SHE and CRAVE: Radical, Beautiful, Fierce

Hola, aquí habla María. I’m one of the adult allies for Cultivating Radical Activism Vitality and Education and a Social HeARTist for Social HeARTistry Educators. This weekend we kept it radical, beautiful, and fierce as the first PNW youth delegation prepares to go to Philadelphia in less than 9 days for the Rooted in Community Conference. We still have to raise $4,000 and need support from the community to make this happen (donate now)!

Did we mention we are REALLY grassroots? We’ve been raising funds by making recycling arte, earrings, bracelets, paintings, pottery, t-shirts, and sharing our arte to build community and fundraise for CRAVE’s trip to Philly

This last Friday, CRAVE attended The Duvets @ LGBTQ Youth Café. The LGBTQ youth café is a project produced by Seattle Parks that will meet on Friday evenings this summer at the shelterhouse in Cal Anderson

Park. We made friends, tabled, displaced our art, ate yummy food, and invited folks for CRAVE’s Community Art JAMMMM! You all know---always building community.

The Duvets (Loloboi, Leo Pee, dakóta) amazing performance inspired us for CRAVE’s CommUNITY Art JAMMMMMMMMM, as many of us felt  nervous, anxious, and excited for! We also knew that each of us would bring all of our strength and beauty into making the event memorable.

Sunrise, llego el sabado: Nervous and excited, I made my way to WAPI on the light-rail from Beacon Hill to Columbia City. The gentrification happening in South Seattle ain't a joke and community is all we got. For the first time I would be displaying and selling three paintings and earrings for the silent auction from my PNW Spirit: Muxerista collection. The paintings Aire y Tierra: Inner Struggles of a Muxerista, Northwest Spirit, and Seeds of Resistance are part of a series passionately dedicated to all fierce community builders and the youth of CRAVE that are cultivating and nurturing a new way of thinking and organizing. The PNW Spirit: Muxerista Collection and Series will only be available at upcoming CRAVE Events. Radical transformations incite within and painting has always been a way to live sin fronteras.  Everyday, I learn something new.The youth inspire me to be all of me: la poeta, the painter, activista, muxerista, and most importantly remind me that I am an adult ally. The community we are building has no borders, just creative and radical youth envisioning a youth-led Environmental Justice movement in Seattle. We are seeds of resistance. What better place than to share my art and build community than in a space with a positive outlook and spirit. As I performed for the first time in almost two years, I stepped in and shared " Xin Fronteras and “3rd World” Refugee Uprooting the “1st.” CRAVE has helped me break down mental borders and be all of me.

If you didn’t make it to the SHE’s and CRAVE’s CommUNITY Art  JAMMMMMMMMM, you missed out on the fierce event. Check out our pictures in SHE's Facebook Fan Page.

 Don't forget to support youth-led organizing and the first ever PNW Delegation to the Rooted in Community Conference by DONATING NOW! Isn’t that radical and fierce?!

In solidarity from the PNW <3
María Luisa

Any questions? email us at cravejusticemedia@gmail.com

Any money? donate at www.socialheartistryeducators.org/

Or hit up our PayPal!