Drone Acupuncture, Talks, Workshops, Performances
Open Room
February 1 – June 30
Full Schedule of Events
Free
The Taíno Needle Science Institute: Electric Works Laboratory is an acupuncture clinic doubling as a guerilla academy inspired by the radical health initiatives of the Young Lords, Black Panthers, and prompted by the medical diplomacy of Maoist China. Combining experimental auricular needle protocols born in the 1970’s South Bronx with forms of minimalist music, the clinic will provide free “drone acupuncture” to all who are in need. The clinic aims to search for new healing modalities and methods that are accessible, non-chemical, and committed to upholding the principle that the ability to choose and control one’s healthcare is a basic human right. Additional programming will center around community-led political education, with talks presented by revolutionary elders, film screenings, experiments in electro-acupuncture, workshops, live “drone acupuncture” performances in assorted variations, and more. This experiential environment explores what it takes to reimagine forms of social reproduction, participation, performance, and inclusion of / by marginalized communities within urban and institutional spaces.
Calendar of Events
Class
April 25 | 11am
Margarita Pietri will guide a series of yoga classes with poses modified for a seated position. Chair yoga is accessible for those who have injuries and/or low mobility.
Drone Acupuncture
April 26 | 6 – 8pm
30 minute sessions of drone acupuncture combine the Nada Protocol (an experimental auricular needle protocol developed by former Young Lords and Black Panther members) with minimalist music, for all those in need of alternative modes of healing.
Class
April 27 | 7pm
Learn about the history of medicinal herb usage across the Asian continent and ways to properly implement Tea into your diet.
Film Series
April 30 | 6pm
Films: Skezag (1970), The Flop (1969), The Life of Junkie Junior (1987)
Moving images on the destructive effects of drugs within the Puerto Rican diaspora.
Unseen Nuyorican Pictures is a film club dedicated to the exhibition and canonization of the moving images created by/of the Puerto Rican people of New York. Monthly screenings illustrate the material reality of the diaspora and examine the inextricable affixation between a people’s depiction of themselves to their economic and social conditions.
Drone Acupuncture
May 3 | 6 – 8pm
30 minute sessions of drone acupuncture combine the Nada Protocol (an experimental auricular needle protocol developed by former Young Lords and Black Panther members) with minimalist music, for all those in need of alternative modes of healing.
Talk, Workshop, Screening, and Exhibition
May 4 | 7pm
Cleo Silvers and Walter Bosque reflect on the community-based initiatives that combined acupuncture, healthcare, and social activism to provide accessible and holistic healthcare to underserved communities in the Bronx.
Cleo Silvers is a community and labor organizer and a former member of the Young Lords, Black Panthers, HRUM (Health Revolutionary Unity Movement). Walter Bosque was a member of the Young Lords, health worker, and acupuncturist. Bosque, along with Mutulu Shakur, developed their own radical acupuncture treatment called “The People’s Protocol,” a treatment that continues to be used in treating addiction today.
This event also includes a screening of Lincoln Hospital (Newsreel #35) and a photo exhibition by Carlos Ortiz.
Talk, Workshop
May 8 | 7pm
Poet and educator Mariposa Fernandez discusses the history of Nuyorican Poets followed by a poetry workshop.
Class
May 9 | 11 am
Margarita Pietri will guide a series of yoga classes with poses modified for a seated position. Chair yoga is accessible for those who have injuries and/or low mobility.
Drone Acupuncture
May 17 | 6pm
30 minute sessions of drone acupuncture combine the Nada Protocol (an experimental auricular needle protocol developed by former Young Lords and Black Panther members) with minimalist music, for all those in need of alternative modes of healing.
Talk
May 14 | 3pm
Founding members of Parents Against Police Brutality, Margarita Rosario and Iris Baez will reflect on their experience organizing against police brutality.
May 17 | 6 - 8pm—Drone Acupuncture session with a performance by Standing on the Corner Art Ensemble
Drone Acupuncture
May 17 | 6pm
30 minute sessions of drone acupuncture combine the Nada Protocol (an experimental auricular needle protocol developed by former Young Lords and Black Panther members) with minimalist music, for all those in need of alternative modes of healing.
Film Screening
May 21 | 6pm
A selection of films celebrating the 20th anniversary of the US Navy’s withdrawal from Vieques, an island part of the Puerto Rican archipelago.
Unseen Nuyorican Pictures is a film club dedicated to the exhibition and canonization of the moving images created by/of the Puerto Rican people of New York. Monthly screenings illustrate the material reality of the diaspora and examine the inextricable affixation between a people’s depiction of themselves to their economic and social conditions.
Talk
May 23 | 7pm
With a screening of Assata Shakur & Guillermo Morales Speak On Political Prisoners In The US
Mickey Melendez (Founding Young Lords Party member) and Sekou Odinga (Cofounder of the Black Panther Party’s Harlem, Bronx, and International Chapters and Black liberation Army. He was He was a prisoner of war for more than 33 years, convicted of RICO charges that included the liberation of Assata Shakur) discuss their political origins and the conceptions, purpose, and ramifications of organizing an underground movement. What are the circumstances that create such a necessity and what effect did it have on the individuals who participated?
Drone Acupuncture
May 24 | 6 – 8pm
30 minute sessions of drone acupuncture combine the Nada Protocol (an experimental auricular needle protocol developed by former Young Lords and Black Panther members) with minimalist music, for all those in need of alternative modes of healing.
Talk, Workshop
May 26 | 7pm
Ponce Laspina, Leader of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party of New York and organizer of El Maestro Boxing Gym in the Bronx, leads a conversation on the origins and untold histories of Puerto Rico’s liberation movement, detailing the efforts of various Leftist organizations that contribute to the fight.
Drone Acupuncture
May 31 | 6 – 8pm
30 minute sessions of drone acupuncture combine the Nada Protocol (an experimental auricular needle protocol developed by former Young Lords and Black Panther members) with minimalist music, for all those in need of alternative modes of healing.
Class
June 6 | 11am
Margarita Pietri will guide a series of yoga classes with poses modified for a seated position. Chair yoga is accessible for those who have injuries and/or low mobility.
Drone Acupuncture
June 7 | 6 – 8pm
30 minute sessions of drone acupuncture combine the Nada Protocol (an experimental auricular needle protocol developed by former Young Lords and Black Panther members) with minimalist music, for all those in need of alternative modes of healing.
Performance
June 9 | 7pm
Originating out of the Civil Rights Movement, The Last Poets used music and spoken word as a tool for political activism, their poems advocated for social change and raised awareness about the challenges faced by the African American community.
Drone Acupuncture
June 14 | 6 – 8pm
30 minute sessions of drone acupuncture combine the Nada Protocol (an experimental auricular needle protocol developed by former Young Lords and Black Panther members) with minimalist music, for all those in need of alternative modes of healing.
Talk
TBD
Activist Makini Shakur talks about the work and legacy of Black Liberation and Civil Rights Activist, Mutulu Shakur who spoke out against systemic racism, inequality and oppression faced by the Black community. Mutulu was incarcerated by the state for 37 years and was just recently released in December 2022.
Performance
June 22 | 7pm