Meet ACI’s Co-Director of Emergence | micah rose

Magandang araw!

My name is micah, pronounced however those letters vibe in your language 🥰

i use they/them pronouns, i’m a gender-transcending cousin to all life, and i wield words toward us re-membering ourselves to each other. Through my Artist in Community Fellowship, i grew into deeper relations with the peoples who make ACI, and so i’ve been growing into a continuing role as a Co-Director of Emergence 🌱

here’s what i know about emergence, in no particular order:

1. nothing

here are seven things i am learning & feeling about emergence, in an order like how poets decide line breaks ;)

1. like in all of nature, every emergence is unique, even if they share patterns; i.e. cicadas wield long gestations for brief & spectacular emergence, but different cicada species actualize this pattern differently and no two cicada from any generation will emerge in the same way or on the same time

2. time is a f#%@!ng mess! moving through this construct via verbs & relationships—to water and ground, to each other, to my body—is how i like to live and love on my madness. my spirit belongs to centuries that this cute lil vessel of flesh won’t reach herself!

3. trust is a wondrous—but complex—speed to move at; how can we be honest about this to honor Source? emergence is Source: “ancient” as in transcendent and eternal ~ an original way

4. not every seed i or we dream is one we or i need to grow; seeds can be beautiful gifts

5. seeds (of life, of thought, of feeling) thrive in interdependence

6. no word is universal ~ take time to learn what people mean as we use these wild inventions called vocabulary

7. “knowing” is a construct; queerying—asking “how?” and “why?” to innovate both intimate and shared living—is one way to destabilize “knowledge” {shoutout Roger Q. Mason for “queerying” and Ocean Vuong for helping me put word to experiences—and second shoutout to Roger for showing me the path of debunking ‘the singular author’ myth!}

i’m very grateful to shape my role as we cultivate circular, horizontalizing, anti-hierarchical ways of being all over our communities. Thought Partnering and Embodying across our Co-Directors feels extremely nourishing.

Elsewhere in my creative life…i returned to acting! I voiceover-recorded, with an incredible team, for 4 audio plays that are part of A.R.T.’s Arboretum Experience—now available to engage for free throughout the greenspace 🌳😁

And through loving support from The Theater Offensive, i’m continuing mentorship in Story Circles, a method nurtured by John O’Neal at Free Southern Theater & shared with me by his student Márquez Rhyne. shouting praise - praying blessings - and singing peace to you, Márquez ~ !

i have a couple more creative excitements to share soon…but for now i’m happy to share from some of the learning i’ve been up to!

A Smol Resource Log 🪵

Our earth is abundant with amazing people and creatures who enrich this world with their presence! Here are six sources of growth, joy, challenge, love, rest and/or more sensations that i’ve been present with over this summer; in no order:

• madina wardak’s instagram

• All My Relations podcast episode: Decolonizing Sex with Dr. Kim Tallbear 

• The rebirth of Brood X cicadas in my childhood home of northern Virginia! I was last around these cicadas when I was 5 years old—they’ve been burrowed for as long as I’ve been in “formal” education! It felt full circle in some wildly potent way to witness (and cry) at their birth alongside my graduation from college… 

• A Socialist, Feminist, and Transgender Analysis of “Sex Work” by Esperanza

• (un)seen exhibit at ConcordArt by Lyssa Palu-ay, Stephen Tourlentes, Rashin Fahandej, and Keith Morris Washington (reopening September 6 thru 12!)

• this meme reposted on Instagram by adrienne maree brown:

Image Description: screenshot from @adriennemareebrown on instagram. The meme is a person labelled “Yo” vigorously playing a card game labelled “una conversación casual” throwing down a card labelled “EL PROBLEMA ES EL CAPITALISMO”.

well, that’s all i have to share in this edition of field notes! i breathe into this transition from August to September greeting you with ease or other nourishment 🧡

[thumbnail image description: micah rose levitating in a gentle grove of eyes, teeth and hair sculptures lit with the trans pride colors. Photo by Mel Taing © 2021]

We’re Expanding our Board of Directors!

Join our team as we build equity and inclusion both in, and through, the arts.

ACI is recruiting new members for our Board of Directors! 

Fill out the Board Member Interest Form today.

We are seeking Board candidates who have a demonstrated alignment with ACI’s vision and mission to join our expanding team (family, really). Candidates of all geographic locations and backgrounds are encouraged to apply!

MISSION

ACI partners with emerging arts leaders of color and arts influencers who hold institutional power in the contemporary art world, to collectively build equity, access, and inclusion through transformational leadership development.

At the core, we believe that:

1. art is a human right and therefore must be accessible to all

2. racism and marginalization, in any form, is a breach of human rights

3. art serves as a conduit for cross-cultural understanding, deep and meaningful learning, creative expression, and community building, making it an adaptive tool for social change

4. change must be fostered at a community, contextualized level to be effective and sustainable

5. systems of oppression permeate conscious and unconscious thought making it imperative to support those already woke, and those awakening, to collaboratively work towards equity

BOARD COMMITMENT

ACI appoints BOD members for a 2 year commitment, which can be renewed. The BOD meets virtually monthly, and comes together as often as possible in Boston for ACI’s main events (such as ACI’s Arts Equity Summit). We are also planning a weekend-long BOD retreat, training and visioning process for the spring / summer of 2020 requiring in person participation.

If building equity in and through the arts resonates with you, fill out our Board Member Interest Form by Friday, August 16th to be in touch with us for next steps!