Featured Workshops
Food is medicine: Indigenous culinary journey - Exploring Sacred medicine and Traditional Recipes
Saturday, March 23rd 2024 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm EST in NEXUS Lounge
Embark on a culturally enriching and interactive experience with our Indigenous Cooking Class, where participants will delve into the rich tapestry of Native American traditions. This unique culinary adventure aims to celebrate and educate about the significance of our indigenous sacred medicines, fostering a deeper understanding of their cultural and holistic importance. The culinary exploration will continue with a hands-on demonstration of crafting a refreshing Three Sisters Salad. Featuring the art of preparing cedar and sweet grass as tea. Connecting participants with the cultural roots of these time-honored practices. Throughout the class, emphasis will be placed on the nutritional benefits of these indigenous ingredients, shedding light on their positive impact on health and vitality. Participants will have the opportunity to taste samples of the prepared dishes, fostering a direct connection with the flavors and stories behind each recipe. Join us on this culinary voyage, where tradition, education, and flavor converge to create a memorable and immersive experience in Indigenous cuisine.
About Learning Spirit Alliance
The Learning Spirit Alliance’s Holistic Approach is dedicated to enhancing educational outcomes for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis students. We strive to achieve this by collaborating with Indigenous student services, universities, and local organizations by forming an alliance that aims to address educational achievement gaps and promote holistic services that cater to the diverse needs of indigenous learners. Our grassroots organization recognizes the pivotal role education plays in improving the quality of life and overall well-being of indigenous communities. The initiative focuses on creating a positive and respectful learning environment both within and beyond educational settings. The ultimate goal is to empower students with the tools and resources necessary for academic success, fostering economic development and resilience against challenges like poverty, and food insecurity. The Food is medicine project is a youth led approach that aims to create a supportive foundation that focus on integrating consistent access to diet- and nutrition- related resources as a critical component to achieve this goal. We believe that access to nutritious food is critical to student health and resilience. Our Food is Medicine project recognizes that access to high-quality nourishment is essential for well-being. Advocating that food sovereignty rooted in education awareness is essential for overcoming educational attainment barriers. Using our foods as medicines as a modality to heal on all levels physically, mentally, spiritually and communally.
"Writing for Performance" workshop with Dr. Gowrinathan and D'Lo
Saturday, March 23rd 2024 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm EST in OI 5170
Join this year’s GSRC Keynote Speaker Dr. Gowrinathan and D’Lo for a workshop on applying key concepts from the keynote lecture in academic spaces with a specific focus on art-making, storytelling, and comedy.
About the Facilitators
You can read more about Dr. Nimmi Gowrinathan here.
D’Lo is a queer/transgender Tamil-Sri Lankan-American actor/writer/comic. His acting credits include: LOOKING, TRANSPARENT, SENSE 8, and MR.ROBOT, and web series EASTSIDERS, DYKE CENTRAL, including a leading role in a ColorCreative & Project Greenlight produced MINIMUM WAGE, and finally his very own web series PRIVATE DICK. He also plays the role of Gio in upcoming feature film DEATH & BOWLING and is in post-production for a buddy comedy short film he wrote featuring D’Lo and Shakina Nayfack called RO & SHIRELLE.
In 2020, D’Lo guest starred on NBC’s CONNECTING and also was an actor/writer and producer on another BTR collaboration with Pop Culture Collab on his project called NIMZO. His most recent credits include Billy Eichner’s film BROS and an upcoming episode of Quantum Leap.
His work has been awarded grants from the City of Santa Monica, Durfee Foundation, National Performance Network, Ford Foundation and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. Most recently, D’Lo was awarded the Artist Disruptor Fellowship for TV Writing through the Center for Cultural Performance and 5050×2020 an initiative started by Joey Soloway; as well as the Civic Media Fellowship through USC’s Annenberg Innovation Lab funded by the MacArthur Foundation; a Cultural Trailblazer Award from the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Cultural Affairs, and a Sherwood Award Finalist through CTG.
His solo shows Ramble-Ations, D’FunQT, D’FaQTo Life and To T, or not To T have toured theaters and festivals nationally.
His work has been published and/or written about in academic journals, literary anthologies, and print/online journalism sources, such as LA Times, The Guardian, NBC, and The Advocate. He was invited to be a commentator on CNN, has appeared in Buzzfeed and Fusion videos, and the award-winning documentary PERFORMING GIRL centers his queerstory as a trans artist.
He facilitates ‘writing for performance’ workshops, and created the “Coming Out, Coming Home” writing workshop series for South Asian and/or Immigrant LGBTQ Organizations across the nation, as well as workshops on creating healing through comedy at universities/colleges nationally.
dlocokid.com
imdb.me/dlocokid