Learn about the value of bugs in farming and their potential as “microlivestock.” We promise they don't bite! Includes experiments for kids. Open to all ages. About the NATURE Lab: North Troy Art, Technology, and Urban Research in Ecology (NATURE) Lab is a volunteer-led urban ecology education initiative. Artist/scientist teams work to empower the community […]
This class shares ancient practices of fermentation, followed by the reaction of edible bio-art that will take two weeks for microbes to cook for you. Open-Source education contra the neoliberal university. Slow-cooking class with raw dripping shelf-unstable cabbage. Spiritual revival of unsterilized interspecies collaborations. Ritualistic healing of Industrial Amnesia. Ecstatic dwelling in decomposition and decay. […]
The Sanctuary for Independent Media welcomes acclaimed South African artist Vusi Mahlasela back to the Capital Region with his full band for a concert at The Egg in Albany to benefit WOOC 105.3 FM. Known simply as “The Voice” in his home country of South Africa, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and poet Vusi Mahlasela and his band […]
Join our fall seed swap and social to learn seed keeping methods, acquire seeds and bring your own. Learn seed keeping methods from local gardeners, acquire seeds to grow, bring your own seeds to show and share. Bring food and stories to share too! With seeds from: Collard City Growers, The Next Epoch Seed Library, […]
Join us as we celebrate the release of Leah Penniman’s new book, Farming While Black. The Black Kreyol farmer/peyizan, author, and food justice activist from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY recounts the efforts of a global network of farmers working to increase farmland stewardship by people of color, restore Afro-indigenous farming practices, and end food […]
The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author shows an America that should shame us: a land of rampant and deadly drug addiction, of escape into gambling, sadism and pornography, of xenophobic scapegoating and of plundering by the rich and powerful. Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, New York Times best selling author, former professor […]
Take a peek into the tiny world around us! Ever wonder what’s lurking on and around you? Learn about what microorganisms live on your skin and in the air. We will test for tiny life using felt and edible media, and even grow airborne bacteria on underwear! Ages 12+ Mentor: Natalie Dubois Calero One foot […]
Trumpeter Chris Pasin performs music inspired by free jazz icons in a CD release party with Harvey Sorgen, Michael Bisio, Adam Siegel, and Creative Music Studio founders Karl Berger and Ingrid Sertso. For his fourth CD as leader, jazz trumpeter Chris Pasin leads his vibrant band Ornettiquette in saluting NEA Jazz Master and Pulitzer Prize winner Ornette Coleman and his […]
Learn some basic plant ID skills and an archival method for storing dried, pressed plants to add to the NATURE Lab herbarium. Open to all ages. About the NATURE Lab: North Troy Art, Technology, and Urban Research in Ecology (NATURE) Lab is a volunteer-led urban ecology education initiative. Artist/scientist teams work to empower the community with […]
The digital revolution has us awash in a sea of media; award-winning filmmaker Stephen Maing addresses the challenge of documenting underrepresented individuals and communities. The focus of this informal conversation will be through the frame of cinematography and editing (starting in his head!) — from which Maing’s work is driven. He will share excerpts from […]
Stephen Maing's film Crime and Punishment chronicles the struggles of a group of black and Latino whistleblower cops and the young minorities they are pressured to arrest and summons in New York City. The film will be presented by filmmaker Stephen Maing, who will be accompanied by Private Investigator Manuel Gomez, and George Weddington from […]
Learn why plastic is bad for the environment and our health. We will discuss and brainstorm ways to reduce plastic in our everyday lives. Includes fun eco-friendly craft! Maya Sanders is an Undergraduate Sustainability Studies major at RPI. She has a passion for grassroots science, ecology and environmental science education. Maya was an Uptown Summer […]
How much can you learn about a stranger from a stray cigarette butt? Our DNA can reveal stories about us—including our ancestry, disease risks, physical characteristics, and predispositions. These stories pass from parent to child hidden within our cells. Today, millions of people have explored their DNA to uncover these stories using direct-to-consumer sequencing services. […]
My Midnight Years: Surviving Jon Burge’s Police Torture Ring and Death Row tells the story of Ronald Kitchen's 21 years in prison–including more than a decade on death row–and, finally, exoneration. Join author and activist Ronald Kitchen with author/professor/historian Thai Jones, in a discussion of My Midnight Years. In conversation with Alice Green, Executive Director, […]
Life is a cycle, let's experience it by eating over decomposing food! Learn what can be composted and how to compost it. We will show you how to use bokashi and worms to compost indoors. Mentor: Nathalie Dubois Calero One foot in art, one foot in science (I have a PhD in plant science), the […]
A multimedia performance of “Peace Be With You: Letters from Rap” with the Music Now! Unit. Theodore Burnett III performs music based on letters written by his father during deployment in Vietnam from 1968-1970. Funded in part by New Music USA. The Music Now! Unit:Larry Roland–bass and narrationCharley Sabatino–bass Matt Lavelle–trumpet and bass clarinet.Leonid Galaganov–drumsDave Ross–guitarRas […]
NATURE Lab educator Dylan Rees will lead a workshop on Fish Poo. Aquaponics uses fish poo to grow plants. See a small tabletop system, learn how it works, and how to build your own. About the NATURE Lab: North Troy Art, Technology, and Urban Research in Ecology (NATURE) Lab is a volunteer-led urban ecology education […]
It's the most wonderful time of the year! Join us at the Sanctuary for the seventh annual North Central Holiday Justice and Peace Celebration. We’ll have free portraits (special appreciation to Brenda Ann Kenneally and her team), arts activities, music by Derrick Horton & The Jay Street Band plus Men of Faith (MOF), free food […]
Experience the magic of sticks to propagate fruiting shrubs: grow our food forest with elderberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes and cuttings you bring to experiment with! Afterward, join us inside the Sanctuary for the Holiday Celebration! Collard City Growers is a volunteer-run food justice project where we connect arts and culture to growing a wealth of annuals […]
Join us for a potluck social to reflect on our great fall and to postulate the bright future to come. We will display all we have worked on and more! North Troy Art, Technology, and Urban Research in Ecology (NATURE) Lab is a volunteer-led urban ecology education initiative. Artist/scientist teams work to empower the community with […]
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