How can the physical spaces of a neighborhood help build local relationships among neighbors? How do you gain a deeper understanding of a place?
You hang out! That’s what documentary filmmaker Diego Echeverria did when he made Los Sures. Diego spent a lot of time on the streets of the Southside of Williamsburg, a neighborhood that had been called one of the worst ghettos in America; meeting people, being seen, building trust, hanging out. UnionDocs, a Center for Documentary Art has been hanging out on the Southside for many years. By obsessively exploring every aspect of Los Sures and documenting the longstanding Latino community as they fight displacement and survive the growth machine, they’ve produced a multi-faceted production of their own called Living Los Sures.
Using the original film and this impressive body of new work as points of departure, we have organized a pop-up school of local experiences including talks, tours, installations, interviews, artist interventions, music and play across the barrio of Los Sures. Come for a roaming celebration of street life and neighborhood space and expand your view of how the past pervades the present.
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Get Legit: A pop-up school of local experience.
Stop by UnionDocs or nearby subway stations (Marcy J/M, Bedford L, Metropolitan G) to grab a map. Class is in session, but you have permission to wander. Visit community gardens and social clubs, meet housing activists and artists, and learn the social history of the neighborhood. Fill your report card and be rewarded at Sternberg Park for your exploration.
SITES:
A) A new public artwork & comic book trilogy launch by local artist José Luis Medina. Meet the author in person. (Ongoing; Reception 5:30p; UnionDocs, 322 Union Ave)
B) Play the interactive web-doc 89 Steps, installed on the site of production. Climb a 6 story walk-up with Marta Avilés. (Ongoing; 330 S. 3rd St)
C) What is a barrio? Johana Londoño presents her research in dialogue with local activist & poet David Lopez. (Ongoing; Talks 3/4/5pm, 153 S. 4th St)
D) The BQE split the Southside. Envision a green space built over the highway. (Ongoing; Talk w/ deputy Borough Pres. Diana Reyna – 4:30pm, Rodney St. & S. 3rd St)
E) El Timbiriche is a mobile kiosk that collects & shares traditional healing practices. Meet El Puente’s team in the Earth Spirit Garden. (Ongoing, 203 S. 2nd St)
F) See how tenants fought for affordable housing through the photography of community organizer & artist Fernan Luna. (Ongoing; Talks 3:30/5pm, 149 S. 4th St)
G) Relax at Spectacle, a collectively-run screening space. A program of award-winning short docs from Living Los Sures plays on loop. (Ongoing, 124 S. 3rd St)
H) Contextualize at El Museo de Los Sures. View (Dis)Placed Histories exhibit & UnionDocs innovative Los Sures: Shot By Shot. (Ongoing, 120 S. 1st St)
I) Retired Domino Sugar worker, Johnny Mendez won battles for the Berry St. community garden. Hear his story & help him plant. (Ongoing, 301 Berry St.)
J) Have a bite on us at The Caribbean, the last Puerto Rican social club in Los Sures. Look out for owner Maria Toñita. (Ongoing, 244 Grand St)
K) Put on your headphones and take a 15 block audio walk. Hear voices and stories of the long-term residents on location. (Ongoing, Start at 182 Bedford Ave)
Extra credit: Find Tamara Gayer’s site-specific LED signs at UnionDocs, Sternberg Park, and coded into shops across the ‘hood to unravel a pattern in the messages.
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Leading up to the screening, enjoy local food, music, and a round of dominoes on tables custom designed by Bien Conectao. Display report cards for rewards. Live Talk Show hosted by La Respuesta magazine authors Gabriel José Maldonado and Andre Lee Muñiz. (Sternberg Park, Lorimer St. & Montrose Ave.)
8:00 PM
Find chair on the handball court for preview of new films about the Southside by the fellows from the UnionDocs Collaborative Studio. Hosted by David “D-stroy” Melendez. Learn more about the film program here. (Sternberg Park, Lorimer St & Montrose Ave)
10:00 PM-LATE
Wrap up the day with live music, backyard drinks, and DJ Beto (iBomba). Curated by Fresthetic. Co-presented by Remezcla and the Northside Festival. (UnionDocs, 322 Union Ave)
With Support from:
