Our Words Are Important
LUKAZA BRANFMAN-VERISSIMO
March 16, 2023About this Workshop
“Language is Magic” - Johanna Hedva
How do you write the words that speak to the dreams and power of your work? Do your words echo our voice? Do you fill your mouth with questions in the ways I am doing now, to ask for more clarity? How can we collectively craft words that whisper loudly and sing in expansive ways? In Our Words are Important, Lukaza will invite participants into creating new ways of sharing words. Exercises that may become seeds for future work, ingredients for closely examining our mother tongues, sketches and tests of an alphabet we will craft together. Bring your favorite writing/sketching materials & paper of your choice, tools that give you power and a song/book/magazine/video/etc. that reminds you that your words are important.
About Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo
Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo (they/them/Lukaza) is an artist, activist, educator, storyteller & curator who lives/works between Lisjan Ohlone Land [Oakland, CA] and Powhatan Land [Richmond, VA]. With roots in storytelling, Branfman-Verissimo’s work is informed by their commitment to craft and community, engagement with society, and interest in preserving and broadcasting B.I.Q.T.P.O.C. stories.
Their work has been included in exhibitions and performances at Konsthall C [Stockholm, Sweden], SEPTEMBER Gallery [Kinderhook, NY], EFA Project Space [New York City, NY], Leslie Lohman Museum [New York City, NY], Yerba Buena Center for the Arts [San Francisco, CA] and Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive [Berkeley, CA], amongst others.
Their artist books and prints have been published by Endless Editions, Childish Books, Press Press, Sming Sming, and Night Diver Press, and most recently, with Printed Matter Inc.