We are honored to be joined by a number of artists and performers join us on the stage over our two days in Chicago. The work they are sharing is an opportunity to center ourselves in the moment and connect to ourselves and to each other. We are grateful they are going to share with us.
Melodi Serna
Artist
Melodi Serna is a Fellow at the American Express Social Justice Leadership Academy and an Owner at MSK Consulting LLC, where she applies her nearly 20 years of experience as a
Business and Tribal Consultant. She is passionate about empowering Native-led organizations and communities, promoting Native American rights and values, and decolonizing business practices and policies.
As a fifth-generation Native veteran, Melodi draws on her military and medical background to advocate for developmental disability equity and awareness, especially for Native youth. She is also a Youth Council Advisor for Chicago’s Indigenous Tribal Youth Council, which won the Unity Inc. Youth Council of the Year Award. Melodi has created and implemented multiple campaigns and curricula to combat lateral violence and foster lateral kindness within Indian Country. She is a recipient of several awards and honors, including the 2022 Outstanding Community Leader of the Year and the 2023 Alice BigPond Roach Memorial Award.
Silvia Inés Gonzalez
Artist
Silvia Inés Gonzalez is a multi-disciplinary artist, cultural worker, and educator in Chicago creating spaces where collective wellness takes on critical dialogue, art making, and community building. Her visual and audio work is a ballad to nostalgia--the borderline between myth and memory. Silvia has curated and facilitated workshops to address structures of power, imagination, repair, collective care, play, confinement, and freedom. Her work has been exhibited at The National Mexican Museum of Art, Woman Made Gallery, Hyde Park Art Center, ACRE, and local grassroots art spaces. She is a member of the Chicago ACT Collective and the 96 ACRES Project. She was awarded the 3Arts Make A Wave Award in 2018, CAC + OtherPeoplesPixels Maker Grant in 2020, The Illinois Humanities Envisioning Justice Grant in 2022, and The Ignite Fund in 2023.
As the organizer and administrator of (People of Color) Artist Space, she connects artists of color from across Chicago to resources through social meet-ups, salons, and development opportunities. Two extensions of POCAS include POCAS Salon, a co-learning space for artists to connect across various topics and ideas, and POCAS + Friends--inviting intentional relationship-building as a means of support and care. Most recently, Silvia has developed Sala: A Living Room of Ideas on Lumpen Public Radio. Sala invites artists, cultural workers, and civically minded people to discuss liberation, education, organizing, community, and practices toward healing, from the perspective of Artists’ and their processes. She is a current Co-Lab resident at Chicago Art Department.
Cristina Puzio
Artist
Cristina Puzio is a resident who grew up in the Pilsen neighborhood. She offers the community a chance to learn about wellness, traditional healing methods like curanderismo, and community care. At El Paseo Community Garden she offers meditation and other healing services by collaborating with local healers. She is the co-founder of Papalotzin Healing Collective whose mission is to provide safe alternative healing spaces for those in need. Their treatment combines modern and indigenous healing practices. Cristina has worked with the following agencies and institutions: Mujeres Latinas en Accion, Jdef Peace Project, Erie Neighborhood House, Tepochcalli, Pilsen Wellness Center, National Museum of Mexican Art, Olin Studio, Full Circle Collective, Three Seeds Gallery, Casa Maravilla and Elevarte. She understands the need for self-care, holistic wellness and community care. You can follow her on IG at: @PilsenChica. Email: papalotzinhealing.
Photo by Diana Solis, a Pilsen photographer
Daniel Splaingard
Artist
Daniel Splaingard is a licensed architect and an Assistant Professor at Mississippi Valley State University where he directs the Architectural Construction Management concentration. His current research is focused on prefab design/build housing and sustainable material research. He serves as a liaison with community and industry partners and works to connect his students with meaningful site visits, internships and jobs.
His previous experience includes studying at and working on staff at the Auburn Rural Studio, working as an Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow for Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation in Chicago, and working at various architecture firms in Chicago, Cape Town, and Greenwood. His research-based Masters of Architecture from the University of Cape Town focused on opportunities for economic impact within architectural projects in contexts of economic poverty.
Oh yeah, he also enjoys making music as Small Trucks and with friends recently founded the Hush Puppy Music Co-op, a co-operational model for raising the caliber of live music and fun-per-capita in Greenwood, Mississippi.