Author: YADIRA GONZALEZ

For my video project I would like to report a story on Mexican/Hispanic sellers of sweet bread. This time of year they are the most busy with holidays such as Dia de los Muertos and and Christmas. I would like to report on how their businesses have been affected during the pandemic. Many of them sell directly to their own families so I want to see how selling to them has changed, if it has at all.

There are several bakeries in the Jackson Heights area that I would love to interview. There are also some vendors that I know through my family that I can get into contact with and see if they will let me record the process of how they make their bread.

HOST: When all indoor activities were shut down due to the pandemic, the city’s nightlife also stood at a halt. COVID-19 and the need to social distance completely eliminated the club scene, which, for many in the LGBTQ+ community, found was the heart of their social life. Artist Levani (a.k.a Levan Mindiashvili) wanted to create an artwork that pays homage to their “dancing peers” and host a park event that would be a safe space for queer individuals who, up until the pandemic, found comfort on the dance floor. Yadira Gonzalez speaks with them at Socrates Sculpture Park in Astoria, Queens. 

AMBI: SOCRATES PARK NAT SOUNDS 

TRACK: Socrates Sculpture Park, located on the edge of Astoria right by the East River is a park that combines the beauty of the outdoors with man-made art installations, a nice place to take a walk and enjoy various sculptures. On October 16th, the park had a slightly different ambience to it. 

AMBI: SOCRATES PARK WITH ELECTRONIC MUSIC

TRACK: These rave-esque beats came from an event hosted by artist Levani, a.k.a Levan Mindiashvili, entitled, “Levani’s Party.” The event took place adjacent to their latest sculpture. 

ACT: LEVANI: The title of the piece is 127.1 BPM for my dancing peers, and it’s about the underground dance culture. 

TRACK: The sculpture, which closely resembles a steel gate and is adorned with metal palm trees and birds, integrates sounds produced by DJ Bryce Hackford.  

AMBI: SOUNDS COMING FROM SCULPTURE

TRACK: This piece pays tribute to the clubs that harbor queer people who seek a good time and a place to be themselves. Having originally come from the country Georgia, Levani never really experienced the freedom offered on the dance floor. 

ACT: LEVANI: As a queer person growing up in a very traditional country and culture, underground dance like small venues were the places where I first started to reconnect with my own body.

TRACK: Levani believes that the frailty of dance clubs was only emphasized because of the pandemic. As a Brooklyn-based artist, they have connected with some of the local spots that were constrained by quarantine restrictions, and dedicated their piece to them. 

ACT: LEVANI: It celebrates one small venue in Bushwick called Bossa Nova Civic Club and it recreates the steel gates that separate the bar from the dance floor. 

TRACK: According to the Bureau of Labor, the industries with the largest percentage of establishments that experienced a government mandated closure were arts, entertainment, and recreation at 48%. For those like Levani, this meant the end of social interactions. “Levani’s Party” was a way to bring together those they met along the way. 

ACT: LEVANI: This event is mostly about the people I met on the dance floor and with whom I created these friendships and then with whom I over the years witnessed their creative growth. 

TRACK: One of those very friends even helped plan this event. 

ACT: LEVANI: Body Double, who is Lucas Ross, we met on the dance floor, and he started DJing right around the same time and now he’s opening the party for this event. 

TRACK: Levani could be seen embracing several friends as they arrived at the park and celebrated their creation, including Karen Sofia Colón. 

ACT: COLÓN: I think it’s really exciting. I think it’s in a great environment. 

TRACK: Environments that encourage artists have always been scarce. During the pandemic, surviving as an artist felt nearly impossible. 

ACT: LEVANI: It showed how there’s no infrastructure or any structure who would support artists as human beings. 

TRACK: In the current exhibition entitled “Sanctuary” artists were asked to create pieces that showed how art could function as a place of refuge, rest, and meditation. The park and their organizers including the Director of Program and Engagement Aya Rodriguez-Izumi understand the need to help creatives. 

ACT: RODRIGUEZ-IZUMI: Why do we hold it? To support artists, to support the neighborhoods of Astoria. 

TRACK: Since its creation in 1986, Socrates Sculpture Park has continued to promote smaller artists like Levani. Yet in the past two years, neighborhoods, businesses, and organizations have learned how quick things can change for the worse. “Levani’s Party” was a small look at how one park and one artist have tried to gain back some of what was lost. For Baruch College, I’m Yadira Gonzalez. 

AMBI: ELECTRONIC MUSIC CONTINUES THEN FADES OUT

On October 23rd, I attended the Photoville event entitled, “Walking Tour of Taxi: Journey Through My Windows 1977-1987, With Joseph Rodriguez.” The event took place in the streets right outside the First Street Green Cultural Park. Photographs taken by Joseph Rodriguez during the 70s and 80s were displayed on the fence of the park and we took a tour down the block.

Rodriguez was narrating the tour himself so it was very interesting to hear how each photo came about. Rodriguez explained what it was like living in New York City during that time, especially what it was like to be a photograph. He showed how it was definitely a very interesting time for photography with all the social issues taking place including drug abuse and gang violence. His work focused on very interesting subjects including sex workers he saw on the street or your average family taking a cab to church on Sunday.

Rodriguez himself was such a true New Yorker and as we walked down the street and saw his work we also got to understand such a deep history of the city.

For my radio project I would like to attend an event at the Socrates Sculpture Park. There are two events that I have in mind, and I believe either of those would make for a great radio story. The first event is about poets and writers coming to read their work. I would hope to interview possibly some of the poets or writers. 

A second event that I am interested in attending is the opening to an exhibition. An artist is presenting a new sculpture. But I think it would work for a radio story because these would be live activations of sculptures, some of which I think would involve music. 

Both events I imagine would be filled with a fairly sized audience which would allow for some great background noises. 

https://medium.com/@yadira.gonzalez_48938/fit-students-speak-about-the-future-of-fashion-a035c207448e

For my photo essay I would like to capture fashion trends that are prevalent among college students. With New York fashion week and the Met Gala taking place this September, I think it would be an interesting perspective to see how the average college student throughout New York City is styling different fashion trends and patterns. 

 

I anticipate getting visuals that will incorporate several different color schemes and patterns which overall should make them much more visually interesting. I think a lot of these photos I could potentially get will tell profound stories since more people are becoming more aware of sustainability, child labor, and other fashion issues. Around NYU and FIT it should be fairly accessible to find college student who are willing to talk to me about fashion and allow me to photograph their style choices.