics.dukejournals.org/content/current
#Rhunhattan #socialhistoryofplants #dukehouse #bandaislands
"Rhunhattan: A Tale of Two Islands" Blog for NYU Digital Humanities
To tell this story of two islands with intertwined fates of land dispossession and erasure during the birthing of imperial globalization propelled forward by countless caravans and ships transporting spice, sugar, and silk, I am reeducating myself about the broken human relationship with land and waters. We are living in debt to our future generations and must learn how the Lenape sustainably managed the island for the sake of futurity over millennia. In a time when massive glaciers the size of lower Manhattan crashing into the ocean doesn’t make a media splash, we have a great responsibility to fight apathy. We are living in urgent times and there is a need to revitalize indigenous cultures and knowledge for environmental stewardship. We need a paradigm shift from falsely believing that human beings are landlords of Earth to seeing humans as being part of the ecosystem.
What Is Chino? Memories and Imaginaries of Asian Latin America →
Eight years ago I was told the story of two Chinese coolies who had escaped to the Peruvian Amazon, founded a village called El Chino, which means “The Chinese,” and begun a small tapioca business before vanishing mysteriously. I grew curious about what the Chinese were doing in South America, let alone, the rain forest. Two years later I moved from New York to Lima, Peru, to retrace the geography of nineteenth-century Chinese coolie labor as well as the imaginary of Asia in the Americas, given that Peru has the highest ratio of Asian Latin Americans. When I asked limeños for travel advice on the Amazon, several well-intentioned folks warned me of river pirates, reptilian predators, terrorist activity, drug trafficking, and other perils. Undeterred, I began mapping the escape route of the rumored coolies, who had fled harsh labor conditions in search of a road home to China. I then followed the various Chinese migration waves toward the Andes and the Amazon River Basin, weaving together migratory landmarks while documenting oral histories from elders. En route I resurrected...