2008 SPECIAL EDITION D
Took over Union Square May 18, 2008
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Survivors, friends, family and others came together to celebrate healing and recovery from sexual violence. The festival featured music, performances, dancers, spoken word, inspirational speakers, and more. The annual event, now in its 5th year, is sponsored by the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault in association with Midnight Kitchen Media. SAYSO! Took over Union Square on May 18, 2008 to raise awareness about where specialized rape crisis services can be found in New York City.
Every hour, survivors told their stories; in between, artists lent their voices to the chorus.
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Want to organize your own SAYSO! event? Visit our website at www.nycagainstrape.org
AN INTERVIEW WITH LUBA LUKOVA DESIGNER OF THE SAYSO! POSTER D Q: How did you come to the final artwork that is being used for the SAYSO! campaign? A: I was looking for an image that represents call for action, openness, support. So I made the megaphone out of the many hands that protect the person who dares to speak out.
Q: Your work and biography speak of social justice. What does that mean to you? A: It means truth, morality, rightness. The cynics will say that all these categories are relative notions, but in our hearts we know there is right and wrong, truth or lie. To me social justice is about applying these principles to our life as a group of beings.
Q: Your reputation as a social commentator through your posters is impressive. What would you like to do professionally that you have not yet done?
A: “…There is so much joy and beauty and I want the audience to feel inspired and uplifted when looking at art. I’ve always loved doing posters and books because many people can afford to have them. They are not for the art elite but for the ordinary people. I would like to keep doing that and reach more people with my images.
Q: What’s next? A: I started my own publishing company, Clay & Gold: www.clayandgold.com. Stay tuned for our new thought-provoking projects. Luba’s SAYSO! poster, printed on the back page of this newsletter, can be purchased as an D
original silkscreened poster or t-shirt. See the Alliance’s website: www.nycagainstrape.org.
LATE BREAKING NEWS: Luba Lukova has been named First Prize Winner for her poster, Health Coverage in the “Art of Politics 2008” contest.
“I think art should reflect what is going on in the real world,” said Luba Lukova, the designer of the Alliance’s SAYSO! poster. Lukova’s posters have gained international acclaim for their interpretation of social issues such as those addressed by the Alliance. “I am not an isolated, distant artist,” she said. “I keep my eyes, ears and, most importantly my heart open to what is happening around us and then I express what I feel…”
Throughout the day, empowering, educational and inspirational speakers and artists promoted healing, recovery and action. Union Square was transformed into a healing space via experiential activities that included self-defense and yoga classes, Reiki sessions and participatory art.
D The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault would
like to thank Midnight Kitchen for donating their time and expertise. The event could not have happened without the support and assistance of the SAYSO! Planning Committee, SAYSO! event volunteers, rape crisis advocates and the following individuals and businesses:
• In-Kind Donations: Major League Soccer; Deviwo Projects; Jessica
Monty; Whole Foods Bowery; Educational Video Center; Babeland; Gotham Girls Roller Derby, NFP; Trinity Pub; bikram yoga lower east side; Video Equipment Rentals of Glendale, CA & New York City; Stacie Joy, Photographer; Darren Mayhem; Namaste Yoga & Tranquility Center; Vanessa Zannis, Angel Therapy Practitioner; Center for Anti-Violence Education. • Reiki Practitioners : David Gorczynski, SPARK; Natalie Wilson;
Jessica Williams; Jae Schapp; Telesh Lopez; Meryl Susanne Brinin; Miriam Eisenberger; Lilia V. Marquez, Mind Body Spirit Healing Journey; Alicia DiGiovanni, Artful of Passion; Claudia Helmke, Holistic Energy Healing
• S AYSO! performers: Rachel Friedman; Winslow Turner, Porter III,
Carbon Pictures; Glenn Marla, Gina Gibney Dance; INSPIRIT: a dance company; Toni Blackman; Desiree Gordon; Yolanda Zama; Natasha Spady; Ganessa James; Anna Peach; Piper Anderson; Jami Jackson; Urban Word NYC: Roxy Azari, Tahani Salah, Ra Zayad; Una Aya Osato; Aliza Hava, FireMusicFaerie Productions; Jennifer Seary; Catherine Whyte; Vanessa Paula; Chana Rothman; Shoshana Jedwab; Pearson Lee, Brooklyn Girl Publishing; Nandini Muralidhar; Akiva The Believer; Elischia Fludd, SAFER (Students Active For Ending Rape); Kristin Simpson; Charlie Hoag; Julie Chim;,Lisa Bachman;Youth Action Council; Scout Durwood, Mighty Little Productions; Deborah Kampmeier, DJK Films; Yetta Kurland; The Spectacles; Black Betty & The Polka-Dot Crusaders; Lucky Chops Brass Band; The Ingenues; Voices of Women Organizing Project; Jamie Lyn; Melody Berger; Larissa Shmailo, TWiN Poetry; Glenys Javier; Haydee Lorenzo; Jerome Rankine; Ashby Dodge, The Joyful Heart Foundation; Stephanie Rooker; Emma Jackson; Amy Edelstein; Victor Cruz; Lisa Kessler; Liana Harper; Larken, YES; Tristan Fisher, P.V.A. Recording/Rehearsal; Helen Little, New York’s 106.7 Lite FM; Soohyun Park; Arong Kim; Jeeyeon Lee; tuac of LEN XIANG; Maria Rose Pirone.
SAYSO! newsletter design: Worksight