Self as Universe: Mending Our Collective Ecosystem
Self as Universe Residencies invite artists to explore the connections within our collective ecosystems and use the power of imagination to heal the wounds in the relationship between ourselves and our communities.
The climate crisis is an urgent global concern. Self as Universe Residencies at A Studio in the Woods invite artists to explore the connections within our collective ecosystems and use the power of imagination to heal the wounds in the relationship between ourselves and our environment. Southeast Louisiana’s land and inhabitants are continually scarred by the effects of environmental degradation. These injuries – the historical to the present – affect our bodies, families, communities, and cultures, as well as the land and its other creatures. We encourage artists to guide our collective response as the caretakers and caregivers to our universe while bringing wisdom, integrity, optimism, and even humor to intentional and timely projects seeking transformation for our species and planet. This new call reflects a desire to repair the disconnection and alienation between humankind and the planet that is hindering the climate movement.
Art, as a practice of restoration, is both the call and the response.
It is mirror making and the mirror itself; reflecting the inner experience of an outward expanded consciousness of Climate and Environment.
Here is where the door is open to explore the wonder of Self and Ecosystem… of Self AS ecosystem…Forging paths through changing landscapes and changing times.
A call for us all to recognize ourselves in Earth’s eyes, and envision a planet of partnership. One that is steeped in principles and practices that center cultural and community values; honoring one another and the land in which we live.
– Sunni Patterson*
*Self as Universe Residencies were conceptualized in response to ongoing conversations with the inspirational poet Sunni Patterson.
Self as Universe Residents
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Niamh Rita & Justice Singleton Interdisciplinary Artists, 2025, Louisiana During their residency at Studio in the Woods, Niamh Rita and Justice Singleton will design and facilitate an experimental writers’ room tailored for a diverse group of transgender storytellers and artists from their local New Orleans community. In this writing… -
Asante Salaam Interdisciplinary Artist, 2025, Louisiana Asante Salaam is a native New Orleanian, a multifaceted artist, and a seasoned cultural arts director dedicated to harnessing the power of art and culture as a cherished force in communities worldwide. With roots in Black cultural arts activism, Asante… -
Rochelle Jamila Interdisciplinary Artist, 2025, New York Rochelle Jamila is a Brooklyn based interdisciplinary artist, dancer, folk herbalist, shapeshifter, and womb/ birth worker hailing from Oka Nashoba or Memphis, Tennessee. Rochelle’s choreographic practice imagines liberation through Nature’s cycles, folk practices of the African diaspora, and the physical… -
Lue Palmer Literary Artist, 2025, Louisiana Lue Palmer is an environmental journalist and writer of fiction on Black relationships to nature, the fantastic in the everyday, and the retelling of history. They have roots in Portland, Jamaica and are currently at work on their novel, The… -
Issy Manley Cartoonist and Educator, 2025, Louisiana Issy Manley is a cartoonist and educator living in New Orleans. Issy makes non-fiction comics about labor, climate crisis and capitalism. Her essay comics have been published in The Guardian, The Nib Magazine, The Washington Post and Narratively, among others.… -
Hali Dardar Interdisciplinary Artist, 2025, Louisiana Hali Dardar is an enrolled member of the United Houma Nation, and co-founder of the Houma Language Project and Bvlbancha Public Access. Her works explore interaction design, new media art, and community process. Past interaction design projects include the 2021… -
Aurora Levins Morales Writer and Historian, 2005 (Pre-Katrina), 2018, 2025, Puerto Rico Aurora Levins Morales is a cuir, feminist, disabled and chronically ill Boricua-Ashkenazi (Puerto Rican Jewish) poet, essayist and visual artist. She is a movement elder and sixth generation radical. The author of nine books, her writing is widely taught and… -
Sunni Patterson Poet/Multidisciplinary Artist, 2023 and 2024, Louisiana Armed with an engaging story and voice, New Orleans native and visionary Sunni Patterson deliberately uses art, poetry, and praise (Ancestral veneration) to encourage dialogue, connectivity, spiritual awareness, and healing. She is an internationally acclaimed Poet, Performer, Workshop Facilitator, Certified…