25 years of gender ideology and potatoes - August Digest

 

⋇⊶⊰❣⊱⊷⋇ June is no Honeymoon Not displaying correctly? View email in browser

⚜ August 2025 NEWSLETTER ⚜ UPCOMING EVENTS! Almost 25 year Anniversary Brunch Party time!!! The menu is (mostly) set. The chefs are raring to go. We have supplies of chairs, plates and alcohol in the wings. Will there be more “Breakfast Opinions” on instagram to keep you entertained? We will see! We’re on the edge of our seats wondering about raindrops, but rain or no rain, we’ll be ready & it’s going to be a blast! The one thing is that if it’s rainy we’re not going to be able to add last minute tickets BUT we’ve still got plenty of tickets available from 12:30 onwards. But that’s more like lunch you say! We’ve got so much delicious lunchy stuff: salads, frittatas, banana pudding and the like! So if you wanna be sure to be able to come, get a ticket TODAY! If the basic info hasn’t made its way to you yet HERE IT IS>>> $25 = order anything you want from the food menu - cocktails separate (yes it is a fundraiser! Yes, we’ll also have fun non-alcs!) There will be guest chefs and there will be some weird delicious stuff to blow your mouth’s mind! To come for free, donate to the DIRT PALACE library MORE INFO ABOUT THIS HERE ALL OF THE LINKS IN ONE PLACE To buy tickets To donate print materials INTERLACE PROJECT GRANTS OPEN Applications due September 14th!! Review guidelines HERE - Application portal HERE WINDOW GALLERY August Window Artist: Naffisatou Koulibaly Naffisatou (she/her) is a poet and multimedia artist from Providence, RI. Naffisatou began writing professionally a decade ago at AS220 Youth where she was introduced to Slam poetry. Naffisatou competed on the Providence Poetry Slam’s youth Slam team in 2018 at international poetry festival, Brave New Voices. She currently serves as co-director for ProvSlam; writing grants, managing programming, and teaching poetry workshops. Naffisatou received a BA in English Literature from Salve Regina University in 2021. Naffisatou is also a resident at the Dirt Palace in Olneyville. From September 2023-June 2024, she was a part of the Emerging Artist Fellowship (now the Creative Leadership Program) at AS220 with a focus in teaching and education. Naffisatou has since been working full-time as a teaching artist and mentor in AS220's Youth program. Naffisatou’s work unearths the complex tapestry of girlhood in the 21st century. While girlhood is often portrayed as a time of innocence and simplicity, her own journey through girlhood has been marked by a stark and sometimes surreal sense of otherness. In her work, Naffisatou seeks to unmask the myth of innocence that shrouds girlhood. It’s not about preserving fragility; it’s about embracing the strength that emerges from navigating a world that is as horrible as it is beautiful. A central theme to Naffisatou’s work is examining the profound and turbulent emotions that accompany girlhood. She invites her audience to recognize that being a girl is akin to being an outsider–an alien in a world that struggles to comprehend the intensity of our experiences; to be both extraordinary and out-of-place. This project was supported through a project grant through the Department of Art, Culture + Tourism of the city of Providence. WORD SHELTER August - September Word Shelter artist: Chrysanthemum Chrysanthemum is a poet, performance artist, and public historian. She serves as Co-Director of the Providence Poetry Slam, housed at AS220 since 1992. She is the Writer in Residence at Public Street for the Providence Commemoration Lab. She is the recipient of writing fellowships from the Poetry Foundation, the Rhode Island Foundation, Kundiman, and Lambda Literary, which named her LGBTQ Writers in Schools’ inaugural Poet-in-Residence in 2024. She broke ground as a finalist in the 2016 Women of the World Poetry Slam, and her teams were champions of the Rustbelt Poetry Slam and the first FEM Slam. Her work appears in Poem-a-Day, The Nation, The Rumpus, Them, Button Poetry, among others. She is a Vietnamese queer and trans writer who uses poetry to confront gaps and contradictions in historical records.  UPDATES!!! Ziggy Smith the blaq panther is a spirit guardian for me. i felt their presence when i first started high school, but they’ve always been with me. i’ve neglected them this past year but we’ve been communicating all week. mostly at 3-4am. we don’t talk much when its light out. i missed them. Natalie Robertson Hello friends of the Dirt Palace! It has been a busy festival season, and the accordion choir has been playing a lot of shows! I love my friends, I love DIY, and I love the wholesome weirdo New England experimental music and performance art scene <3 I joined the Wicked Queer Puppet Theater in constructing our Future Ancestor Puppet for the parade at the New Bedford Roots & Branches Festival in July. The idea I came to brainstorm with was,“A mutant six fingered mole person loving the garden, thriving underground, and scavenging for scrap parts and electromechanical components to construct chain-reaction contraptions and machines for daily life.” And the group dug it, so we brought this mole to life and named him Dr. Bird. [the only photo evidence of this day I have is below] Playing with The Bicentennial Memorial Accordion Choir at the New Bedford Folk Festival was so fun. As was the Pelvic Floor’s Pissmas bonus night. I finally made it out to Lowell, MA to play The Wire Factory as part of an all accordion bill with Ben Richter and Ted Reichman, though we ended up getting a great solo guitar+ set out of Ethan who plays harmonium with us instead of Ted that evening! Our other big festival was the final Pity Parlor curated by Janet who got all us accordionists together to begin with! Janet has been an indispensable force for gathering wholesome weirdos in the area. I am so grateful for her and am devastated she is leaving New England for now. The choir played a cathartic set as a send-off after a 12 hour day of variety acts and experimental music in 90 degree humid heat. We also played a new piece Ethan composed for a friend’s film score! In addition to music things, I have been learning about wood grain, tools, knives, sharpening them, saving food from landfills, and doing a bit with Food Not Bombs. I made a 15lb batch of sauerkraut that didn’t even take up half of my fermentation crock and AM SEEKING FERMENTABLES!!!!! (and jars. always accepting jars) Q (John-Francis Quiñonez) Good Day to all the Dirty Court, We are in the woof-woof, bark-bark puppy days of Summer! Stone Fruit is thriving, False Fall is here, and every year New Englanders act brand new to both Weather & Seasons! I hope you've whispered something juicy to the Ocean, or got Sand or BBQ sauce in somewhere pleasant and new! This dispatch is from the kitchen at Big Feeling Ice Cream (769 Westminster) where I have sage-like been toiling outside of space and time. It has been sticky, and a total joy! If you haven't already - I hope you will come visit us! We are going on a brief summer break at B.F. this Saturday & Sunday (8/23-24), which is perfect timing as I will be Roasting Away in the kitchen for the DIRT PALACE 25TH ANNIVERSARY BRUNCH! I’ll be hiding from the public and will be blowing little kisses at every Potato & Frittata! Hope to see (feel) you there! I am otherwise in the Research & Slow Gather space of several creative projects, but I do have some LOST BAG SHOWS to plug: ☆ 8/29 ~ Sam Wenc/Post Moves, Stefano Grasso (milan), Jake Sokolov-Gonzalez (pvd) , Eli Neumann Hammond (pvd) ☆ 9/11 ~ Simon Joyner (Omaha), Leah Senior (Aus), & LIGHTS OUT! ☆ 9/25 ~ Andy Boay (Tonstartssbandht), Mike Etten, DJ Roy Barboza, Space Cowboy Newt See you soon, Stay Sweet, Q Naffisatou Koulibaly Check out my DP window installation above^^^ I made a short film with my friends! The films narration is an original poem titled “Dog Days” which will be featured in my coming chapbook. Stay tuned, friends<3 Follow me on instagram @n.affisatou Follow @provslam!!! We’re back on September 4th at AS220 Main Stage. ses it’s been an exciting couple months! i’ve gotten to remember that i have mental illness once again, which is a lot of feelings! manageable but Wow! i went to the beach and it was cute! got to walk a bunch and build a sand rectangular prism :) been testing if i can cure my leg, back, and hip pain by walking a lot. so far the answer has been a resounding ‘no’ but i’ve been walking a ton anyway. forgot how often men will speak to me because i am walking by and just sooooo sexy :( a curse, a burden, and a privilege to serve been going to this DIY press-on place called Tiny Chaos in Allston and it’s been so much fun! fran has been getting into making press-ons and doing nails and they are so good at it! i’ve been participating because it is fun! they have guided classes AND open studio time though which is so sick?? i did their nuance class and an open studio and really just had so much fun, cannot recc enough. i linked them so you can check them out! here’s a first draft of a print project i’m working on! excited to be printing more, wish it wasn’t so hot in the print shop! i’m also printing a top secret project for the DP bday brunch that you’ll just have to come to check out… efrel helped me build a PC! i’m so grateful to them! their expertise and ability to problem solve computer stuff made it so much fun for me! i didn’t assist a ton.. but i did get taught a lot and the learning is the most fun part for me anyway! it’s still a work in progress, but this has been a goal of mine for… so long!! i bought baldurs gate 3 in celebration because soon i’ll actually be able to play it on my own!!! tattooing has been so so busy and i am endlessly grateful for this too! i’m having so much fun with a bunch of customs, but people have really seemed to be digging my flash too! here's some stuff i’ve done! click here to book a tattoo! Xander Marro New Wild Goose Chase Alert: The Theater Formerly Known as The Adult Movie Theater on Broadway Shame, Cruising/Urban Planning, Jack Smith, The Columbus aka the Uptown Pippi Zornoza It’s that time to year for this year’s birthday print (circa March) to be available to “the general public”….. This is a yearly project - If you send me something in the mail (a letter, drawing, postcard, print, message in a bottle, etc) I will send you this year’s print for free - Just make sure to include your mailing address. Mail to Pippi Z 14 Olneyville Square Providence RI 02909 Still have some copies of previous year’s prints. If you’d like one from a previous year you must send something separately for each you desire. Clearly mark with either the words “SLEEPLESS NIGHTS” for 2024, “BURN” for 2023 or “TIME” for 2022. HARPY will be performing at the Skanu Mezs Festival in Riga Latvia in October! Really humbled to perform at such an incredible festival. We’ll be announcing the rest of our EU tour soon! ·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ BULLETIN BOARD ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙ LIBRARY HI_LITE!!!!! Mikayla here - Somehow, my summer at the Dirt Palace and Wedding Cake House has already come to an end? Turns out, time flies when you spend your days looking through the amazing creations of zinesters, cartoonists, miscellaneous artists, lyrists, reviewers, humans, creatures, beings, etc. I will deeply miss existing among the contents of those boxes and the beauty of the space. Pictured above are some of my highlights from this summer. Probably one of my favorite books i’ve found: binibus barnabus (1999) by robert goodin. If i were to ever own a copy of this, i’d never let it go. Labs with abs  (2007) by andrew jeffrey wright. I don’t need to explain why i’m so obsessed with these little images of buff dogs. I wish i had bought the calender when it was available 😞 I don’t know which zine made me have this reaction, but many zines left me very happy and wide eyed and silly! Rich bastard comic (1998) by michael van vleet, i love this cover. Look at that rich bastard with his top hat! A drawing from Homestead, Scarborough (1998)  by Shary Boyle that i love dearly And as testament to how much i love binabus barnabus, here is a page from that because it’s so lovely. Thank you to everyone for this lovely summer. I am leaving with a heart full and a head full of wonderful and weird things. venus in blue jeans//venus in furs/// forward to a friend

SPOCKA SUMMA INTERVIEW WITH DS KINSEL

Our October - November Storefront Window artist is Spocka Summa!!

Spocka Summa is a Nigerian / African American artist born, raised and currently resides in

Providence RI. Spocka a musician, multi- media artist and curator. He is also the creator

of Anti- Robot Club & co - owner of Public Shop & gallery. Using his skill set as a way

for self expression and as a platform for other creatives.

@ispocka

Spockasumma.com

Below is a conversation between Storefront Window Artist Spocka Summa and

multidisciplinary Artist and cultural agitator DS Kinsel

DS Kinsel: Do you see being “anti-robot” as the same as being “anti-technology”?

Spocka Summa: Being Anti- Robot is a reflection of many things and primarily an analogy

of how we navigate through life as humans. The ability to create and decide on what your

own personal program will be is essential. 

DS Kinsel: How does a pro-human movement reconcile with technological advancements,

especially when so much of contemporary life exists in digital space?

Spocka Summa: Being pro- human made is all about supporting creatives that are making

things and occupying physical space with their works. I am all for a variety of mediums

including digital formats. But will question artists using AI to generate a piece. 

DS Kinsel: What role does the Spocka character play across the ARC Universe, and how

has the character evolved between The Live Wire: Valley of Wires 2 and the

Dirt Palace window display?

Spocka Summa:Spocka is a pivotal role as he is the antagonist traveling between this imaginary realm

where Anti- Robot Club exists and the physical realm where we are currently. My window

display shows a small glimpse of Spocka (me) on the journey through this realm where ARC

exists, as well as the pieces taking up physical space where we exist.

DS Kinsel: The ARC scenes on display present three distinct moments within the ARC universe.

Do these comic panels exist within the same timeline and storyline? Could you share the

narrative behind the window display prints and the recurring tentacle imagery?

Spocka Summa: The scenes are drawn from one continuous story. Similar to how our story starts

when we are born and ends when we die. Things are  just happening all the time.

These images are snapshots. 

DS Kinsel: Can you describe your art-making process? What technologies or tools are

essential in producing the final works?

Spocka Summa: I have no exact process when coming up with these snapshots. I think of the

scene like movies and write out a script and from there I make thumbnails and either paint,

Rap, or make a digital version of what the script is trying to convey. I also collaborate

with other artists depending on the goal of each piece. 

DS Kinsel: Who have been your key mentors, and in what ways have they influenced the

shaping of the ARC Universe? 

Spocka Summa: No one individual has influenced me. These ideas come to me from life, friends,

interactions, dreams and the need to offload thoughts and feelings. I will say I am deeply

inspired by anime and anything sci- fi, poetry and riddles. 

DS Kinsel: What illustrated worlds in comics and cartoons most inspired and informed the

development of the ARC Universe? 

Spocka Summa: None that I can think of.

DS Kinsel: How are you having fun outside and away from your role as an artists and founder? 

Spocka Summa: Spending time with my family. 

DS Kinsel: What has been the most difficult part of balancing your role as both a founder

and an individual practitioner/artist? 

Spocka Summa: Balancing my time between curating and creating. Finding time to

make the thing and then finding time to make people aware that the thing that I

created exists.

DS Kinsel is an award-winning creative entrepreneur, artist, and cultural agitator.

His multidisciplinary practice spans painting, collage, performance, street art, and

curatorial work, exploring themes of space-keeping, hip-hop culture, informalism,

and cultural re-appropriation.

His work has been featured at institutions such as the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust,

August Wilson African American Cultural Center, The Dirt Palace, AS220, and RedDot Miami.

A former AmeriCorps Public Ally, Kinsel has received numerous accolades, including Pittsburgh

Courier’s Fab 40, Pittsburgh Magazine’s PUMP 40 Under 40, Pittsburgh Tech Council’s

Creative of the Year, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s “Top Ten People to Meet,” and The Incline’s

“Who’s Next.” He serves on the board of the Artist Communities Alliance and has held various

board roles at the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, PearlArts, Shadylane School and

more.

Kinsel is also the co-founder and Development Director of BOOM Concepts, a Pittsburgh-

based creative hub that has curated over 50 exhibitions, paid more than $500,000 in artist

fees, and produced 200+ national events. In 2021, BOOM Concepts was recognized as a

PittsburghCultural Treasure by The Heinz Endowments and The Ford Foundation and is

a regional representative on the Google Arts & Culture platform.

**********************************

This project was supported through a project grant through the Department of Art, Culture + Tourism of the city of Providence.

Conversation between Storefront Window Gallery artist Naffisatou Koulibaly and interdisciplinary artist & Cultural Worker Shey 'Rí Acu' Rivera Ríos

Our September - October Storefront Window artist is Naffisatou Koulibaly!!

Naffisatou Koulibaly (she/her) is a poet and multimedia artist from Providence, RI. Naffisatou began writing professionally a decade ago at AS220 Youth where she was introduced to Slam poetry. Naffisatou competed on the Providence Poetry Slam’s youth Slam team in 2018 at international poetry festival, Brave New Voices. She currently serves as co-director for ProvSlam; writing grants, managing programming, and teaching poetry workshops. Naffisatou received a BA in English Literature from Salve Regina University in 2021. Naffisatou is also a resident at the Dirt Palace in Olneyville. From September 2023-June 2024, she was a part of the Emerging Artist Fellowship (now the Creative Leadership Program) at AS220 with a focus in teaching and education.

Below is a conversation between Storefront Window Artist Naffisatou Koulibaly and Interdisciplinary Artist and Cultural Worker Shey 'Rí Acu' Rivera Ríos

Shey: What was the first image that emerged for you when creating this piece and what was your process to deepen it into a completed work?

Naffi: This work is born from my original poem “Dog Days,” which is ultimately about birthdays and aging. There’s a line that reads “It’s not your birthday if you don’t cry / If you don’t wish to be someone else when the candles go out.” This image of a girl (me), sitting in front of a lit birthday cake, crying, sobbing, with her make-up running, has been living in my brain since I wrote those lines. Revisiting “Dog Days” got me thinking about birthdays again and how they evolve over time. When you’re a kid, everybody’s so excited and happy to celebrate, even yourself. Then, somehow, the celebration doesn’t feel like a celebration anymore, and you look around and realize how everything has changed since you were a kid. There’s no more cake, or singing, or balloons. Sometimes, it’s just you and a bottle of tequila, wondering how you even got this old in this first place. (I know I’m not “old”, but indulge me for a moment). I wanted to convey this transformation of birthdays. I wanted to convey how we make birthdays our own as we age.

S: How does the clownesque persona come to you?

N: It’s funny because I hate clowns. If I saw one coming at me down the street, I’d lose it! I think the first time I imagined myself as this clown persona was after I saw a sad clown. What a juxtaposition: a sad (birthday) clown.

S: Performance and writing come together seamlessly in your work. Does your process begin with writing? How does connecting these forms help you shape what you wish to convey?

N: This specific work began with the writing. I wrote “Dog Days” when I was 22 (maaaaybe 21?). I’m 26 now, so, it’s grown over the last few years with me. I did not have a visual concept for the poem until earlier this year (2025). Sometimes the process begins with an image in my head that gets translated into words, but for the most part it always begins with writing. Blending performance and writing allows me to make more meaning out of my art. It makes me really consider what I’m saying in my writing. 

S: What do you find compelling in performance as a medium to express yourself?

N: I find performance compelling because I can be me without being me. It’s me, but not really. Going back to that line “If you don’t wish to be someone else when the candles go out,” there's always been and I think always will be a part of me that wants to be someone else. Not forever, but just for the experience. I’ve always been me, sometimes that gets really tiring. Sometimes I want a break from my own small scope of reality and existence. This performance specifically is about me, but in this extended almost subverted way. I find that freeing. It reminds me I can always be different, I can always grow, I can always change.

S: The installation conveys the aesthetic and feeling of a memory, flashback, home recorded birthday videos played in VHS tapes on old televisions. Perhaps a longing of self, domestic space, and family. Although family is not present in the work, its absence becomes a presence. What role does family play in this work? Are we as viewers the family of this persona?

N: As a child, your life is not your own. In a way it belongs to your caregivers. Your entire existence and any kind of experience in the world is typically filtered through what your parents provide (i.e. birthday parties). And then one day, they hand your life over to you and say “Here! Go live!” And my response was “What??? You just did all my living for me. You told me how to engage with the world and now I’m supposed to be in charge?” It’s jarring once the reins of your own life are passed over to yourself. Now, you’re in charge of your own birthday. Your mom isn’t planning your parties anymore. She’s not making a cake for you. There’s no singing. Maybe you get a phone call. So, in addition to creating my own meaning out of birthdays, I’ve had to create my own meaning of family. Right now, this persona has no family. Yes, maybe the audience is their family. I hadn’t considered that.

S: You chose video performance for this work, which is perfect for a very visible storefront installation. In your broader creative work, what does video performance offer you that is different from live performance?

N: It’s very similar to live performance in which video allows me to breathe different angles of meaning into my work. It creates multiple layers of images stacked on top of one another that enhance and push the work to new places. It creates more opening points for audience members to connect with. Different from live performance, it gives me the chance for more precision and access to other aspects of meaning that live performance can’t. The VHS style that evoked a sense of longing for family would otherwise be inaccessible without the video medium. That longing for family is a big part of this piece that isn’t explicitly stated but shown through the video.

This particular body of work shows a glimpse of an emotionally charged and angst filled experience of girlhood. What do you desire from the audiences that witness your work? What do you wish they take with them from this piece, and what can they offer you with their witnessing?

N: This is honestly a question I’m still figuring out for myself. An aspect of this clown persona is the idea that I hate being a form of entertainment for others. Especially as a woman. There’s something inherently off about parading yourself and your deepest secrets for strangers. In typical angsty, girly fashion, sometimes I hate sharing my work with audiences because it’s mine. It’s like letting a stranger read your diary. Now that you’ve heard my poetry, I have to k*ll you…kidding…maybe. But seriously, it doesn’t get easier to share this kind of stuff, you just grow around the uncomfortability. A lot of the time, I don’t wish for audiences to see me. Being a girl can feel like you're begging for a witness a lot of the time. I am my own witness and if you’re there to see it, well then, I hope you can keep a secret.

*****************************

Shey 'Rí Acu' Rivera Ríos (they/them) is an interdisciplinary artist and cultural worker who uses storytelling across mediums to create immersive worlds of magic and liberation. Born and raised in Borikén (Puerto Rico), Rivera has created home and set deep roots in Providence, RI, land of Narragansett and Wampanoag peoples. Rivera is founder of Studio Loba, a storytelling lab for art and culture projects that support social change. They have 15 years of experience in the arts and culture sector, interweaving artistic practice with community development, cultural equity, and gender justice. Their work is rooted in partnerships with place-based, cultural and advocacy organizations like SISTAFire and Puerto Rican Institute for Arts and Advocacy. In 2024, Rivera was selected for Providence Commemoration Lab (2024), a one year residency of social practice art to engage residents of Providence in reimagining commemoration. Notable projects include: 'Everything Living Fights Back' art and cultural practice exhibit at Aunty's House Studio in Providence (2024) and 'PORTALES Reimagining the Future' exhibit at Waterfire Arts Center (2022); theatrical productions Antigonx (2022) and Fire Flowers and a Time Machine (2021); transmedia artworks: MoralDocs (2020-21) and FANTASY ISLAND (2017); lead curator for El Corazón de Holyoke public art project (2020-21); and founder of LUNA LOBA performance series (2014+).

 This project was supported through a project grant through the Department of Art, Culture + Tourism of the city of Providence.