Join us on Saturday, October 19th from 12pm - 3pm for a beading workshop with Indigo’s final Artist-in-Residence of 2024, Jay Katelansky. Katelansky’s work questions how Black bodies, including their own, navigate space in the United States. Addressing questions such as: What does safe mean? How does it feel safe? Is safety a place? Is it a person? Is safety an unattainable condition? Who gets to be safe? Are you safe? Katelansky’s current focus and interest has been on making work that explores both the historical impact of disco on queer and Black communities through Gloria Gaynor’s anthem “I Will Survive” and the contemporary need for respite from the current state of violence and disparity for these same communities.Text and literature forms the foundation of their practice, even when text isn’t present or visible in the final product. Most of their art starts with their personal practice of writing or reading whether it be poetry, fiction, memoir, song lyrics, or a fast scribble in their notes. Katelansky is deeply influenced by craft, sounds, and poetry, as well as everyday objects like billboards whose purpose is to convey a simple message and how these objects interact with and alter the spaces they inhabit. Taking place in the Indigo Arts Alliance studio at 60 Cove Street, Portland, ME 04101, this workshop is free and open to the public. No previous beading experience is required. Basic materials will be provided but participants are welcome to bring their own beads, fabric and sewing materials.