The Center for Imagination in the Borderlands is looking to create conversations about the lives of Indigenous people both within and outside of the ASU community through research, conversation and performance.
The center, which was launched Jan. 23, aims to bring artists together from all disciplines, countries and backgrounds in order to help create a diversified space for discussing important issues relating to the Indigenous population, said ASU graduate student Maritza Estrada, artistic development and research assistant for the center.
Artists at the center discuss crossing literal and figurative borders through migrations of body, mind and wonder, according to the center's mission statement.
"I see the center as a garden that we must tend to in order to help it grow and flourish. I'm excited to see the importance of the work from artists across all disciplines and hear new voices enter the space," Estrada said. "I can only hope that this center will become a huge staple of opportunity, growth and stability for many groups of people."
ASU is situated on Indigenous land and has expressed a commitment to helping increase the presence of Indigenous people in the University as well as surrounding communities.
The center uses Indigenous research and experiences to bring light to issues in education, climate change, policy, LGBTQ rights, police brutality, migration and much more, Natalie Diaz, director of the center, wrote in an email.
"A lot of our projects bring in guest writers, thinkers, artists, musicians and thermographers to talk and think about the idea of borders," said Gionni Ponce, the center's program coordinator.
Because the center is so new, planning how to hold events during the pandemic while keeping in mind the need for flexibility and the importance of catering to the needs of the community is still in the works, Ponce said.
The center just received a Mellon Foundation grant for $4.2 million, which the center plans on using to build its "native narratives project" and special mentoring program. This project and the mentorship programs are new ways of looking at mentorship among Indigenous scholars and artists. The center has a long-term commitment to creating conversation across generations, continents, languages, nations and fields of study.
The center is holding virtual events ranging anywhere from 10-20 people to over 700 people, according to Diaz. No matter the size of the event, the center focuses on creating intimacy and connection between participants. At one such event, called The Power of Poetry in America, attendees discussed what poetry means to their communities and what it means within the context of the pandemic.
"We always engage students in our events, so the guests were introduced by an ASU undergraduate poet and an ASU MFA graduate poet. It showcased how impactful an event can be even if it is virtual," Diaz wrote. "The Center operates in some ways as a conduit to bringing in artists, scholars, (practitioners), and activists who we believe have perspectives essential to the local and national conversations ASU and Arizona should be a part of."
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Lauren Kobley is a reporter for the Community and Culture desk at The State Press. She has previously interned with the Fountain Hills Times.
