Systems of Care panelists!

We’ve got a great cross section of women and are thrilled to gather such an inspiring group of guerreras for this virtual panel event for September 25!

Systems of Care – Roundtable conversation moderated by Cynthia Tobar, BCC Head of Archives.

Our panelists are:

MARIA APONTE is a Poet/Performance Artist/ Community Arts Activist/Educator. Maria was interviewed on BronxNet TV, Bronx News 12, NBC Latino and on TEIMPO WABC-TV. She is a two-time recipient of the International Latino Book Award for Transitions of a Nuyorican Cinderella listed on RockThoseReads selected books about Harlem by Total Equity Now. And The Gift of Loss, her memoir dealing with the loss of her parents as a young teenager/adult and the healing process from that loss. Maria has her Master’s Degree in Latin American/Latino Studies from the Graduate School of Arts & Science Fordham University. Maria is the Assistant Director of Global Diversity and Inclusion in Career Services at Fordham University.   

Maria is founder and President of Latina 50 Plus™ a nonprofit program honoring Latina Pioneers. In 2016, Maria was selected by the Bronx Times to be one of 25 Bronx Influential Women. January 6, 2017, Maria was honored as one of the Madrinas for El Mueso del Barrio’s 40th Annual Three Kings Day Parade for her work in Latino Arts for women, and diversity programming at Fordham University. Maria is a recipient as one of “Lo Mejor de Nuestra Commindad” awards from Comite Noviembre. These awards honor Puerto Ricans whose pride in their heritage and strength of character have empowered themselves and inspired others to make a significant impact on our community 

 For more information, please visit Maria’s website at www.mariaaponte.com 

Bridget Bartolini is a socially engaged artist, educator and oral historian who uses story-sharing to strengthen community connections. Inspired by her love for New York City, her belief in the power of storytelling as a tool for social justice, and her frustration with the lack of cultural programming in areas like her home neighborhood in Queens, Bridget launched the Five Boro Story Project in 2013. She produces community storytelling events that bring New Yorkers together through sharing true stories and art inspired by our neighborhoods. Her creative process involves working with community members, organizers, activists, and artists to collaboratively create tributes to the people and places that make up our homes. Bridget holds a Masters in Community Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College, and was a 2013 Create Change Fellow and 2014 Commissioned Artist with The Laundromat Project, a 2015-16 Creative Community Fellow with National Arts Strategies, and an artist in residence with More Art’s Engaging Artists 2016 Housing Justice Residency. She received the More Art Prize for Public Art in 2017, and in 2018 joined the Oral History Masters Program at Columbia University. 

Recently, Bridget wrote a compelling profile of a 94-year-young LES resident navigating isolation during COVID on the Gothamist: https://gothamist.com/news/we-shall-overcome-94-year-old-les-woman-riding-out-isolation-optimism

You can follow Bridget’s work at:  www.fiveborostoryproject.org | Instagram: @fiveborostoryproject |Twitter: @FiveBoroStories | Facebook: facebook.com/thefiveborostoryproject | YouTube: youtube.com/fiveborostoryproject

Spirit Tawfiq is the project coordinator for WomensActivism.NYC, a project spearheaded by the NYC Dept. of Records & Information Services (Municipal Archives) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage in the United States. WomensActivism.NYC features women activists and change-makers – known and unknown – from NYC, the nation, and the globe! The stories collected will be preserved in the archive in perpetuity. Spirit is also the founder of “Roots of the Spirit”, an organization created to uproot racism through storytelling, education, and the arts. She is the creator and host of the “Roots of the Spirit” podcast, a space to have honest conversations about identity, race, racism, and social justice. 

Spirit is an alumna of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (BA) and the Clinton School of Public Service (MPS).

Be sure to sign up for upcoming Women.NYC and New York City Municipal Archives events that Spirit is spearheading to celebrate the Women’s Suffrage Centennial!

Celebrate Women’s Suffrage! Light the City in Purple! Aug 26, 2020: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/records/pdf/Light%20up%20the%20City%20in%20Purple%20form.pdf

Women’s Equality Day Write-In: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/womens-equality-day-write-in-tickets-114161502126

Alona Weiss is a visual artist born in Israel and based in Brooklyn, NY. She works with video, performance, text, graphic design, and installation, to explore the transient nature of belief systems, and the interpretation of public monuments. 

Recent presentations include The Hall of Fame For Great Americans (Bronx, New York); 601 Artspace (New York); Lesley Heller Workspace (New York); The Haifa Museum of Art (Israel); Columbia University School of The Arts (New York); The Beijing Film Triennial (China); Arad Contemporary Art Center (Israel); El Museo de Los Sures, (Brooklyn); The Kitchen (New York); Genia Schreiber Gallery (Tel Aviv); Local Projects (Queens), and Fikra Biennial, (United Arab Emirates). She received a Master in Fine Arts from Parsons, The New School, NY, and a Bachelor of Design from Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, in Jerusalem.

Alona was recently interviewed by Journalist Yonathan H. Mishal for: “Signals From The Studio” audio series by Artis: 
http://artis.art/2020/08/21/signals-studio-listen-artist-alona-weiss-dream-machine/

You can follow Alona’s work at www.alonaweiss.com and via her Instagram account @AlonaWeiss 

Cynthia Tobar is an artist, activist-scholar, archivist and oral historian who is passionate about creating interactive, participatory stories documenting social change. Cynthia is an Assistant Professor and Head of Archives at Bronx Community College, where she creates captivating, socially-engaged art programming and leads community-based archiving and storytelling projects.

Recently, Cynthia published a chapter, “Reclaiming the Hall-Amplifying Community Voices at the Hall of Fame,” in Illuminations of Social Imagination: Learning From Maxine Greene (Dio Press).

You can learn more about Cynthia’s current work and projects at cynthiatobar.net and follow her at @latona12

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