Protest And Survive

Tamara Santibañez is a multidisciplinary artist, working in tattoos, visual arts, and publishing. She also works with people in jail/prison and recently out, having taught drawing at Rikers Island and Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, working with a reentry program in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and giving free tattoo cover ups to women who were tattooed during their criminal justice involvement.  Tamara's tattoo work draws on West Coast Chicanx black and gray technique, while also incorporating the punk aesthetics of her life, resulting in a historic but deeply personal style. You can find more about her work here, and view her tattoos here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scenereportpodcast.substack.com

Jessie Jeffrey Dunn Rovinelli is a filmmaker. She recently wrote, directed and starred in a feature titled "So Pretty," which is, according to Jessie, "a narrative-ish film following four to six young gender deviants in New York City as they nap and f**k and try to get by as best they can." The film is an adaptation, and translation, of a novel by gay German writer Ronald M. Schernikau, which originally was set in 1980s West Berlin. The worlds of queer housing and rave scenes overlap with mass protest in "So Pretty," as staged and real settings blend. In this interview, which took place in Jessie's bedroom in Brooklyn, we discuss becoming an optimist through art, Donald Trump's effect on mobilization, transitioning while making a film, the community built when making a film, and the importance of Black Lives Matter, J20, and Occupy Wall Street. More information on upcoming screenings of "So Pretty" can be found here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acc

AJ Santos is a punk. He grew up in the Philippines, playing in punk bands, running in gangs, and using drugs. People referred to him and his friends as “scums of society.” In 2013, AJ immigrated to the United States, where he built a new life for himself. He started some punk bands in New York, called Namatay Sa Ingay and Material Support. He also started organizing with Migrante International, a migrant rights organization that is part of the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines. With Migrante, AJ and other Filipino immigrants lobby the U.S. government and raise awareness about the issues facing their friends and family back home. Since Rodrigo Duterte began his War on Drugs after becoming president of the Philippines in 2016, many of AJ’s friends have been killed, jailed, or forced into hiding. AJ was never planning on becoming an activist, but those circumstances changed that. “I need to do this because I have to. It’s not even a choice for me. I’m not trying to be edgy. I didn’t choose this lif

Una Osato grew up in New York City in the 1980s, where art and protest were part of the fabric of daily life. Una found early success as a child performer, but her art later brought her outside of the mainstream, and into the world of radical burlesque. She’s a co-founder of brASS Burlesque (brown radical ass burlesque), a multi-disciplinary performance troupe from NYC. Una is active in the New York City chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, where she draws inspiration from the lineage of internationalist anti-Zionist Jews to fight for Palestinian human rights. Una uses her art to bring joy to political actions.This episode of Protest & Survive was produced by Sophia Steinert-Evoy.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scenereportpodcast.substack.com

Rafael Shimunov is "just someone from Queens" who was born in Uzbekistan, and incorporates creative tactics into grassroots campaigns. Rafael is a board member of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, and formerly with the Working Families Party and the Center for Constitutional Rights. In  December 2018, Rafael guerilla-style installed his own painting on a wall in the Whitney Museum of American Art. The piece depicted a family running from teargas that was fired at the U.S./Mexico border. The action was in protest of The Whitney's Board of Trustees Vice Chairman and owner of Safariland, Warren Kanders. Art magazine Hyperalergic reported that canisters of teargas bearing Safariland’s name were found where U.S. Customs and Border Protection had fired teargas at Central American migrants near Tijuana in November 2018. The migrants, who included children, were seeking asylum in the U.S. If you generally pay attention to lefty news, you may already have seen some of Rafael's other work.  He livestreamed the JF

Frankie Decaiza Hutchinson is a New York by way of UK electronic music promoter and grassroots organizer. She is one third of Discwoman, a collective, booking agency, and event platform representing and showcasing female talent in the electronic music community, who have pushed the needle on gender representation in techno. Frankie was also an active member of the Dance Liberation Network, a group of New York nightlife advocates who helped push the city of New York to repeal the Cabaret Law. The Cabaret Law was a century-old law, enacted with a racist intent, which was weaponized against nightclubs that catered to minority communities. We talked with Frankie at host Reed Dunlea's home in Brooklyn, and spoke about growing up in England, learning about race in America, the origins of Discwoman, the New York club scene, and what it feels like to effect change. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scenereportpodcast.substack.com

Alli Logout is a Texas-raised, NOLA-based punk musician (Special Interest, Lassie) and radical filmmaker (Lucid Noon, Sunset Blush). Alli works to increase the representation of their community in media, in addition to making the tools to create that media more accessible. Simply, Alli is creating their own world with the people they love. But we all know it isn't that simple. In episode one, we interviewed the promoter of the punk festival This Is Austin Not That Great. We conducted this interview for episode two during that fest, on the roof of a parking garage in downtown Austin, right after Alli's band Lassie played. We spoke about creating community/family and the happiness (and lack thereof) that can come with that, DIY filmmaking, privilege at a punk festival, marketing and tokenizing of black and queer bodies, presenting your message on your own terms, and the pressures of being visible and loud with your art. **CW brief discussion of suicide in the episode** This is a public episode. If you would lik

Juan-Carlos Silva is an Austin Texas born and raised punk musician, concert promoter, and anti-racist agitator. He works hard to create radical spaces of music and resistance, and isn't afraid to bounce the Proud Boys from his side of the city. We talked with Juan Carlos after he wrapped up the third installment of his international DIY punk festival This Is Austin Not That Great, which he also performed at with his band Strutter. We spoke about the fest, the legacy of Texas punk, politics in Austin and Texas, electronic scooters, benefit concerts, confronting white nationalists, the police, and Ted Cruz. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scenereportpodcast.substack.com