Conversing Bricks

A special art installation by artist Hatuey Ramos-Fermín

Keynote Speaker

Congressman José E. Serrano

Immediately followed by the Bronx debut of the leading Batz’i Rock band from Chiapas, Mexico

SAK TZEVUL

Saturday, May 12, 2012 / 12:00pm

Hostos Community College Memorial Plaza
500 Grand Concourse at 149 Street ● The Bronx

The Bricks
The Conversing Bricks project emerged from a campaign waged by anti-immigrant groups that sent bricks to members of Congress who opposed the construction of a border wall between Mexico and the United States. The bricks contained messages like, “Build a Wall,” “No to Illegals,” and “Secure our Borders.” Of the thousands of bricks sent to Capitol Hill, 273 were collected for this project.

For the past three years, the bricks were collected and the concept for the Conversing Bricks project was conceived.

The Bricks are meant to become a public art installation in the form of a round table with the intention of transforming messages of hate into a site for dialogue around issues of citizenship, immigration, and human rights. The goal of Conversing Bricks is to create a site for dialogue, conversation, and thought.

The Site
The Hostos Community College Memorial Plaza, a public gathering place for students and community members recalls and honors the passengers that died on November 12, 2001 en route to the Dominican Republic in American Airlines Flight 587. The Memorial Plaza was designed by Goshow Architects and includes a water-wall of polished granite inscribed with the names of all that perished.

Since its founding days Hostos Community College has welcomed students of all backgrounds.

Nearly 45 years later, Hostos still welcomes older and younger generations of immigrant families to the campus. Today, they represent over 70% of the Hostos community.

Community leaders felt that the Hostos Community College Memorial Plaza was the best site for the public artwork.

The Artist
Hatuey Ramos-Fermín was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in Puerto Rico. He is an educator and multimedia artist. He’s studied at the San Juan Art League and received his B.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Puerto Rico in 2002.

Ramos-Fermín studied theater as an exchange student at Hunter College / CUNY from 1998-1999. He was later awarded a scholarship from the Prestigious Dutch Education Ministry HSP Huygens Programme for Excellent Students From All Around the World (2006) to complete an M.F.A. in Photography at St. Joost Art and Design Academy in Breda, The Netherlands, (2007). In 2008 Mr. Ramos-Fermín was a core participant of the Night School project by Anton Vidokle at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City. Hatuey is also an alumnus of the Immigrant Artist Project at New York Foundation for Arts. In 2010 he won first prize in the “other media category” from the “Show Your Impact” contest by the non-for profit organization Tech Soup, for the project “I Heart East New York,” a book created in collaboration with the Center for Urban Pedagogy and high school students from Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Hatuey Ramos-Fermín was awarded a grant from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Community Arts Development Fund Award for the public art projectConversing Bricks to be unveiled on Saturday, May 12, 2012 at the Hostos Community College Memorial Plaza.

Sak Tzevul
SAK TZEVUL celebrates the Conversing Bricks art installation and unveiling ceremony as part of their “Time for Healing” grassroots New York City tour, produced by HABANA/HARLEM®.

Damián Guadalupe Martínez, founder of SAK TZEVUL, and the independent arts concern, HABANA/HARLEM® are committed to honoring the shared spiritual and cultural values which genuinely connect the multicultural Bronx communities of Mexican, Caribbean and African Diaspora heritage, among others. With lyrics in Spanish and various Indigenous languages, SAK TZEVUL advocates for unity and harmony while highlighting social justice themes such as public safety, cultural equity, environmental justice and human rights. SAK TZEVUL transforms centuries-old Indigenous rhythms with Rock music along with Classical and Native American inflections to create their distinctive signature sound. Audiences will enjoy selections from their latest body of work, Selva Soñadora. Sak Tzevul’s debut in New York City is made possible through the generous in-kind support of AeroMexico Airlines. For additional information about Sak Tzevul’s “Time for Healing” community programs, visit: www.habanaharlem.com or email: habanaharlem@gmail.com.

This program is made possible thanks to the generous contributions of:
AeroMexico Airlines, Bill Aguado, Benfica Transportation Inc., Bronx Council on the Arts, Bronx Lebanon Hospital, Bronx Museum of the Arts Education Department Bronx Museum, CASA Redi-Mix, HABANA/HARLEM®, Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, Hostos Community College student organizations: Hip-Hop Club and Mexican Student Association and Modern Languages Club. LIUNA/Laborer’s International Union of North America, The Mexican Cultural Institute of New York, NYC Dept. of Cultural Affairs (DCA), Steve Delgado, Associate Dean for Campus Planning and Operations Hostos Community College, St. Jerome’s Church and WHEDCO.

Press Contact:
For Hostos & Artist Hatuey Ramos-Fermín
Soldanela Rivera (Sol) Cell: 917-627-9097srlopez@hostos.cuny.edu r.soldanela@gmail.com

For Congressman Serrano
Philip Schmidt Philip.Schmidt@mail.house.gov/ (202) 225-4361