mico astrid

On Sunday April 5th, 40+ community members of many corners and circles of life gathered to witness new~secret~sacred~previously unheard works by four artists — artists who are new and old friends, who came into one another’s orbits thanks to previous events held by artists and community builders from different reaches and intersecting expanses of life. Together, in our sincere attempt to model modes of exchange (energetic, creative, offerings and gifts) that support life rather than perpetuate systems of extraction, we raised $1,088 for five families in Gaza. We did this knowing full-and-tender-heartedly that our survival as artists and as a community cannot be achieved without the survival of our global family. We are all overlapping concentric circles who cannot help but affect each other, and in this knowledge, cannot sit still and deny our deep responsibility towards one another. We move towards One Another. As in, one together in full defiance of the violent patriarchal impulse to Other, dehumanize, and dominate. We move as one complex adaptable body, ever consciously and lovingly towards life. In this tender, curious space that has been given the name A Tempo, we reshape our relationship to time and resources. We question (with a soft, knowing smile) what constitutes a meaningful connection. We move steadily, light on our feet with a readiness to plunge way deep, our collective tears a great meniscus at the precious rim where soul meets flesh. My cup is overflowing. I did not know that I could feel broken in the most beautiful way, after years of heartbreak upon heartbreak upon heartbreak. This was a beautiful breaking that helped me see all the glowing intricacies of existence - of you, community - and generated a new cellular memory of potential and possibility in creative action. We are building. Thank you for trusting this space. Thank you for your brilliant, soul-expanding creative offerings ~ @emily_j_mundy @almostmemory @ilylily__ Thank you to every dear friend who jumped in with your labor, love, intuition, support, creative spirit, and sheer joy. Until next time. 🤍

Join me virtually on Tuesday, April 21st for a (free!) generative poetry workshop for immigrant writers, c/o @poetrysocietyny <3 This workshop is a humble offering born from years of grief within the immigration system, years of feeling alienated in the US, and—most significantly—years of finding solace within the migrant writer community. We’ll be close-reading poems from contemporary migrant writers, discussing the limitations of empathy and visibility, and writing from the nuances of our current and historical conditions. Amidst the ongoing violences within empire, and global violences at the hands of empire, I hope this time can be a grounding and clarifying space for us to resist collectively through our artistic work. Hope to see you there in April <3 Register for free via the link in my bio~* All levels welcome, please feel free to share widely <3

​APRIL 5th, 6:00-8:30PM — A playful riff on the Closet Sale for Palestine, the first installment of A Tempo invites Emily Mundy, Lily Minke Tahar, Mico Astrid, & Ran Park to share unreleased works from their creative vault. ​Through offerings in the form of prose, poetry, and music, the artists conjure somatic, spiritual, and material realities into collective rumination around the conscious choice to reveal — in generosity, collective reckoning, vulnerability, agency, and power. ​All proceeds from ticket donations will support five families surviving under occupation and siege in Gaza. @mohammedabuafifa @lana_hu9 @__taliaae @mom_life_raghad_family80 @farhan_muhammad_22 Private location. Please inquire via my linktree or visit atempo.art ✨

<3 viva puerto rico libre

i made a triptych of acid-etched copper plates for a lil collaborative pop-up show at @oxbowschoolofart with @maddienicolas.studio ••• ♥︎ this series pulls imagery of the philippines from personal archives and archives of american institutions. paired with text, these serve as an interrogation of the consequences of ‘philippine-american history’, and an appeal for its significance in relation to the present. what is an archive if the images within it repeat in present-day, if the documented violence is continually perpetrated by the same american, imperial actor? in this context: what is the archive, what is history, but the compounding of grief and a warning of what’s to come if the cycle persists. 1: “despite” — images of traditional philippine fishing methods off the west coast of luzon in the early 1900s, sourced from UMichigan’s archives — an acknowledgment of filipino fishing communities’ continual resistance against US militarization 2: “again” — images of a US military installation in luzon + an american sniper’s nest in a mango tree during the philippine-american war, sourced from the library of congress 3: “remaining” — images of our grandmothers’ homes in luzon, sourced from personal archives #USOutofEverywhere #FAHM

nonfiction craft lectures in the midwest - bullfrog chorus midnight - heart and heart and heart <3 ty forever @kenyonreview and @mitchsjackson

a basalt-lined dream <33

new poem titled “Kinship” in the Memory and Migrations special issue of @michiganquarterlyreview ❤️❤️‍🩹 Abolish ICE and CBP U.S. Out of Everywhere

playing and living and writing in residence for the past month was such a dream.. <3 thank u forever @tin_house for holding me and my work <3 (pic of my brain last slide)

one year wedding anniversary in miami-land 🧡

:’) thrilled to share that i have two poems featured in Here to Stay: an anthology of poetry and prose from the undocumented community, edited by the @undocupoets and published by @harpercollins . it’s hard to find words — this anthology holds so much grief and love in the same breath. it brings to light the heartbreaking truths of an immigration system that leaves millions like me without. i’d never imagined a text like this would reach the world, much less that i’d be included alongside friends and literary heroes. it is more than surreal. find the pre-order link in my bio & find it out in bookstores on september 3 ♥️ and—as always—please consider supporting organizations like @alotrolado_org , @laresistencianw , and @n.w.i.r.p who provide services and advocacy for undocumented immigrants across the country.

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