Mother’s Day Weekend Celebration of Brown Bodies & Demystifying Breastfeeding
Industry: Art & Design
Midtown cultural hub Punto Space will be transformed into two floors of installations and panels reclaiming the images of mothering and brown bodies, and demystifying the act of breastfeeding during Mother’s Day weekend.
New York, NY (PRUnderground) April 17th, 2018
On May 11th-13th, Punto Space will host ModestEAT, an interdisciplinary multimedia project created by artist Sandie Luna in response to her experience of being an Afro-Latina immigrant and becoming a mother. It confronts the canon of negative stereotypes of black and brown mothers, and the sexualization and shaming of the female form.
“Motherhood forces you to choose who you are; a dearth of positive and meaningful images complicates an already vulnerable identity. This piece attempts to capture the contradictions and change the narrative” says Sandie Luna, who co-founded Punto Space three years ago with two other artists, Debora Balardini and Duke York.
On the main floor, spectators will encounter a tropical, dizzying journey into the cultural syncretism of growing up straddling American and Caribbean culture. Photos, found materials, and sound will sew the past to the present to explore why representation matters. The lower level will be an ethereal yet detailed decompression chamber of image and sound, where guests can immerse in a complete sensorial experience mirroring the wonder of the human body’s ability and will to breastfeed.
Collaborators include renowned perfumer Anne Serrano McClain from MCMC Fragrances (NYT, Vogue, Marie Claire), whose own experiences as a mother inspired two original scents for each of the installations, creating a wholistic sensorial experience. On Saturday, May 12th, activist Natalie Pena will present a timeline of Reproductive Justice history and its implications in today’s social climate. A performative lecture on black women’s birth experience by the founder and executive director of Ancient Song Doula Services, Chanel Porchia, follows. The afternoon will end with "What Happens to a Project Deferred?" a roundtable discussion by artists and creatives from different disciplines on the challenges of staying actively creative while mothering.
ModestEAT is the sister event to Mend: Listen Now & Listen Good, a women’s anthology. A celebration of women in the arts in an evening of monologues and short staged narrations on topics to include gender, age, culture, motherhood and being a woman. May 13th, 5-7 pm
Both events are presented by #PuntoArts – an initiative that supports collaboration, community, and culture.
The ModestEAT invitation can be viewed at https://modesteat.splashthat.com/
About Sandie Luna (https://www.linkedin.com/in/SandieLuna):
Sandie Luna is the co-founder of PUNTO Space and award-winning Nettles Artists Collective. The Afro-Latina, self described “non-solo artist” is a 2015 DITM honoree, recognized by the Dominican American National Foundation for excellence in the arts. Sandie is an actress, mover, director and producer having performed in TV, radio, commercials, and theater productions for the English and Spanish markets, including the Off-Broadway hit Platanos & Collard Greens for four years. Sandie is producer and production designer of Apple of My Eye which received a Brazilian International Press Award in 2016 and performed at UNICEF in 2017. As seen in The Amazing Perspective, Latina Magazine, IR TV, La Fashionista, SheKnows, Closer IQ, Modern Stitches, Trendy Trippin’, Industry Rules, Mushaka’s Motivational Monday/Huffington Post blog, and On Deck with Lucy.
About PUNTO Space (puntospace.com):
Founded in 2014 by Debora Balardini, Duke York, and Sandie Luna, PUNTO is a three-level event and performance raw space located in NYC’s Fashion and Theater District. With its contemporary storefront feature, over 3,500 square feet of space, it offers state-of-the-art amenities to support one-of-a-kind experiences. It has held events for names that include Bella magazine/Kristin Cavallari, Anheuser-Busch, Double Verify, Uptown Fashion Week, xAd, and Uzo Aduba. Created with social good in mind, the venue supports inclusion in the arts, collaboration, and community through the #PuntoArts, #PuntoInspires, and #PuntoGivesBack initiatives, which focus on its mission to support philanthropic causes that are aligned with its values.
About Punto Space
Midtown cultural hub Punto Space will be transformed into two floors of installations and panels reclaiming the images of mothering and brown bodies, and demystifying the act of breastfeeding during Mother’ Day weekend, featuring the work of artist Sandie Luna.
