NEXT! Workshops: Eco Art by Pioneers Go East Collective in partnership with Socrates Sculpture Park
Teaching Artist: Maira Duarte
June 6-8 & 13-14, 2025
RSVP (free)
Friday, June 6: Seniors | 11am-1pm
Saturday, June 7: Youth | 11am-1pm
Sunday, June 8: Youth | 11am-1pm
Friday, June 13: Seniors | 11am-1pm
Saturday, June 14: Seniors and Youth | 11am-1pm
*Participants are welcome to attend single or multiple sessions.
La instructora también habla español.
Eco Art and Performance workshops: In this intergenerational workshop, facilitated by Maira Duarte from Dance to the People, participants will engage in the exploration of movement in nature and will manufacture wearable art pieces made of reused materials. Participants are welcome to bring materials they would like to create their pieces with, such as clothing in need of mending or objects that they have in excess (socks, plastic cutlery, cardboard, etc.). These workshops will explore the themes of land, water, and access to public natural spaces as well as the power of art and performance in manifesting the relationship between the individual, the community, and earth. Eco Art and Performance workshops provide a way of using art to explore environmental issues affecting our community. Activities will take place outdoors. Participants will engage in movement forms such as modern, improvisation, story-based creative movement, indigenous Mexican dance, as well as some exercises from the theater of the oppressed with discussions about waste management, sustainable practices, and human and animal rights. Participants will also learn to create costumes, posters, or other artifacts made from repurposed materials. Eco Art and Performance workshops aim to bring together community members of all ages, artists, and local activists into conversation about the defense of the land and the right of the land’s inhabitants to live free from pollution.
Maira Duarte (Instructor) is a Mexican artist, educator, and organizer based in New York City. In 2014, she founded Dance to the People/Danza para la Gente (DTTP), a collective dedicated to fostering anti-capitalist forms of artistic exchange, operating in both New York and Mexico. DTTP uses dance, ritual, environmental education, and costume making to address the exploitation of people and the natural world. The collective’s work emerges from participatory public experiences, workshops, community forums, and dance laboratories. DTTP has received support from the CUNY Dance Initiative, Queens Council on the Arts, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. Maira has taught for over 16 years in innumerable public schools in NYC and New Jersey, through the organizations Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Dancewave, The New Victory Theater and Dance Theater of Harlem. A 2022 Emerge alumna, Maira has been the Artist in Residence at Grace Exhibition Space since 2023. She also co-manages The Woods, a low-cost rehearsal and performance space in Ridgewood, Queens. dancetothepeople.org
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DIRECTIONS:
Socrates Sculpture Park
Address: 32-01 Vernon Blvd, Queens, NY 11106
The entrance is located at the intersection of Vernon Boulevard and Broadway.
By Subway: Take the N/W train to the Broadway station in Queens and walk eight blocks west on Broadway to the intersection of Vernon Boulevard. Check the MTA’s website for updates on train service.
By Bus: Take the Q103 or Q104 to Broadway and Vernon Boulevard. Take the Q69 or Q100X to Broadway and 21st Street. Check the MTA’s website for updates on bus service.
ACCESSIBILITY: The Park has a handicap-accessible parking spot at our main entrance and a paved path around the perimeter of the lawn. Mobi-mats are available for wheel-chair access. For more information please email info@socratessculpturepark.org or leave a voicemail at 718-956-1819 x105.
Photo: Maira Duarte. Credit Dance to the People