Join Kaya and USC Visions & Voices at our upcoming event “Belonging as Survival: Creativity, Activism, and Community.” Join us on Friday, April 1st at 7p.m. online!

What sounds inspire your activism? What flavors do you connect with your creative pathways? What does belonging feel like and how does it help us survive? Join us for an imaginative virtual event that engages the senses and explores the intersections between belonging, creativity, activism, and community. The evening is curated by Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik, a visual artist, food-justice organizer with People’s Kitchen Collective (PKC), and author of the forthcoming book, We Make Constellations of the Stars.

Sita will engage in a lively conversation with PKC cook activist Jocelyn Jackson, artist and educator Patrick “Pato” Hebert, and USC professor Adrian De Leon about creative pathways and collaborations, and how these intersections are integral to social change.

Throughout the evening, guests will be invited into Sita’s book process through interactive prompts. What constellation might we form together? After the event, each attendee will receive a kit inspired by the collective conversation.

RSVP FOR THE EVENT HERE!

Learn more about the speakers:

Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik is an artist, writer, and educator who uses art as a strategy to connect memory and history with urgent social issues. Her work focuses on decolonization, the hierarchy of the senses, and the impact of migration. She is a founding member of the People’s Kitchen Collective in Oakland, California, along with Jocelyn Jackson and Saqib Keval.

Adrian De Leon is an assistant professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at USC, where he serves on the steering committee of the Center for Transpacific Studies. He is an expert in migrant workers, Philippine politics, Asian American history, and food studies.

Patrick “Pato” Hebert is an artist, educator, and organizer whose work explores the aesthetics, ethics, and poetics of interconnectedness. He works across a range of media including photography, installation, sculpture, language, light, and graphic design.

Chef Jocelyn Jackson’s approach to cooking is informed by her passion for seasonal food, social justice, creativity, and community. She founded JUSTUS Kitchen, and co-founded the People’s Kitchen Collective, to create food experiences that inspire people to reconnect with themselves, the earth, and one another with the goal of collective liberation.

Learn more about the event here!