The Rasanblaj Symposium: Decolonizing Y/our Experience Through Art, Performance & Collective Memory – DAY 1

OPENING NIGHT – 3-VENUE TOUR

Friday, May 30, 2025 | ⏰ 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Centro Civico Cultural Dominicano, 619 W 145th St, NY 10031  → Hamilton Landmark Galleries → Children’s Art Carnival

• 6:00–6:15 PM – Welcome & Grounding: Live music, check-in, light bites @ Centro Civico Cultural Dominicano
• 6:15–6:25 PM – Land Acknowledgment & Introduction to Rasanblaj
• 6:25–6:55 PM – Keynote Performance: Gina Athena Ulysse – Diaspora in Vibration
• 6:55–7:05 PM – Reflection & Intention Card Activity
• 7:05–7:20 PM – Live Music Procession, El Enjambre Folclorico : CCCD → Hamilton Landmark Galleries
• 7:20–7:35 PM – Pop-Up Artist Stop @ Hamilton Landmark Galleries
• 7:35–7:55 PM – Live Music Procession, El Enjambre Folclorico : Hamilton Landmark Galleries → Children’s Art Carnival
• 7:55–8:00 PM – Gallery Reveal & Toast
• 8:00–8:30 PM – Community Mic: Artist Lightning Shares
• 8:30–8:35 PM – Vocal Blessing & Closing Announcements

Register Now
(Free & open to the public)

West Harlem Arts—a partnership between The Children’s Art Carnival and Centro Cívico Cultural Dominicano—is proud to present The Rasanblaj Symposium and Exhibition, a transformative gathering of artists, scholars, and community organizers working to reimagine narratives of identity, belonging, and liberation.

Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of Caribbean Rasanblaj, the landmark double issue of e-misférica guest edited by Dr. Gina Athena Ulysse, this weeklong celebration embraces “Rasanblaj”—a Haitian Kreyòl term for assembly and re-gathering—We invite you all to gather together to reclaim our stories, and to build something beautiful together.

Experience Rasanblaj Across West Harlem

From May 30 to June 7, the streets, galleries, and soul of West Harlem will light up for the Rasanblaj Symposium & Exhibition — a week of art, healing, history, and celebration made for us.

🎨 Site-Specific Art Installations
Diasporic expressions of resilience & memory

🎤 Panels & Conversations
Critical voices on decolonial theory, performance, and our bodies.

🕊️ Rituals & Interventions
Public performances and community rituals confronting histories of erasure.

🌿 Arts & Wellness Fair (June 7)
A day of indigenous wellness practices, creative engagement, and preventive care.

Everything’s free. All are welcome. Kids, elders, artists, aunties, neighbors — this is for YOU.

A celebratory kickoff with keynote performance by Gina Athena Ulysse, interactive reflections, Live Music Procession, El Enjambre Folclorico, Gallery Reveal and Artist Lightning Shares