A few early shots from Harlem Fashion Week's 7th season, held at the Museum of the City of New York on September 15th. HFW is a wonderful celebration of emerging and established designers, "HFW believes strongly in creating opportunities for emerging designers," according to the creators, to "l introduce a new era of fashion culture to the Harlem community inspired by its rich cultural heritage. Our continuous goal is to produce an event that will showcase the fashion industry, provide business education for emerging designers, grow Harlem businesses and create a platform for diversity in fashion." Please visit Harlem Fashion Week online to learn about the program. Stay tuned for more information and publication in "Colors of Harlem," produced by Film Fadette. 

Director Evan Zes, with actress Valeria Avina and author Sara Farrington, at the well-attended Sept. 14th showing of "Honduras" at The Tank. See below for more information. "Honduras" is an artistic synthesis of reportage and activism, based on real stories, that brings the experiences of migrant women and children alive in its immediacy and suffering, and calls us to empathy and action.  It is a difficult, complex, and intense one-woman play, in which Avina embodies multiple roles — gangsters and moms, truck drivers and children, police and teenagers, Americans and Hondurans all — in a passionate, driven performance.  Valeria, who has been breathing life into multiple characters in Sara's script for almost a year, was brilliant and heartfelt. Click here for tickets: HONDURAS  

Rise and Resist brought its immigration vigil back to the Oculus

"Honduras," a one-woman play featuring Mexican actress Valeria Avina, will have workshop performances at The Tank, New York's remarkable, non-profit, inclusive space for experimental and emerging theater. Sara Farrington, author, developed the script based on her experiences and interviews with migrant women. Farrington is seasoned playwright and co-founder of Immigrant Families Together, a non-profit dedicated to providing bail for ICE detainees. "Honduras" will premiere at the Michael Chekhov Theatre Festival, in Ridgefield, CT, and is being developed for film. The production features photographs I made along the US/Mexico border, in 2018. "Honduras" is directed by Evan Zes. 

Good news is hard to find these days. The authoritarian wave sweeping the globe is not to be underestimated. However, the flourishing of youth activism, in particular around climate change, is a sign of hope. It also buoys older activists, who have been involved in social justice movements since their own youth. Greta Thunberg joined in Alexandria Villaseñor's regular protest at the UN and Dag Hammerskjold Plaza this week. Their largely silent vigil was an indictment of inaction by political leaders and older generations. Meanwhile, Rise and Resist took its immigration justice message to a Mets game at Citifield on Saturday night, unfurling a banner during the fifth inning. The action was brief and peaceful. Security confiscated but later returned the banner. Public reaction throughout the stadium was cheerful and approving. Veteran activists will continue to organize and protest, and the new generation is developing its own tools of non-violent resistance and leadership. We all have a great deal to learn from each other. #RiseAndResist #GretaThunberg #AlexandriaVillseñor .

Legendary activist and organizer Lisa Fithian was at Starr Barr, in Bushwick, to launch Shut It Down, her new book on organizing non-violent direct action movements for social justice. Lisa was in conversation with L.A. Kaufman and Nicole Carty, before an audience of new and seasoned activists, getting ready for all the hard work ahead. You can buy Shut It Town from the publisher, Chelsea Green Publishing, your local bookshop, and, of course, a vast online retailer. 

Performance artist and curator Arantxa Araujo developed, directed, and performed in this overnight procession, concluding her ChaShama residency in Greenwich Village. The performance began at Grace Exhibition Space, on Avenue C, and concluded at 21 Greenwich Avenue, of the of Chashama space. Dressed in mylar material, made notorious by ICE detention centers, Latinx performers carried light throughout the night, in a silent, walking meditation.