Here at OP, we’re continuing to let collaboration lead the way, expanding our ecosystem with partnerships that create more opportunities for our participants. Here’s a look back to warmer days with the Pratt Textile Dye Garden and Gather and forward to partnerships with Storefront for Art and Architecture and Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers. There’s even a sneak peak of a collaboration with Sadie Nash Leadership Project to really warm your spirits.
As part of our continuing partnership with Pratt Institute, our middle school Summer Camp visited the Pratt Textile Dye Garden, where they explored themes of connection and transformation that are present in Octavia Butler’s works. Through this hands-on workshop they learned about the global history of indigo, engaged with three fiber artists-in-residence, and used resist dyeing techniques to make their own indigo dyed bandanas.
Our high school Summer Institute partnership with Gather was centered on the power of questions: How can we use the power of inquiry to open new pathways for ourselves and each other? How can we use technology to share new ideas and bridge communities? Participants interviewed professional authors about career paths, protecting and celebrating creative practices, and the power and pitfalls of new technologies. We’re excited to see how this partnership continues to blossom.
As we entered November, we partnered for the first time with the Storefront for Art and Architecture in conjunction with their exhibition Território vivo by Sertão Negro. Inspired by the exhibition’s premise of quilombos as spaces of freedom, culture, and care, Octavia Project participants, parents, and community members made lino prints reflecting on housing rights and home. These prints used symbols like windows, gardens, fireplaces, and pets to represent our universal right to safe, warm, welcoming homes.
This month also marked the beginning of a new cohort of the Constellations Mentorship. Through this mentorship, professionally published authors from Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers mentor Octavia Project alumni one-to-one. Mentors work with our young writers to develop and refine a piece of fiction, while introducing them to a greater writing community. Mentees and mentors also work towards submission and publication. Past mentees have had their pieces read by professional actors on the Kaleidocast podcast.
As we near the end of the year, we’re excited to share that we’ll be participating in #GivingYouthDay 2025. The initiative, spearheaded by the Sadie Nash Leadership Institute since 2024, centers collaboration over competition and sharing resources to maximize impact. Follow us on our Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn where we will be sharing more on this joint effort over the next few weeks.
Thank you for being a collaborator in this work! Without your partnership, we wouldn’t be able to support this younger generation of leaders–you have our gratitude.