Fund Anna Hafner's Performance "HEART OF THE MOUNTAIN"

Hello!

My name is Anna Laura Hafner and I am an artist living and working in my home of the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson Valley.

I have been awarded a small grant from Arts Mid-Hudson to create a multidisciplinary art project that collects the experiences and histories of housing and colonization within the region of the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson Valley.

"HEART OF THE MOUNTAIN" is a short piece of experimental theater about a story as old as time: the feeling of loss and heartbreak that local people feel when they lose access to the place they call home. Performed with masks, puppets and vibrant costumes, this show uses symbolic visual poetry to interpret the experiences of community members affected by the complex issue of housing in the Hudson Valley and the Catskill Mountains. This performance weaves together contemporary experiences of housing with the historical context of the colonization of the region.

This piece is currently in the very initial stages of funding, research, and development, and this performance is the first expression of the project, with hopes to expand significantly in the coming years.

The project will be a short piece of experimental theater using puppetry and dance with an original soundscape featuring voices of locals who have been impacted by the current housing crisis in the area. Local folks are also encouraged to submit video responses and stories that will be used as research or used as part of the project via THIS FORM HERE or BOOK A CALL with me to tell me their story (through June 2nd)

The performance is FREE TO THE PUBLIC and will be performed at the Tidewater Center at 61 E. Bridge St. Saugerties, NY 12477 on June 26th at 6:15 pm. The performance is 15-20 minutes in length and is opening for a full-length puppet show by Arm-of-the-Sea Theater.

I am looking to MATCH MY GRANT so I can properly pay performers, a videographer, a photographer, artisans, and pay community participants who have struggled with housing insecurity.

If I can raise the funds I am asking for, which is a match to my grant, then I am able to donate to 10 local individuals who are currently struggling to find affordable housing or have been displaced who are willing to share their stories for this project. They will receive $100 each, which isn't very much but it would be thanking them for their participation.

If I raise more, then I will portion out more appropriately more money for each housing insecure individual.

For example: I have around 2500 followers on Instagram. If everyone gave me $5, I'd raise $12500 which means I could give 10 housing insecure individuals $900 each, and the rest could go towards funding the project further.

Housing insecure folks will be prioritized if they are low-income, BIPOC and/or disabled.

HEART OF THE MOUNTAIN is a work-in-progress and the is in the initial stages of funding and research. This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by Arts Mid-Hudson.

Your donation would greatly improve the quality of this project and the ability to pay performers, videographers, photographers, artisans and interviewees who are housing insecure.

Thank you!!!