MEDITATION by Shawn Harrison
MUSIC “Bilancia II” by Jeff Mercel
NYC-based artist Jess X. Snow created a three-story mural featuring a portrait of Sudanese-migrant poet Safia Elhillo. It is painted in solidarity with and celebration of millions of migrant mothers, peoples and animals of the sea and sky, crossing borders, oceans and deserts in search of home. “Does the ocean and Earth not embrace us the way it does the animals and plants?” Snow asks. “If so, every border drawn is an unnatural act of violence against the Earth and ourselves.” The mural is partially inspired by Elhillo’s poem, which notes two Arabic words that are homophones: one means wind, the other means love.
- 674 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401, USA
Jess X Snow
Jess X. Snow is a queer asian-canadian public artist, filmmaker, poet and educator. As a result of the rootlessness and migrations that marked her childhood, she developed a stutter which she overcame through her discovery of visual and written language. Her work explores survival, memory, joy, and our relationship to the Earth by amplifying the voices of women, queer people of color, and migrants who refuse to be defined by borders and time. Her work has been supported by the Tribeca Film Institute Migration Co/Lab, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific Center, and has appeared on PBS Newshour, The LA Times, and NBC Asian America and outdoor walls across the country. Through film, mural-making, poetry and youth art education, she is working toward a future where queer, migrant youth of color may see themselves heroic on the big screen and the city walls & then can face the possibility to grow up and create their own. (@jessxsnow)
Jia Sung
Jia Sung is a painter and illustrator, born in Minnesota, bred in Singapore, now based in Brooklyn. In her spare time, she is a monkey. She is an art director at Guernica.
Her work is recognised by the Society of Illustrators NY + LA, and American Illustration. She has exhibited work at the RISD Museum, the Whitney Houston Biennial, and La Mama Galleria.
Shawn Harrison
Shawn teaches yoga and meditation throughout the Hudson Valley. She created Mudita Yoga Lab in Kingston, NY 10 years ago. Shawn is interested in self-awareness rather self-improvement. She brings this spacious attitude to all her classes, offering an opportunity for exploration and discovery through the practice of yoga and meditation. Her classes focus on breath, mindfulness and loving-kindness.