Cultural Organizing
I’ve always wanted to create spaces that felt inviting and warm, that held people in their most complicated moments and offered support for anyone who needed it. When I started hosting open mics at the first coffee shop I ever worked at during my Freshman year of college, I noticed that people wanted something that didn’t feel confined by the stuffiness of professionalism of academia, yet still had some kind of merit. I noticed my natural knack for hosting and public speaking quickly and my passion transpired. It is my lifelong commitment to build community by learning from one another through poetry, live conversations, performance and everything in between. The examples below are just a handful of events and spaces that meant (and mean) a lot to me.
Hooligan hangouts IGTV - curator + host (2020)
At the beginning of COVID, my Hooligan Mag co-founder, Morgan Martinez, and I decided to respond to the pandemic by bringing digital community to people in a time of deep peril. We hosted about 8 weeks of Hooligan Hangouts. These photos are small representation of the wide range in performances during this time.
Event Description:
During these strange and scary times, we’d like to connect with one another the only way we know how: through art and mutual aid. We’ve put together an Instagram Live series for the next few months called #HooliganHangouts. Our goal with this is to provide the option for you to directly support artists and/or the organizations they’d like to put mutual aid efforts towards while also being able to attend performances by some of our favorite musicians and poets. We hope this brings some joy & light to a time when a sense of hope and happiness is more fleeting than ever.
Samantha Allen in conversation with Rivka Yeker for REAL QUEER AMERICA - interviewer (2019)
Capturing profound cultural shifts underway in unexpected places and revealing a national network of chosen family fighting for a better world, Real Queer America is a treasure trove of uplifting stories and a much-needed source of hope and inspiration in these divided times.
Samantha and I had a lively, heart-felt conversation about this complex and fascinating topic. Learn more about the event here.
hooligans talking about books - curator + interviewer + host (2018)
This was an event that I came up with while the Event Coordinator for Uncharted Books at their previous Logan Square location. Since a huge part of my cultural organizing + community-building work is rooted in making it easier for people to connect, this was a great way to bring strangers or acquaintances into conversation based solely on a book that had once deeply inspired them.
Event Description:
In each event, 2-3 artists will be chosen based on the books they've decided to discuss. The books will have some overlap, whether it's theme, setting, style, or similar author reception. There will be an interviewer who will lead the discussion, but the goal is to see how the core elements of a story in a book can influence artists. We will learn about the books, the artists, and lessons we can derive from both.
adventure club conversations - curator + host (2019)
I began Adventure Club Conversations when Uncharted Books moved to Andersonville, and we began calling the “secret room” an Adventure Club. This was another way to bring creatives together without the confines of academic walls and instead a public place for them to share, connect and be in community. In many ways, this felt like public education for folks who wanted to learn directly from people working in fields they might be interested in. I asked everyone from urban planner to journalists to filmmakers to be part of this series.
Event Description:
Adventure Club Conversations offers live conversations between two creators, thinkers, writers, journalists and/or authors about art, culture, politics and everything altogether.
