Afro-Asia Working Group

09/07/2024

04/25/2024

Spring Intern Social Media Takeover by

Hello, good people! I am from . I am currently a freshman Yale University, considering a double major in Philosophy and Computer Science. I have spent this week interning with Prof. Tao Leigh Goffe and as part of my spring break! I am thrilled to be joining Dark Laboratory for this takeover!

Throughout this week, I have been able to reflect on what nourishes me:

🌆 People/Community: This week, I have had the privilege of meeting inspiring individuals, ranging from scholars and artists to consultants and fellow interns Koby and Humyra Additionally, I was able to reconnect with friends and loved ones in NYC. The relationships I have established and continue to develop are not only inspiring but also instrumental in shaping my thoughts, fostering my growth, and changing me to evolve. I am continuously committed to nurturing these relationships to ensure our collective flourishing.

🎭 Engaging with Arts: Recently, we visited the “Going Dark” exhibition at the . I have been pondering questions like “What is Art?” and “How do we engage with it?”. For me, the act of questioning is a form of engagement itself. I believe art is about the impact it has, the questions it raises, and the reflections it prompts, rather than just its immediate effects.
Check out the Guggenheim exhibition!

☕️ Coffee Ritual: I am a huge fan of Turkish coffee. The process of making it is all about cultivating patience, and having a keen eye for detail. Making my Turkish coffee reminds me to slow down in life; it also brings back memories of rituals and culture from back home.

🍳 Cooking: Yesterday, we went to which graciously offered their space for us to cook and experiment. I perceive cooking as a form of art, where there is a huge emphasis on the process as it makes or breaks a meal. It was also fascinating to see how elements of material culture, like food, can ground us in our roots while also drawing people in.
I prepared a Tunisian Shakshuka 🥘

Thank you to Prof. for hosting me this week and for prompting me to reflect on what nourishes me!

04/25/2024

Spring Intern Social Media Takeover by

Hey friends!!! My name is and I’m a sophomore majoring in Art History and Ethnic Studies Yale University. I am ecstatic to have the chance to work so closely with Dark Laboratory this spring break 🧪💭

Throughout this week, I’ve been thinking a lot about what has been nourishing me:

1️⃣ exploring the city. Im in New York so often but each time I visit, I discover something new. This week I’ve been staying near Freeman alley in the lower east side and I’ve loved crawling through adjacent neighborhoods like Chinatown and enjoying all the good food, street art, and lively bustle around me.

2️⃣ good art. Being here in manhattan also means easy access to some of the best museums in the world. I’ve been able to visit so many amazing exhibitions, such as Going Dark on at the Guggenheim right now. I would recommend everyone to check it out if they have the chance!

3️⃣ Spain! I just visited Spain the week prior, and had the chance to walk through historic streets, try the freshest seafood, hike, and enjoy warm beaches (it’s still so cold here on the East Coast right now 🥶). Traveling is one of my favorite things to do and I love seeing the world.

4️⃣my fellow externs are so knowledgeable, passionate, and interesting. Having conversation and spending time with you guys has been so nourishing.

5️⃣ experimenting and thinking about the future. We’ve been having many conversations about what Afro Asia futurism looks like, toying with technologies like hydroponics and virtual reality. While our ideas are speculative and imaginative in nature, it is powerful and important to think about a liberated, reciprocal, and decolonized future. It’s been so nourishing to ponder all of the radical possibilities are out there!!

03/20/2024

Spring Intern Social Media Takeover by

Hi everyone!! My name is Humyra and I am currently a Sophomore at Yale University studying Sociology, and I am so excited to be spending this week interning with Tao Leigh Goffe and as part of my spring break! I am currently popping on your feed to talk a little bit about what is nourishing to me!!

📖📚Language!! I have always found language incredibly empowering and nourishing. There is something so beautiful about the power a mere word can have in conveying the complexity of thought and feeling that we all experience. Through speech, articulation, and conversation there is endless potential for ways of thought and newer more radical visions of the future. This semester I have been lucky enough to take a postcolonial literature class where we have read brilliant authors like Zadie Smith and Monique Truong In reading their words and envisioning the worlds they constructed I am always awed at the craft, artistry, and labor of writing.

☀️🌞Sun!! Last week I was thrilled to experience warm weather and most importantly consistent sunlight back home in South Carolina! Standing outside and feeling the warm rays hit me, I found new sources of energy and felt an inner warmth I had forgotten through the winter. Arriving in NYC this past Sunday I was so happy and encouraged that even despite it being quite a bit colder than SC the sun was still out and shining down on me. Walking around, taking the train, and sitting near windows basking in sunlight has thus been incredibly nourishing and makes me remember the importance of recognizing and appreciating the environments around us. Even in and especially in urban environments.

🥘🍜Finally on a shorter note, food has been so so wonderful. Working on properly writing out a family recipe this week with
and appreciating all the food of NYC has been so much fun and quite literally nourishing!

Thanks so much for having me + enjoy some nourishing pics from my camera roll!!

08/22/2023

In Case You Missed this conversation on the aesthetics of Tuan Andrew Nguyen, check out this event in conversation with Afro-Asia Group director Tao Leigh Goffe. They touch on Afro-Asian Histories and Third World Solidarity Beyond French Empire for Vietnam / Morocco / Senegal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2470&v=3zbcJVZBJwU&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fbrooklynrail.org%2F&source_ve_path=Mjg2NjY&feature=emb_logoArtist

Tuan Andrew Nguyen joins scholar and writer Tao Leigh Goffe for a conversation. We conclude with a poetry reading by Sarah Wang.

In this talk
Visit Tuan Andrew Nguyen: Radiant Remembrance, on view at the New Museum through September 17, 2023 →

Tuan Andrew Nguyen: Radiant RemembranceArtist Tuan Andrew Nguyen joins scholar and writer Tao Leigh Goffe for a conversation. We conclude with a poetry readi...

07/29/2023

Summer Intern Social Media Takeover by

Hi I’m Kendall 👋😊 I’m a rising senior currently interning for in NYC and helping out with ! I’m excited for my takeover today ✨

I was challenged to answer the question:

What has been nourishing me this summer?

Based on .of.contents series.

1️⃣Looking back on my past semester in Ghana. I miss all of my friends and the rich experiences I had there.

2️⃣Experimenting with new recipes. This was me trying out Crunchy Bean and Okra Fritters with Mango-Habenaro Hot Sauce the Afro-Vegan cookbook.

3️⃣All of the creativity in New York! Every time I leave my apartment I am inspired to see how people are experimenting with their clothing and physical expressions

4️⃣ ! I enjoyed every moment of helping with the installation and production Prof. Goffe’s with

6️⃣Experimenting with printing. Here was a test of an . I’ve spent plenty of time at the print shop near my apartment for different projects.

7️⃣ installation . I was so excited to see so many people enjoy themselves at a site celebrating Black liberation and creative expression.

7️⃣+ Playing (and napping). This is how I recharge after a full day in the city.😴🧸

8️⃣Journaling! 📓I’ve already made my way through one journal since being in New York, and I am excited to fill these two up. One is for the internship and the other is for brain dumps.

9️⃣My trip to I was especially inspired by the New Photography exhbition exploring the work of artists in .

🔟Editing and developing pictures from my year abroad. You can see more of my pics on my website!

Check the stories today to see a sample of my day interning this summer :)

06/12/2023

Welcome to our Afro-Asia Group summer intern Kendall Greene, a rising senior at Amherst College!

05/28/2023

May 31 - 7:30 EDT on Zoom
https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/5016829807739/WN_wHfDftOnQtO4GQ0lxvLneg #/registration

03/16/2023

Thanks to everyone who attended the event "Insurgent Diasporic /Indigenous /Afro-Asian Ecologies." The event was recorded and we will share it on our website soon.

We had the honor to co-sponsor with AAAStudies as part of the the Asian /Indigenous Relationalities Speaker Series.

Dartmouth
University of Hawaii at Manoa

11/17/2022

5pm ET / 2pm PST today. Tune in on IG live for an Afro-Asia Group event on rest as resistance with visual artist Andrea Chung and Tao Leigh Goffe (founder).

11/17/2022

Announcing a new part of Afro-Asia Group called Kitchen Marronage. CFM: Call for Menus 2023. Make anticolonial revolution irresistible! 🥘And check out our new test kitchen. kitchenmarronage.com