Liberating Languaging Pop-Up Museum

Liberatory imaginations are co-constructed in community.

On April 16th, 2024, we collaborated with the National Black Association for Speech Language and Hearing (NBASLH) and the National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association (NSSLHA), both student clubs in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders (CSD) at New York University (NYU) for what was a transformative space. Approximately 40 submitted art projects— including paintings, interactive works, spoken and written word genres, performance pieces, photography, videos, songs, mixed media, etc — were shown from 11am - 4pm at New York University.

I was taught by my parents that when people gift you their ideas, effort, time, and work, you say‘thank you’ and mean it… So let us start by acknowledging that this first-in-our lives event would not have been possible without the funding of the NYU Steinhardt GSO. We also want to thank Nija Leocadio, Sasha Best, the team of Victor Correa (facilities and set up) and our Pless Hall safe-keeper: el señor García. ;-)

This event is the product of many months of creative envisioning, and o’ so many sleepless nights, but its ‘come-to-life opportunity’ was seeded in the gifted mind of our Melissa McSweeney, President of BLLING, without whom none of the details that got us from the ‘load and strike’ excel sheet to building our very first in person exhibit would have been possible (I actually miss those early morning texts from across the world - ha ha!).

We are also here thanks to the quiet, humble, and uplifting leadership of Erika Abdelaziz-Oum, who has volunteered her time and enthusiasm to BLLING for 3 years (and whom I had the honor of meeting in person at this event). No project would get off the ground without the unwavering energy and creativity of Gianna Cioffi, who is always operating on a level 110% and affirming ‘we can do it’. And, of course, the details would not have been ‘checked’ without the unparalleled multi-talented Ray Chen. Our load-to-strike-to-dismantling was only done because of a rocking' team of curators and volunteers, undergraduate and graduate activists with the passion to ignite any dream of liberation: Nella Dacius, Naviera Charlton, Nemesis Salguero Perez, Olivia Chandler, Jing Guo, Faizeh Hammood, Madelyn Escario, Skyler O’Berry, Kennedy Lawrence, and Laura Valencia. If ever I know of someone in need of a group of humans committed to social change, let it be known your names will be on that list.

My colleagues (those who work alongside of me in higher education, and those who are still in route to completing advanced degrees), those who made art, and those who made time, those who traveled from across state lines - despite exceptionally busy schedules - to be there/here with us: THANK YOU.

Stephanie Feyne and Candace B. Penn, who not only brought their ASL interpreting agility, but their love for art into the space - you made the dream of languaging come to life, fully. I paused at one point in awe of all the ways this was taking place in one room - embodied (clay molding, drawing) activities, our gesturing the sounds of multiple “codes” on a poem playing on the projector, AAC, technologies, pictures , paintings, photographs, videos, text….I’ve had many a moment of pure joy in my career, but I am fairly confident this tops them all. (and that my daughter and husband were in the room with me made it that much more meaningful)

Yiwen (Jessica) Qian (IG: @yiwenq530), thank you for capturing our moment. As a fellow photographer, I appreciated having the time to enjoy the moment, for a change.

Our gifted artists, many of whom are our students too - I am forever in awe of you. You refused to let standardized conceptions of the “languaging” body-mind define the possible you-in-the-making.

And finally - to our Dr. Jon Henner - who inspired a revolution in my mind/life, and this ‘movement’ when he reminded us that our languaging is within our bodies and it serves both to historicize our experienced realities and ‘story’ our unfolding lives ; and to Dr. Octavian Robinson who, in Henner and Robinson (2023): “Unsettling Languages, Unruly Bodyminds: A Crip Linguistics Manifesto” taught us about ‘linguistic care work,’ calling us in to recognize that the responsibility in languaging (meaning-making) is a shared endeavor inviting a cooperative disposition (borrowing from Dr. Suresh Canagarajah here) and an ethos of care for each other’s understanding. Thank you for traveling from D.C. and with your presence helping us feel Jon was/is/will always be with us. Read Crip Linguistics HERE. Read and watch more about Crip Time and Linguistic Care Work HERE

A paradigm shift to center (Linguistic) Care Work begins with each of us showing up. And it’s the embrace that holds us whole. Thanks to all of you, for doing the work of caring.

Institutions often wonder how to ‘make’ spaces welcoming, inclusive, and affirming for ‘us’ minoritized folx. Well…here you go: This is how you do it: In community, centering care for one another….

Here’s to MORE liberated languaging

xxoo

Maria Rosa Brea,

BLLING FOUNDER AND ADVISOR