Events

Sonia Guiñansaca (Hemi 2017-2018 Artist in Residence) is an internationally acclaimed queer migrant poet, cultural organizer and activist from Harlem by way of Ecuador. A VONA/Voices and BOOAT Alumni, Sonia has performed at The Met, El Museo del Barrio, The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Lehmann Maupin Gallery, Galería de La Raza, and has been featured on NBC, PBS, Latina Magazine, Pen America, the Poetry Foundation, and UK’s Diva Magazine, to name a few. They were named as 1 of “10 Up and Coming Latinx Poets You Need to Know” by Remezcla, 1 of 13 “Coolest Queers on the Internet” by Teen Vogue, and 1 of 3 U.S.A. Future Leaders Delegates for the British Council. Sonia—who is currently the Managing Director at CultureStrike—has co-founded and helped build some of the largest undocumented organizations and artistic projects in the country, and has emerged as a national leader in the undocumented/migrant artistic and political communities. Follow their work on Twitter/IG: @thesoniag or SoniaGuinansaca.com.

Rommy Torrico is a queer, undocumented artivist, born in Iquique, Chile, raised in Naples, Florida, and has recently moved to NY/NJ. Rommy has been involved in the (im)migrant rights struggle for several years and infuses much of their work with personal experience and the stories their community shares. Their work has been exhibited in California, Washington DC, and NYC. You can find more about them on RommyTorrico.com and follow them on IG: @Rommyyy123.

Alan Pelaez Lopez is an Afro-Indigenous poet, collage, installation, and adornment artist from Oaxaca, México. In their visual and literary work, they explore the intersections of PTSD, undocumented immigration, Indigeneity, queer feelings, and Black flesh. They are a 2018 Pushcart Prize nominee, named one of “10 Up and Coming Latinx Poets You Need to Know” by Remezcla and one of “10 Poets for the Revolution,” in Best American Poetry Blog. Their essays, poetry and political analysis have appeared in Black Girl Dangerous, Fusion Magazine, The Feminist Wire, Colorlines, and more. Follow them on their website at alanpelaez.com and as @migrantscribble on all social media.

Giselle Buchanan is a poet, multidisciplinary artist and writer from the Bronx, NY. Despite the use of many mediums, her work is united under the umbrella of healing. She believes beauty is restorative and that art can act as a therapeutic agent. As an artist deeply involved in her community, she has worked extensively with women, incarcerated men on Rikers Island, and children in East Harlem, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. Additionally, she has worked for various organizations, including the Bronx Museum, Harlem Textile Works, and New York Writers Coalition, facilitating workshops and assisting in programs designed to empower the creative and intellectual spirits of students from often underserved communities. She has performed in many places, from bookstores to ballrooms, like Hammerstein Ballroom, the Apollo Theater, the Chicago Theater, Housing Works Bookstore, Bluestockings, and more. She has published writings in Hanging Loose and poems have been featured on media outlets like MSG Network and Nickelodeon. She currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. See their work at gisellebuchanan.com.

Kay Ulanday Barrett is a poet, performer, and educator, navigating life as a disabled pilipinx-amerikan transgender queer in the U.S. with struggle, resistance, and laughter. Ulanday has been invited to The White House, Princeton University, UC Berkeley, The Lincoln Center, Queens Museum, and The Chicago Historical Society to name a few. They are a fellow of both The Home School and Drunken Boat. Their contributions are found in PBS News Hour Poetry, Poor Magazine, Trans Bodies/Trans Selves, Windy City Queer: Dispatches from the Third Coast, Make/Shift, Third Woman Press, The Advocate, and Bitch, and the upcoming anthologies, Outside the XY: Queer Black & Brown Masculinity and Writing the Walls Down: A Convergence of LGBTQ Voices. See their work at kaybarrett.net.

Tarik Coles was the campaign manager for State Senate candidate Jessica Ramos.

The event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow. A photo ID is required to enter NYU buildings and 20 Cooper Square is a wheelchair accessible venue.