Photo: Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful
Let Her In
Priscilla Marrero, Ferran Martín & Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles Morel
11-2-2024, 3:30-5:30 PM / Meet us outside West Farms Square–East Tremont Avenue Subway Station (2/5 trains), Bronx, NY
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Part performance, part participatory experience and part action, Let Her In is a collaborative movement by choreographer Priscilla Marrero, sculptor Ferran Martín, and Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles Morel that recognizes the need to build more bridges in our divisive political climate. This triad of creatives structures their improvisation at different parts of the Bronx River, grounding their walk along the banks of this flowing being. Ferran brings in some of his mirrored-cubes titled Mirror, Mirror, with which he has worked with in the past, and that offer the possibility of concealing our identities, while reflecting back the landscape that surrounds us. Let Her In invites those in attendance into the realms of play, relaxation, daydreaming, and love for the only fresh water river in the City of New York. At least two drops in every glass of the water we drink in our metropolis comes from the Bronx River.
Let Her In is an action that is part of Bodies of Water / Fluid Improvisations Along the Bronx River, a program conceived and produced by Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful, with individual actions co-created with Arantxa Araujo, Andrés Senra, Luis A., and Priscilla Marrero & Ferran Martín.
The series of actions is dedicated to the late Nancy Wallace. “She…[Nancy]…helped transform a watery graveyard for automobiles, tires and appliances into an urban greenbelt for New York City and Westchester County” The New York Times
About Bodies of Water/Fluid Improvisations Along the Bronx River points to the connections between bodies, as in human and non-human ones–such as Rivers–, as well as to concepts of interbeing, interconnectedness, and interdependence with all beings. Similarly, it brings to light ecological and social justice issues regarding colonial histories, environmental racism, and extractive capitalism while issuing a call for individual and collective stewardship and care for all bodies of Water. During four gatherings in different points along the Bronx River, improvisations centered on flow, water, compassion and deep listening are meant to unfold for invited participants, or perhaps unsuspecting audiences and wanderers attracted by a sight inspiring wonder and contemplation.
Bodies of Water/Fluid Improvisations Along the Bronx River / Background:
The Bronx River has been a constant presence for Nicolás since he moved from the Dominican Republic to New York City in 1991. His first job was in the Fordham Road section with the Bronx River Restoration Project and it entailed engaging the aquatic subject through art classes. In 2011 he was baptized by Bill Aguado and Susan Newmark in Drew Gardens. The sacramental was water from the Bronx River and the intention was that of a rite of passage into Bronxhood. Three decades after his first connection with the Bronx, and in a rapidly gentrifying borough, Nicolás is proposing to approach the Bronx River from the perspective of elderhood and aging.
Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful was awarded a New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Support for Artists Grant (Bronx, NY) to support his creative work. Sponsored by The Action Lab, this award is funding Bodies of Water/Fluid Improvisations Along the Bronx River. Through New York State’s continued investment in arts and culture, NYSCA has awarded over $80 million since Spring 2023 to over 1,500 artists and organizations across the state.
Bodies of Water/Fluid Improvisations Along the Bronx River Ó 2022 Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful / with copyrights for individual actions equally shared with each collaborator.
Ferran Martín is an interdisciplinary artist originally from Valencia, Spain. He is recognized for his work as an experimental sculptor with a focus in the public realm and performance. His work has been exhibited at Greene Naftali (NY), Daniel Silverstein (NY), Newman & Popiasvhilli Gallery (NY), Farside (Miami), Dorsky Gallery (NY), Roger Smith Gallery (NY), Greenberg Van Doren Gallery (NY), Sala de Arte Publico Siqueiros (Mexico City), Arte Veintiuno (Madrid), The Empty Circle (NY), Proyectos Raúl Zamudio (NY), Ethan Cohen Gallery (NY) amongst others. His work has been presented in St. Moritz Art Masters Festival 2011, Yeosu Art Festival (Korea) 2010, Beijing Biennale 2009 and the Bronx Museum of Art’s AIM program (NY).
Priscilla Marrero (ella/she) is an experimental performing + teaching artista and a first-generation Cubana-Americana. She is a passionate storyteller and loves to discover new ways to collaborate with transdisciplinary artistas through live performance, filmmaking, or educational gatherings. She has presented her collaborations in the Musée Dapper, The Empty Circle, BAAD!, Miami Light Project, Inkub8, Movement Research at Judson Memorial Church, Van Cortlandt Park, The Interior Beauty Salón, Inwood Hill Park y más. She graduated from Florida International University with a BA in Performance and Choreography (2009) and MFA in Experimental Choreography from the University of California Riverside (2022) for her research practice on La Pelvis.
Since 2011, Martín and Marrero have been creating works that range in mediums of film and live performance. They have collaborated in their research interests of bringing conceptual and experimental art to low-income, and marginalized communities. Together, they bridge the conversation between performance art and the dance theater worlds. Their work together brings awareness to spaces that perhaps are challenging to speak about and discover ways to bring humor, charm, and characters that will invite others to participate in the conversation.
Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles Morel treads an elusive path that manifests itself performatively through creative experiences that he helps unfold within the quotidian. He has exhibited or performed at Madrid Abierto/ARCO, The IX Havana Biennial, PERFORMA 05/07/21, IDENSITAT, Prague Quadrennial, Pontevedra Biennial, Queens Museum, MoMA, Printed Matter, P.S. 122, Sculpture Center, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance BAAD!, Hemispheric Institute of Performance Art and Politics, City as Living Lab, Princeton University, Anthology Film Archives, El Museo del Barrio, Center for Book Arts, Longwood Art Gallery/BCA, The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Franklin Furnace, and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Nicolás has received mentorship in art in everyday life from Linda Mary Montano, a historic figure in the performance art field. Nicolás holds an MFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, where he studied with Coco Fusco; and an MA from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. He recently served as a Senior Lecturer and Social Practice Artist in Residence in the Art and Art History Department at The University of Texas, Austin; and was a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow in Washington DC. He is the founding director of The Interior Beauty Salon, an organism living at the intersection of creativity and healing. Born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, Nicolás was baptized as a Bronxite in 2011.