The For Freedoms Congress (FFCON)
- Sat, Sep 28, 2024
- 9 am - 6 pm PT
- LACMA
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Free, RSVP required
The For Freedoms Congress is a groundbreaking artist-led gathering of artists, cultural institutions, organizations, and civic leaders who are transforming our social and political landscape. Join For Freedoms at LACMA for immersive and participatory programs designed to reimagine what creative collaboration and civic engagement can look like.
Schedule:
8 am: Check-in
8–9 am: Slow Walkin’: Join Sister Peace and Sister Kinh Nghiem from Deer Park Monastery for a peaceful walking meditation to start the day.
9–9:30 am: Welcome and Leading With Love: A Tribute to Michael Latt opens the Congress, paying tribute to the beloved and much missed Michael Latt. Organized by Tanya Selvaratnam, the session will include reflections on Michael and his legacy from Miriam Fogelson, Sol Guy, Glenn Kaino, BMIKE, Gingger Shankar and Michael’s family.
9:30–10 am: SOLE SESSION: Roots & Rhythm, journey to our rhythmic roots with Tony Patrick, Michelle Woo, Miguel Rivera, Micheline Berry and the School of Lived Experience (SOLE) through live percussion, movement, spoken word, and earth-based invocation.
10–10:30 am: The Freedom Five, an LA-based ensemble, present a special musical performance curated for FFCON.
11 am–12 pm: Choose-Your-Own Breakout Sessions
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Kristin Sakoda, Director of LA County Department of Arts and Culture, moderates a dynamic conversation, Investing in Arts, Culture, & Creative Civic Engagement, between local artists Deborah Aschheim, Elida Ledesma, Phung Huynh on the County’s Civic Art initiative and its impact on the cultural landscape.
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Mohsin Mohi Ud Din of #MeWeInternational, an artist-led organization dedicated to reframing narratives to remodel the world, hosts a workshop, Me/We: Stories are Living Things, on the power of art and storytelling to heal.
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*Josué Rivas, photographer and founder of Indigena hosts an immersive photography workshop, The Power Of Telling Your Own Story, designed to connect us with our future, past and present selves. *Capacity at this session will be limited to 15 attendees on a first-come, first-serve basis.
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Tatiana Zamir, healing arts conductor and trauma-informed movement therapist, hosts Healing Through Movement, an immersive workshop that integrates various healing modalities, including movement therapy techniques, in order to release stress and cultivate joy.
12– 2 pm: Lunchtime Art Explorations: Explore these interactive artworks by For Freedoms artists. For Freedoms will offer short guided tours.
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Cry with You (U.N.C.L.E.S. Project: U Not Crying Leaves Everyone Suffering) is a busking experiment where masculine cis/trans/nb people of color (MOC) offer to listen to and share in anyone's grief, pain, loss—offering their bodies up as places of comfort in a world where much of the emotional/comfort labor is expected of and placed on women & nb femmes.
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BODY FREEDOM FOR EVERY(BODY) by Project Empty Space is a cross-country exhibition inside a 27-foot Box Truck celebrating Reproductive Justice, Queer Liberation, and Trans Joy!
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Standing Strong by Josué Rivas and Acosia Red Elk is a large-scale mixed-reality portrait workshop that strives to revolutionize perceptions of contemporary Indigeneity through art and technology.
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Sound As Medicine by Guadalupe Maravilla is an album and audio artwork featuring recordings of live sound ceremonies led and performed by the artist with his collaborators.
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The Upcycle Pop-Up by Self Help Graphic is an all-day art-making activity hosted by local organization, Self-Help Graphics & Art that invites guests to create a stencil and screen print it on their own garments.
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How We Remember Beads is a project by Tara Evonne Trudell where she offers a personal and intimate Karma Star Prayer Bead Workshop that introduces the healing practice of honoring the earth, our loved ones, and our ancestors, by making special beads to uplift the energy of how we remember those no longer with us.
2–2:30 pm: Choose-Your-Own Breakout Sessions
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American Patriots: An operatic, theatrical performance by singer and performance artist Samantha Williams that captures the contemporary American zeitgeist.
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WHAT IT IZ: In 1900, L. Frank Baum imagined a world where money didn't exist and women were all powerful, and so was born The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. 100 years later, the hip hop generation—often called out and checked for its American embrace of materialism and misogyny—has its own take on that classic fairytale. Tony nominated and Emmy award winning artist Bryonn Bain presents a scene from a Hip Hop Theater “spoken wordical” being staged this fall with the UCLA Prison Education Program and Center for Justice as part of the Geffen Playhouse’ “Theater as a Lens for Justice.”
2:45–3 pm: Where Do We Go From Here?: The For Freedoms’ Keynote
For Freedoms Leaders Eric Gottesman, Wyatt Gallery, Michelle Woo, Taylor Brock, Claudia Peña and Hank Willis Thomas (virtually) will reflect on the last 8 years and how art will help us to create a future of listening, healing, awakening and justice.
3–4 pm: Cultural Currencies is an interactive roundtable hosted by Quiet that explores mediums of exchange that cannot be owned by individuals; a currency that expands by giving, elevates consciousness, builds community and shapes culture.
*4:15–5:15 pm: Dearly Departed is a gathering to honor ancestors and grief through story, art and love with Claudia Peña.
*To accompany the program, Claudia will invite guests to contribute an item to the altar, honoring loved ones who have passed. For those who plan to attend the Dearly Departed session, please consider bringing something to add to the altar. A picture of your loved one, a memento that reminds you of them, an item that brings you comfort, anything at all to help bring your loved ones into the space. All items will be returned once the session is complete.
5:15– 6 pm: We Who Believe in Freedom, a special performance and congress procession, choreographed and led by Autumn Breon, featuring the Grant AME Church Choir. This performance is supported by Plan C.
The museum’s first priority is the health and safety of our visitors, staff, and volunteers. Please do not visit if you are sick and always practice frequent hand sanitizing. Wearing a mask indoors is strongly recommended.
All education and outreach programs at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Education Fund and are supported in part by the Judy and Bernard Briskin Family Foundation, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Endowment Fund for Arts Education, Alfred E. Mann Charities, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, Gloria Ricci Lothrop, the Flora L. Thornton Foundation, U.S. Bank, and The Yabuki Family Foundation.
Image courtesy of For Freedoms
All education and outreach programs at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Education Fund and are supported in part by the Judy and Bernard Briskin Family Foundation, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Endowment Fund for Arts Education, Alfred E. Mann Charities, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, Gloria Ricci Lothrop, the Flora L. Thornton Foundation, U.S. Bank, and The Yabuki Family Foundation.
Image courtesy of For Freedoms