By Pearl Ubungen
Since 2021, I have been coming to New York City with regularity, sometimes several times over the course of a year. In July 2024, I was an artist-in-residence with Art2Action at The Artist's Enclave: NYC. This was the first time I can say with certainty that the location was ideal.
Amazingly, Peridance studios were walking distance, as well as St. Marks Church – a very important place where post modern dance evolved and currently a key place for things happening in the alternative contemporary dance scene. As well, all locations for Movement Research’s classes and workshops were walking distance or a short bus or train ride away. The residency was also supported by the grocery store just a block away, not to mention Union Square, as well as the east side all the way to Tompkins Square Park, and all the way down to where the Lower East Side collides with Chinatown.
This residency provided me with the ability to do the key practices that nurture my
process for creating work and living life with needed space and wholesomeness. The apartment, though tiny, had a welcoming quality. The space felt lived in and like a home. So important to me was being able to cook! I worked with the hot plate every day and so appreciated the kitchen and all of the utensils, plates, herbs + spices. I was able to set up my various liturgies – as I have dharma practices that recur throughout the day into the evening. I took a number of movement, somatic classes that are somewhat rare and mostly only taught in NYC, a straight-up classical ballet class, and my first ever POC Iyengar class that was FREE.
Most importantly, I was a walk or bus ride away from Seward Park along Essex where I am dreaming of a new site work for sometime in 2026. I visit this park and the cafe at Essex and Canal as often as I can, spending hours between the windows at the cafe and the park itself. This residency allowed for deepening the research into Seward Park and the confluence of Chinatown with the low, low, lower east side.
A summary of what I did at the Artist's Enclave
Inner Contemplative practices:
I wrote, and alongside, did some drawings and painting, which I do for variation and to compliment the sometimes heavy aspects of my writing. I read source material that supports my thinking process for several projects. I was able to practice somatic/embodiment work that I do, including Feldenkrais Method and then teachings of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen (founder of BMC - Body Mind Centering) who I study with. All this on the floor next to the bed. I was also able to do my daily liturgical practices, and occasionally Sadhana practices in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Outer Engagement:
I was able to strengthen relationships with three bookstores: Village Works, Sweet Pickles, and Mast Books. In particular, Village Works led to meeting Pilipino master artist/painter Feliz Cachapero and two younger artists who are being mentored by him. I also kept contact with the alternative post-modern dance scene at St. Mark’s Church, Movement Research, and the more conventional Peridance. This has potential for future funding.
I was able to visit Seward Park at all hours of the day and night…and hang at Little Canal, a cafe that’s kitty-corner from the park. I also have a loose but nevertheless ongoing relationship with several spots for food, beverages, etc...especially FMN (Forget Me Not), Ki Ki, and Gas, to name a few. These are little hubs where I often meet other people from the immediate area who share my interests in culture, music, and performance.
Lastly, being in NYC, I was able to connect with a number of amazing musicians and groups. I was with trumpet player Cecil Brooks, and saw the Sun Ra Arketstra at Roulette in Brooklyn, and got to celebrate Marshall Allen’s 100th birthday. I also saw the Darius Jones Quintet. Twice I saw Alexis Marcelo on piano, and one of those times he was playing alongside Frank Lacy for Andrew Drury’s “Tentet.” Both Alexis and Frank will be coming to the west coast for a project at UCLA with Salim Washington that I am also part of, so it was great to hang with them. I also saw an amazing heavy metal band at the Knitting Factory…and another highlight: I went to a talk at the New York Performing Arts Library given by the founders of the “Hustle” featuring the amazing Maria Torres!
There is more…but I think that is enough.
With immense gratitude,
~pearl ubungen
Pearl Ubungen is a highly-acclaimed choreographer/cultural activist. During the 1990’s, her investigations of place/site/memory re-invigorated the field of community-based arts, re-negotiated the critical space between social activism and art making and placed cross-cultural, intergenerational work at the center of the art-making process. Based in San Francisco and fourth generation Pilipina American, ubungen is an interdisciplinary artist who attributes much of her creative life force to the subtle energies and influences of San Francisco.
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