On May 4-5, the spirited streets of the neighborhood will host HOPE AGAINST HOPE, a procession in the West Village led by textile artist Ines Doujak in collaboration with the New York City AIDS Memorial, and a two-day program featuring performances and interactive installations, transforming into a public parade for hope.
The weekend-long gathering, catalyzed by Doujak’s practice, blends community, song, conversation, and food. In HOPE AGAINST HOPE, Doujak’s vibrant sculptures and avant-garde costumes will assert presence on the street, honoring women land defenders and anti-capitalist environmental movements. The project introduces Doujak’s unique practice to a New York audience for the first time, inviting local feminist poets, activists, and musicians to explore how activist histories inform radical presents.
The weekend begins with a parade on Saturday, May 4 at 2pm, co-presented by the Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA) and New York City AIDS Memorial. Weaving together pasts and futures of hope, participants form a chorus of voices calling for liberation from patriarchal oppression. At CARA, the parade commences with an invocation by poet Pamela Sneed, honoring lives lost to AIDS. Guided by the percussion of Batalá New York, participants will progress to St. Vincent’s Triangle, where Sneed will be joined by multidisciplinary feminist artist and writer Christen Clifford, as well as four artists from The Blacksmiths, in ongoing performances.
On Sunday, May 5 at 2pm, Doujak will be joined by artist Paloma Contreras Lomas and CARA’s Executive Director and Chief Curator Manuela Moscoso in a public conversation. Afterwards, CARA will host dialogue between feminist academics Nimmi Gowrinathan and Loretta Ross to discuss their work, complemented by music and food.
This weekend comes with much anticipation and welcomes all who choose to join to explore the potential of bodies, together, in public space. As we move through the weekend we ask: How will you show up for your role as a member of the collective body? When we gather in grief and hope, what worlds are born?
SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 4
2pm – Parade Invocation by Pamela Sneed
225 West 13th Street
2:45pm – Parade Begins at 225 West 13th Street, walking towards St. Vincent’s Triangle, with Batalá New York and Brujas
3:30-5pm – Performances by The Blacksmiths, Christen Clifford, and Pamela Sneed
Sunday, May 5
2:30pm – Conversation with Paloma Contreras Lomas, Ines Doujak and Manuela Moscoso
225 West 13th Street
3:30pm – Nimmi Gowrinathan “Occupation and the Body: Five Acts”
4pm – Music
4:30pm – Loretta Ross “Calling in the Calling Out Culture, and how to build a Human Rights Movement in times of hopelessness’
5:30pm – Food
