An interactive workshop exploring how we can reimagine the archives we build to be more liberatory and creative.
About this event
Workshop by Damon A. Williams and Daniel Kisslinger
AirGo cohosts faciliitate an interactive workshop exploring how communities, organizations, and individuals can create humanizing subject-to-subject dialogue to address personal and structural power dynamics and reimagine the archives they are building for the more liberatory and creative, as well as bring a power analysis to materials they are excavating from already-existing archives. Participants gain tangible tools for to-the-root dialogue, best practices for engaging with existing archival materials, and organizing strategy for reimagining the archival practices of their campus, organization, or community.
Damon A. Williams is a movement builder, organizer, hip-hop performing artist, educator and media maker from the south side of Chicago, and Cohost of AirGo. He is the co-director of the #LetUsBreathe Collective, an artistic activist organization creating community enrichment events throughout the streets of Chicago and in their movement building community center The #BreathingRoom Space, with the mission of utilizing cultural production and popular education to redistribute power and resources, eradicate systemic violence, and transform inequity. Damon is also a Community and Cultural Organizer at the Chicago Torture Justice Center, a community center for Chicago police torture survivors that seeks to address the traumas of police violence and institutionalized racism through access to healing and wellness services, trauma-informed resources, and community connection.
Daniel Kisslinger is a Chicago-based host and producer who creates dialogue-based media showcasing the stories, voices, and artworks of communities challenging power, reconfiguring public life, and reimagining our world. He is the Cohost and Co-Executive Producer of AirGo, a weekly podcast and cultural media hub in Chicago that reshapes the culture of the city and beyond for the more equitable and creative. He is also the Executive Producer of VS, a Poetry Foundation podcast hosted by poets Danez Smith and Franny Choi, and editor of CTU Speaks!, a podcast produced by the Chicago Teachers Union. He also works as a consultant helping organizations, individuals, and companies build humanizing, subject-to-subject podcasts from scratch.
Image Description: Two radio hosts sitting on stools with microphones in a recording studio, one of whom is raising his hand.
We are excited to offer this round of workshops fully bilingually, in English and Spanish. We will also be providing ASL interpretation on demand, and offering live captioning on all sessions. We are hopeful that this will broaden access, allow for conversations that would not otherwise be possible, and deepen all of our learning.
We are committed to making these workshops as broadly accessible as possible, so we are offering an option of free registration for those who could not otherwise attend, with a sliding scale suggested donation of $20-$100 per workshop. We encourage you to pay what you can to support fair pay for our instructors as well as free registration for those who need it.
These events are open to all. You can use this quick survey to let us know how we could make these events more accessible for you. Note that we are able to provide ASL interpretation for any event, but need two weeks' notice. Please contact Rebecca McGilveray at rlm2203@columbia.edu with specific access requests or questions.