Residency Double Feature
Seed Book by Alicia Gullón and Salacia by Tourmaline
Presented with the Trust for Governors Island
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Pershing Hall, Governors Island
On Saturday, September 14, Shandaken will present screenings of two projects by current Governors Island residents, followed by a short Q+A.
First, Alicia Grullón will share a new short video in progress entitled Seed Book, based on research and an interview with a community gardener about her story of migrating to New York City. Combining storytelling, performance, and researched footage, Grullón proposes that people's lived experiences are fundamental to the framing of history and our recounting of it.
Then, Tourmaline will share her archival research as well as screen and discuss new film works, including Salacia. In the style of Black fantasy and folktales such as Virginia Hamilton’s The People Could Fly, Salacia takes place in Seneca Village—a 19th-century free Black community in upper Manhattan that was demolished to create Central Park in 1855. Salacia follows Mary Jones (born 1803), a Black transgender New Yorker as she discovers her power in the face of heightened systemic racism and transphobia.
These screenings will be followed by a short question and answer period with the artists.
First image: Photograph by Tourmaline. Salacia, 2019 (still), courtesy of the artist.