• 
  

  La Gascona Residency, Spain June 2024

  
  

• ---

  
  
• 
  I hosted a workshop during an art residency in Gascueña, a small village in rural Spain. We  explored imagination and emotions through art making. This experience showed me how impactful it is to activate a community through creative expression, especially in a place that isn't typically seen as a cultural center. When people of different ages and backgrounds come together to share their stories through art, we create connections that go beyond just making pictures.

Daspu in Berlin
July 2019

Collaborated with the project as a Make-up Artist for Daspu Catwalk in Washingtonplatz (Hbf)

• 
  

• Germination: Art, Autonomy & Ethics at Columbia Secondary School, New York
  (Zankel Fellowship, Spring 2025)

This project was developed as part of the Zankel Urban Fellowship at Teachers College, Columbia University, under the initiative “Germination: Growing Science, Arts, and Movement with Students for Sustainability Transformation,” led by Drs. Pamela Koch and Laura Azzarito.

I facilitated a weekly interdisciplinary art activity with middle school students at Columbia Secondary School (CSS) in New York City. Using torn pieces of unprimed canvas and a variety of mixed media materials, I invited students to express themselves through open-ended prompts related to well-being, nutrition, science, and sustainability.

Students could choose whether or not to participate, how they wanted to engage, and whether their work would remain private or become part of a larger collaborative piece. At the end of the cycle, the individual canvas pieces were sewn together into a constellation — a shared surface that held space for different voices to coexist without being forced into uniformity.

Throughout the process, I continually re-evaluated my role as a facilitator. My intention wasn’t to assign meaning or seek a specific outcome, but to offer space — for color, marks, pauses, conversations, or silence. The project raised important questions about authorship, ethics, and how art can support student well-being in ways that feel open, personal, and self-directed.

I .Five W’s:

1.What (Activity, pedagogy) & How (Number of hours)

Flying Creatures is a community-based workshop designed to activate imagination through painting and kite-making. The first iteration focused on collective painting, held during a one-day event as part of the ARTMobile 2025 launch. Setup, facilitation, and reflection spanned approximately 5–6 hours.


2.Why (What prompted the project/activity/lesson )

This project emerged from a desire to create a gentle, intuitive space for public expression — rooted in care, imagination, and community connection. It was inspired by a residency workshop in Spain and developed further through site visits and research in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

3.When

May 3, 2025 (first NYC iteration), with future sessions planned to include actual kite construction and flying.

4.Where

Sunset Park, Brooklyn — a vibrant, multicultural public park with open green space and strong intergenerational use.



5. Who (Socio-historical and cultural contexts of the group/site)

Sunset Park Demographics:

• 
  Hispanic: approx. 46%
  
• 
  Asian: approx. 33%
  
• 
  White: approx. 17%
  
• 
  Black/African American: approx. 2%
  
• 
  Multiracial, Native American, and Pacific Islander: <1%
  

(Source: NYC Open Data, 2024 estimates)

The neighborhood has a high number of Spanish-speaking households and working-class immigrant communities.
It is a space of daily movement, informal gathering, and cultural layering.


II. Framing concept

The project connects to themes of wellness, immigration, identity, and ecojustice through the symbolic use of kites, open public artmaking, and collective creation. It resists formal or institutional art spaces, inviting participation outside of systems of assessment or control.


III. Locating assets: Community networks, leaders, resources (Tangibles and Intangibles)

Sponsor: ARTMobile, a collaboration between Teachers College and Brooklyn Public Library.
Assets: Sunset Park as a free, accessible space; families already flying kites; openness of participants; natural curiosity of children.


IV. Identifying problems: Gaps, interests, concerns or a SWOT Analysis ( Strengths,
weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) - Could do one slide for all or one for each


• Strengths: Low barrier to entry, flexible structure, emotional accessibility
  
• 
  Weaknesses: Limited time, unpredictable engagement, no control over weather or crowd flow
  
• 
  Opportunities: Expand to kite-building, include storytelling, offer in other public parks
  
• 
  Threats: Lack of sustained funding, busy public settings



VI. Priorities: Hypotheses on what are the priorities of your group

To create space for collective artmaking that supports imagination, autonomy, and emotional presence — without pressure, outcomes, or formal expectations.

VII. Trust - How will you establish it?

Trust was built through tone, body language, and material softness. No one was required to join. The layout on the grass and the invitation to simply paint (or not) helped remove formality and allowed for natural interaction


VII. Potential funding - List thoughts and questions

Future versions could partner with:

• 
  Brooklyn Arts Council
  
• 
  Materials for the Arts
  
• 
  City Parks Foundation
  
• 
  NYFA or LMCC grants for community-based art


IX. Sustainability - How would you envision the longevity of the project?

Flying Creatures can adapt to any setting — parks, plazas, libraries. The format is replicable and expandable: drawing, kite-building, storytelling, sound. What matters is the openness and relational aspect.

X. Reflections

The simplicity of sitting on the grass and painting with strangers taught me that meaningful art doesn’t need to be grand or finished. It just needs space, softness, and a little trust.    

1. Part A of the book
   
2. Book Cover
3. Open Accordion 
   
4. Cover and Part A of the book
   

Flying Creatures — Kite-Making Workshop