USF Welcomes Artists in Residence

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Cheryl Derricotte works with glass, paper, and textiles. For her “36 Trees” project at USF, she photographed one tree in each of San Francisco’s 36 neighborhoods. “Making the work teaches me how to do the work,” she said.

“My ‘36 Trees’ project invites us to pay attention. To think about place, about soil, about microclimates, about neighborhoods, about memory, about equity. But start with the trees. Look at this Chinese banyan in Bernal Heights. Look at this magnolia in the Excelsior. What are these trees teaching you when you slow down?”

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Priyanka D'Souza is a visual artist, writer, and researcher. At USF, she created a series of artworks about the 504 sit-ins in San Francisco.

At the 504 sit-ins in April 1977, more than 100 disabled activists occupied the federal building at 50 UN Plaza for 25 days, “the longest sit-in in U.S. history,” D’Souza said. They demanded and secured regulations enforcing Section 504, the first federal law to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities. “And this happened because of the support of organizations like the Black Panthers, gay and lesbian organizations, Glide Memorial Church, local pharmacists, and local restaurants,” she said.

Today, Section 504 is under threat, D’Souza said. In a civil lawsuit called Texas v. Kennedy, nine states are trying to weaken Section 504’s integration mandate. “That would make it easier to push disabled people into nursing homes or hospitals — they could be institutionalized instead of receiving care in community settings such as schools, clinics, and their own homes.”

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Eric Garcia ’11 is a USF performing arts and social justice graduate and co-director of Detour Productions, an immersive dance and theater ensemble in San Francisco. For USF, Garcia is developing a theater piece featuring 25 students, alumni, and faculty, timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the performing arts and social justice major.

Rather than handing performers a piece to learn, Garcia enlists them in “ensemble-driven devising from the ground up,” with everyone contributing ideas. The cast rehearses Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 9:30. Performances run April 30 through May 3 at the Studio Theater on Lone Mountain.

“I want to give an awesome experience to as many students as possible. I want to include as many skill levels and disciplines as possible,” Garcia said. “As the director and vision keeper, my work is to see who’s in the room and how to integrate them in a way that lets everyone shine.”