Caring Nature

Join current Resident Artist Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai for a study group on community care and nature stewardship in anarchist practices

Session 5: April 8

In "From Identifying with, Towards Belonging To. Individualism vs Collectivism", Gabriel Blanco-Ruiz invites us to collectively investigate and dream around understandings of belonging, exploring how we belong to a complex and expansive system of relationships and natural processes, and have obligation and duty towards other beings, the same way we are held by them, just by the fact of being born. We will be reading excerpts from Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World by Tyson Yunkaporta. As additional material, you can also take a listen to the podcast, On Singing to the Beloved in Times of Crisis. 

Please mask upon entry to the space. We will decide as a group whether or not we will keep masks on during the session. Masks are provided.

About Caring Nature

What is the value of human life outside wage/labor and consumerism? How do we sustain ourselves and our community without being extractive and destructive to the environment? How do we learn to organize collectively, socially and politically in relation to Nature?   

In Peter Kropotkin’s book, Mutual Aid (1902), the Russian anarchist posits that cooperation, not competition, is at the base of natural evolution, both in animal and human groups. He traced the evolution of voluntary cooperation from the tribe, peasant village, and medieval commune to a variety of modern associations—trade unions, learned societies, the Red Cross—that have continued to practice mutual support despite the rise of the coercive bureaucratic state. The trend of modern history, he believed, was pointing back toward decentralized, nonpolitical, cooperative societies in which people could develop their creative faculties without interference from the governing bodies.  

A modern example is the ZAD, the French rural militant occupation and autonomous zone, which successfully halted the construction of an international airport. In We Are 'Nature' Defending Itself. Entangling Art, Activism and Autonomous Zones by Isabelle Fremeaux and Jay Jordan, the preservation of swamp lands by communal occupation becomes a radical political action against climate disaster and extractive capitalism. Finding one’s place as stewards for Nature is to regenerate abundance. Utopia is not a future we are patiently waiting for but can be implemented in our current times. 

As access to Nature, from the food we consume to the environment in which we live, becomes more and more limited, subjected under the same rule of scarcity and hoarding tendencies as commodities, we have lost agency as human individuals to choose how we want to live and exchange without depending on the monopoly of capitalism. What are local and personal initiatives in the Twin Cities that take away the main supports of economic life from corporate interests and return them to the community? What can we learn from the intersections of food justice, climate justice, housing rights and indigenous rights to free ourselves from the demands of capitalism and fears of scarcity? How can we, instead, enrich our lives with generosity and care?     

Event Structure

Hosted at Second Shift Studio, the study group is a self-organizing entity, primarily facilitated by Resident Artist Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai. As the group evolves, each participant is encouraged to offer ideas and facilitate a future session. This is a co-learning space in which we each contribute our own sources of knowledge and experiences. Guest speakers, local organizers, and activists are invited to present their work and further our discussions, grounding them in the concrete possibilities of anarchism. 

The study group is framed by the concept of the potluck/potlatch and how we want to define acts of mutual generosity and gift-giving. The first session will be focused on studying examples of potluck/potlatch and starting to define our own rules. The last session will be a celebratory potluck/potlatch banquet, as a culmination of what we’ve learned and desired together throughout the different sessions. 

Caring Nature

Join current Resident Artist Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai for a study group on community care and nature stewardship in anarchist practices

Session 4: March 18

The Future as Artistic Practice. Ritual, Magic and Art Organizing in Times of Collapse: Join us for a discussion of We Are Nature Defending Itself by Isabelle Fremeaux and Jay Jordan, followed by a conversation with members of Spill Paint Not Oil, a local arts and organizing collective. The book blends the authors' personal narrative as artists and activists and explores how activism, and daily life merge in creating autonomous spaces, such as the ZAD (Zone to Defend) in France, a site of radical occupation and resistance against an airport project. The ZAD is an example of a successful struggle where transformative, place-based resistance intertwines with ecological and social concerns. For the session, we will be focusing on Part I Seeding- the Extermination Machine (pages 28-70). The reading is shared on the Google Folder once you register for the event!

Reading:

• We Are 'Nature' Defending Itself. Entangling Art, Activism and Autonomous Zones by Isabelle Fremeaux and Jay Jordan

Activity:

1. Reading Discussion and Presentation by Spill Paint Not Oil

Please mask upon entry to the space. We will decide as a group whether or not we will keep masks on during the session. Masks are provided.

About Caring Nature

What is the value of human life outside wage/labor and consumerism? How do we sustain ourselves and our community without being extractive and destructive to the environment? How do we learn to organize collectively, socially and politically in relation to Nature?   

In Peter Kropotkin’s book, Mutual Aid (1902), the Russian anarchist posits that cooperation, not competition, is at the base of natural evolution, both in animal and human groups. He traced the evolution of voluntary cooperation from the tribe, peasant village, and medieval commune to a variety of modern associations—trade unions, learned societies, the Red Cross—that have continued to practice mutual support despite the rise of the coercive bureaucratic state. The trend of modern history, he believed, was pointing back toward decentralized, nonpolitical, cooperative societies in which people could develop their creative faculties without interference from the governing bodies.  

A modern example is the ZAD, the French rural militant occupation and autonomous zone, which successfully halted the construction of an international airport. In We Are 'Nature' Defending Itself. Entangling Art, Activism and Autonomous Zones by Isabelle Fremeaux and Jay Jordan, the preservation of swamp lands by communal occupation becomes a radical political action against climate disaster and extractive capitalism. Finding one’s place as stewards for Nature is to regenerate abundance. Utopia is not a future we are patiently waiting for but can be implemented in our current times. 

As access to Nature, from the food we consume to the environment in which we live, becomes more and more limited, subjected under the same rule of scarcity and hoarding tendencies as commodities, we have lost agency as human individuals to choose how we want to live and exchange without depending on the monopoly of capitalism. What are local and personal initiatives in the Twin Cities that take away the main supports of economic life from corporate interests and return them to the community? What can we learn from the intersections of food justice, climate justice, housing rights and indigenous rights to free ourselves from the demands of capitalism and fears of scarcity? How can we, instead, enrich our lives with generosity and care?     

Event Structure

Hosted at Second Shift Studio, the study group is a self-organizing entity, primarily facilitated by Resident Artist Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai. As the group evolves, each participant is encouraged to offer ideas and facilitate a future session. This is a co-learning space in which we each contribute our own sources of knowledge and experiences. Guest speakers, local organizers, and activists are invited to present their work and further our discussions, grounding them in the concrete possibilities of anarchism. 

The study group is framed by the concept of the potluck/potlatch and how we want to define acts of mutual generosity and gift-giving. The first session will be focused on studying examples of potluck/potlatch and starting to define our own rules. The last session will be a celebratory potluck/potlatch banquet, as a culmination of what we’ve learned and desired together throughout the different sessions. 

Join us for our next Art Soup on Sunday, March 1, 1 pm! We will discuss HIEROGLYPHICS, a solo exhibition by current Resident Artist Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai.

Art Soup is a regular program that gathers the community around soup and art. Join us for a casual meal and conversation about our current exhibition.

About HIEROGLYPHICS

Hieroglyphics is a collection of objects and gestures that arise where language fails. In analyzing Walt Whitman’s use of the poetic image of blades of grass, Lewis Hyde describes how “Natural objects - living things in particular - are a language we only faintly remember. It is as if creation had been dismembered sometime in the past and all things are limbs we have lost that will make us whole if only we can recall them. Whitman’s sympathetic perception of objects is a remembrance of the wholeness of things.” (“A Draft of Whitman” p174, The Gift, Lewis Hyde, 1999)

Upon learning about the passing of a friend from my adolescence in France, I find myself mute in the face of loss. I was reminded of a story I read, about Emperor Hadrian’s irreconcilable grief over the passing of his young lover, Antinous who drowned himself in the Nile as a sacrifice for his love. The emperor erected a city in his name and created a cult of worship. Countless representations of the youth took shape in marble, stone, coins and reliefs. 

In my own attempt at grasping at my friend’s life, I incised onto glass, my collection of sites, strings of phrases and mythical references. They stand for the many moments across time and geographies that could hint at the mystery of his destiny. He is the Unknown Soldier for whom an eternal flame is lit under the Arch of Triumph on the Champs Elysees. He is Antinous, reborn as Osiris, God of the After Life. His anonymity grants him the eternity of the gods. 

Paris is the city of our youth, which we crafted in our own image. Without him, the once ideal city closes itself and ceases to be a place I can return to. The emperor’s incessant journeys are fueled by the desire for wholeness.   

Caring Nature

The February session of Caring Nature has been postponed to focus our efforts on supporting the East St Paul community being impacted by current immigration raids. 

The presentation with Spill Paint Not Oil is postponed until the March 18 session.

Caring Nature

Join current Resident Artist Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai for a study group on community care and nature stewardship in anarchist practices

Session 2: January 7

Reading:

• We are HERE, now. Chipping away, excerpts compiled by Colin Anderson from Open Market

Activity:

1. What does food justice look like in practice? How is it sustainable?

2. Presentation from Open Market

Please mask upon entry to the space. We will decide as a group whether or not we will keep masks on during the session. Masks are provided.

About Caring Nature

What is the value of human life outside wage/labor and consumerism? How do we sustain ourselves and our community without being extractive and destructive to the environment? How do we learn to organize collectively, socially and politically in relation to Nature?   

In Peter Kropotkin’s book, Mutual Aid (1902), the Russian anarchist posits that cooperation, not competition, is at the base of natural evolution, both in animal and human groups. He traced the evolution of voluntary cooperation from the tribe, peasant village, and medieval commune to a variety of modern associations—trade unions, learned societies, the Red Cross—that have continued to practice mutual support despite the rise of the coercive bureaucratic state. The trend of modern history, he believed, was pointing back toward decentralized, nonpolitical, cooperative societies in which people could develop their creative faculties without interference from the governing bodies.  

A modern example is the ZAD, the French rural militant occupation and autonomous zone, which successfully halted the construction of an international airport. In We Are 'Nature' Defending Itself. Entangling Art, Activism and Autonomous Zones by Isabelle Fremeaux and Jay Jordan, the preservation of swamp lands by communal occupation becomes a radical political action against climate disaster and extractive capitalism. Finding one’s place as stewards for Nature is to regenerate abundance. Utopia is not a future we are patiently waiting for but can be implemented in our current times. 

As access to Nature, from the food we consume to the environment in which we live, becomes more and more limited, subjected under the same rule of scarcity and hoarding tendencies as commodities, we have lost agency as human individuals to choose how we want to live and exchange without depending on the monopoly of capitalism. What are local and personal initiatives in the Twin Cities that take away the main supports of economic life from corporate interests and return them to the community? What can we learn from the intersections of food justice, climate justice, housing rights and indigenous rights to free ourselves from the demands of capitalism and fears of scarcity? How can we, instead, enrich our lives with generosity and care?     

Event Structure

Hosted at Second Shift Studio, the study group is a self-organizing entity, primarily facilitated by Resident Artist Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai. As the group evolves, each participant is encouraged to offer ideas and facilitate a future session. This is a co-learning space in which we each contribute our own sources of knowledge and experiences. Guest speakers, local organizers, and activists are invited to present their work and further our discussions, grounding them in the concrete possibilities of anarchism. 

The study group is framed by the concept of the potluck/potlatch and how we want to define acts of mutual generosity and gift-giving. The first session will be focused on studying examples of potluck/potlatch and starting to define our own rules. The last session will be a celebratory potluck/potlatch banquet, as a culmination of what we’ve learned and desired together throughout the different sessions. 

On December 13, 4-5:30 pm, you are invited to join Ritika Ganguly and Sofia Padilla in a sensorially immersive space to gather around the simple act of humming with our voices and drawing with sand. Together, we will create a profound sense of presence, pulling each other fully into an environment designed around humming in harmony and making patterns in the sand (on an overhead projector). These patterns are meant to align with participants' experiences of humming.

No prior singing or drawing experience is required! The workshops are trilingual (Hindi, English, Spanish), and free!

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Caring Nature

Join current Resident Artist Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai for a study group on community care and nature stewardship in anarchist practices

Session 1: December 10

Reading:

• The Gift, Chapters 1 & 2, Lewis Hyde

• “An Immediatist Potlatch”, Hakim Bey in Immediatism

Activity: 

1. Introduction with creating a list of questions and interests under the theme 

2. Organizing a potluck that would meet the precepts of the Gift and immediatism. What rules/ways to organize/questions do we want to bring to the “banquet”? How do we want to define gift-giving and generosity?

About Caring Nature

What is the value of human life outside wage/labor and consumerism? How do we sustain ourselves and our community without being extractive and destructive to the environment? How do we learn to organize collectively, socially and politically in relation to Nature?   

In Peter Kropotkin’s book, Mutual Aid (1902), the Russian anarchist posits that cooperation, not competition, is at the base of natural evolution, both in animal and human groups. He traced the evolution of voluntary cooperation from the tribe, peasant village, and medieval commune to a variety of modern associations—trade unions, learned societies, the Red Cross—that have continued to practice mutual support despite the rise of the coercive bureaucratic state. The trend of modern history, he believed, was pointing back toward decentralized, nonpolitical, cooperative societies in which people could develop their creative faculties without interference from the governing bodies.  

A modern example is the ZAD, the French rural militant occupation and autonomous zone, which successfully halted the construction of an international airport. In We Are 'Nature' Defending Itself. Entangling Art, Activism and Autonomous Zones by Isabelle Fremeaux and Jay Jordan, the preservation of swamp lands by communal occupation becomes a radical political action against climate disaster and extractive capitalism. Finding one’s place as stewards for Nature is to regenerate abundance. Utopia is not a future we are patiently waiting for but can be implemented in our current times. 

As access to Nature, from the food we consume to the environment in which we live, becomes more and more limited, subjected under the same rule of scarcity and hoarding tendencies as commodities, we have lost agency as human individuals to choose how we want to live and exchange without depending on the monopoly of capitalism. What are local and personal initiatives in the Twin Cities that take away the main supports of economic life from corporate interests and return them to the community? What can we learn from the intersections of food justice, climate justice, housing rights and indigenous rights to free ourselves from the demands of capitalism and fears of scarcity? How can we, instead, enrich our lives with generosity and care?     

Event Structure

Hosted at Second Shift Studio, the study group is a self-organizing entity, primarily facilitated by Resident Artist Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai. As the group evolves, each participant is encouraged to offer ideas and facilitate a future session. This is a co-learning space in which we each contribute our own sources of knowledge and experiences. Guest speakers, local organizers, and activists are invited to present their work and further our discussions, grounding them in the concrete possibilities of anarchism. 

The study group is framed by the concept of the potluck/potlatch and how we want to define acts of mutual generosity and gift-giving. The first session will be focused on studying examples of potluck/potlatch and starting to define our own rules. The last session will be a celebratory potluck/potlatch banquet, as a culmination of what we’ve learned and desired together throughout the different sessions. 

Join us for ART SOUP on December 4, 6–8 pm! We’ll discuss our current exhibition, Quiet Resilience, a solo show by Mary Jane Mansfield.

Art Soup is a regular program that gathers the community around soup and art. Join us for a casual meal and conversation about our current exhibition.

About Quiet Resilience

Mary Jane Mansfield’s solo exhibition features a lyrical collection of electric water sculpture, painting, drawing, and projection created and curated around the idea of resilience.

The metaphor of being lost at sea comes into play, setting the stage for an ocean of sorrow too vast to navigate. The imagery, both abstract and literal, that has emerged from it taps into a deeply emotional space occupied by the struggles one faces when processing profound grief. Confronting powerful, unpredictable forces and the unexpected ways the universe is here to carry us through emerges, pointing to the source of energy that fuels resilience.

—

Mary Jane Mansfield is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Join us for an ART SOUP to celebrate the New Resident Open House on September 23, 6–8 pm.

The Open House shares the work of our new 2025-26 Resident Artists: Delaney Keshena, Ella Leidy, Meher Khan, and Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai.

Art Soup is a regular program that gathers the community around soup and art. Join us for a casual meal and conversation about our current exhibition.

Join us for our next Art Soup on June 16 at 6 pm! We will be celebrating Resident Artist Vernon Vanderwood's solo exhibition, GUT FEELING.

About GUT FEELING

GUT FEELING shares the experimentation and development of vernon’s practice with SCOBY as a material. Drawings, sculptures, and laser etchings begin to build a world around this material and expanded process. This show is a reflection of what they've been working on this past year, one year beyond school and at Second Shift Studio. The work is self-reflective but fractals outwords into both micro and macro reflections of body, identity, and place. 

About Art Soup

Art Soup is a regular program that gathers the community around soup and art. Join us for a casual meal and conversation about our current exhibition.

Join us for our next Art Soup on April 19 at 4 pm! We will be celebrating the closing of our latest exhibition, Plasmic. Please RSVP at the link below as space is limited.

About Plasmic

Plasmic, inspired by plasma, the fluid barrier found in a cell, is about interfacing, a permeable relationship with “other.” The tension of having a body, of crossing barriers, of existing in a system. This show brings together a community of bio-curious artists but through each of their explorations these bodily (human and nonhuman) mediums cultivate relationships with beings outside of ourselves. Community, the body, and ecosystem at the center of these eclectic works and this show is a space to explore fluid intersectionality. 

About Art Soup

Art Soup is a regular program that gathers the community around soup and art. Join us for a casual meal and conversation about our current exhibition.

Join us for an open house on February 12, 6–8 pm!

If you are applying to this year’s Artist Residency, we invite you to visit our space, meet the current Resident Artists, and ask any questions you might have. This will be an informal evening with room for conversation — we encourage you to stop by!

Join us for an Art Market on February 8, 1–5 pm! This market is organized by current Resident Artist Tamara Aupaumut.

Join us for the opening of our first Second Shift Studio Alumni Exhibition on January 9, 6–8 pm!

This exhibition features the work of four former Second Shift Resident Artists who were invited by our current Resident Artists. The artists include Dahn Gim, Mary Jane Mansfield, Galilee Peaches, and Ivonne Yáñez.

Join us for our next Art Soup on January 4 at 4 pm! We will be celebrating the closing of our latest exhibition, LOOK.

About LOOK

Look is an 8-artist exhibition of work engaged with non-representational, non-objective, and experimental forms. Curated by Chris Larson.

Ella Leidy
Day Marvel
Hannah Lee Hall
Kelsey Bosch
Mara Duvra
Melanie Pankau
Rachel Collier
Sophia Chai

About Art Soup

Art Soup is a regular program that gathers the community around soup and art. Join us for a casual meal and conversation about our current exhibition.

Second Shift Curatorial Projects presents LOOK, an 8 artist exhibition of work engaged with non-representational, non-objective, and experimental forms. Curated by Chris Larson.

Opening reception: Friday, December 20, 6-9 pm

Ella Leidy
Day Marvel
Hannah Lee Hall
Kelsey Bosch
Mara Duvra
Melanie Pankau
Rachel Collier
Sophia Chai

Join us for our next film screening with Guest Resident Artist Ioana Țurcan on November 4, 7 pm!

The screening will begin at 7 pm, followed by discussion. Soup and beverages will be provided. The film screening will consist of the following works:

• the self illusion: The child's self portrait as an artist

• por ahora soy invierno: Winter's self creation

• III: Tackles the problematics of rape culture and sexual assault through three different cases in three different countries: China, Vietnam and Romania; and how the cases where similarly “dismissed” by the authorities. Collaboration with Kieu Anh Truong and Yue-Ying Feng.

• states uprooted: Shot during my travels in between 2012-2017, using personal archive and combining 8mm film with digital files, states uprooted tries to challenge the idea of rituals in transition, identity and its perception on different lands: Romania and USA.

• Empiric: Short fiction film set in Romania’s 1986. A young woman working in a textile factory has to find a way to deal with the anti-abortion decree without putting her life in danger. Produced by Adenium Film.

• Anemone: A found photograph from the 30s Bulgaria, activates an AI statement on same-sex relations. From analogies on perfect flowers, to invented languages and archive wedding footage, Anemone looks at the tools we create to adapt and survive while interrogating the "normalcy". Collaboration with Gergana Ivanova, part of ECHO III Bucharest Residency.

• Followed by a screening of her most recent short fiction film, a work-in-progress piece.

Join us for FRAGMENTS OF WORLDS UNKNOWN on Thursday, October 24, 7–9 pm!

FRAGMENTS OF WORLDS UNKNOWN evokes a collection of incomplete or partial insights into realms that are unfamiliar or beyond our current understanding. The selection of works implies pieces of a larger narrative or existence, hinting at untold stories, hidden truths, or diverse perspectives about what lies beyond the familiar, encouraging an imaginative journey into an unknown that we created to some extent by our actions, numbness, beliefs or fears. 

Artists included:

Andreea Lăcătuș

Luiza Pârvu

Laura Iancu 

Ornela Alia 

Letiția Popa

Ana Gurdiș

Grace Wang

Just Wondering

Curated by Ioana Țurcan and supported by CEC ArtsLink 

Join us as we welcome our international Guest Resident Artist Ioana Țurcan with an installation and film screening on Friday, October 18! The event will begin at 7 pm, followed by an artist talk at 8 pm. After the artist talk, there will be a film screening of the following works:

• the self illusion: The child's self portrait as an artist

• por ahora soy invierno: Winter's self creation

• III: Tackles the problematics of rape culture and sexual assault through three different cases in three different countries: China, Vietnam and Romania; and how the cases where similarly “dismissed” by the authorities. Collaboration with Kieu Anh Truong and Yue-Ying Feng.

• states uprooted: Shot during my travels in between 2012-2017, using personal archive and combining 8mm film with digital files, states uprooted tries to challenge the idea of rituals in transition, identity and its perception on different lands: Romania and USA.

• Empiric: Short fiction film set in Romania’s 1986. A young woman working in a textile factory has to find a way to deal with the anti-abortion decree without putting her life in danger. Produced by Adenium Film.

• Anemone: A found photograph from the 30s Bulgaria, activates an AI statement on same-sex relations. From analogies on perfect flowers, to invented languages and archive wedding footage, Anemone looks at the tools we create to adapt and survive while interrogating the "normalcy". Collaboration with Gergana Ivanova, part of ECHO III Bucharest Residency..

About the Installation

 LIFELIKE: INVOKING GHOSTS is a collaboration between Ioana Țurcan and Pablo Ramirez Gonzalez, a multi-chaptered work which aims to rethink the dynamics of modernity through the process of slowdown and delay but also its effect on a possible afterlife for animals in the context of displacement. Hunting, taxidermy and taxonomy are seen as practices that deny the life of some species in order to display, study, and appropriate their bodies, claiming the superiority of human kind over nature. Owning and using animals for labour and production especially under improper conditions is no exception.

LIFELIKE INVOKING GHOSTS brings together works created in Morawa, Poland (2021) under the name of LIFELIKE: DEMO (photography and video) and its next-year chapter LIFELIKE: AS WE WAIT (audio soundscape), made in residence at Acasă la Hundorf, Romania (2022).

This event is part of Twin Cities Art Week.

Learn more about Ioana Țurcan and her work here.