Martin wong: writing on the sky
experiential workshop
Martin Wong, Starry Night, 1982. Oil on canvas, 22 x 30 inches. Gift of Suzy and Joseph Berland. 2008.10 Courtesy of the Bronx Museum.
Bronx Museum of the Arts
Sunday, FEBRUARY 14, 2016
2:00 PM–5:00 PM
Kundiman presents a generative writing workshop inspired by the retrospective Martin Wong: Human Instamatic at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. Martin Wong was a visionary painter of queer erotics, mysticism, loneliness, multi-racial intimacy, and urban grit.
Wong’s paintings offer rich worlds for exploration: he captured a singular view of San Francisco and New York’s Lower East side from the 1970s through his untimely death, in 1999, of AIDS. His works are infused with text: he created a sign language alphabet, put Miguel Piñero's poetry to image, and rendered Loisaida graffiti with tenderness.
Images from the event
Participants in this workshop will receive a guided tour of the exhibition, then create on-site original work inspired by the paintings. Moderated by workshop facilitator Kelly Tsai. The workshop is open to fiction, poetry, and nonfiction writers.
Tentative schedule:
2:00–3:00 Guided tour from a Bronx Museum Educator
3:00–4:30 Discussions, prompts, and writing time
4:30–5:00 Read and share writing
Workshop Facilitator
Kelly Tsai is an award-winning writer, performer, and filmmaker based in Brooklyn. Her work as a spoken word poet has been featured at over 700 venues worldwide including the White House, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Apollo Theater in Harlem, BAM, MTV Iggy, HBO's "East of Main Street: Asians Aloud" and three seasons of HBO's "Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry." Her interdisciplinary works include SAY YOU HEARD MY ECHO (Asian American Arts Alliance / HERE), FORMOSA (Ars Nova ANT Fest, Downtown Urban Theater Festival), AI WEI WEI: THE SEED (Brooklyn Museum of Art), and WE ARE FROM THE FUTURE (BRIC Arts & Media). She is an alumna of Kundiman and Hedgebrook.
Photograph by Kyle D. Reinford
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Register Here
Participation is free and on a first-come, first-served basis.
Directions to Bronx Museum
D Train to the 167 Street Station. Exit at rear of station, walk south along Grand Concourse two blocks.
4 Train to the 161 Street/Yankee Stadium Station. Walk east three blocks to the Grand Concourse, then, walk north four blocks along Grand Concourse to 165th St.
Please allow enough time to travel to the museum. Approximate travel times from:
59th St/Columbus Circle, Manhattan: 20 minutes, 5 stops
W 4 St., Manhattan: 37 minutes, 10 stops
Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn: 50 minutes, 13 stops