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“So, transform yourself first… Because you are young and have dreams and want to do something meaningful, that in itself, makes you our future and our hope. Keep expanding your horizon, decolonize your mind, and cross borders.” — Yuri Kochiyama
Ingrid Romero is a creative, educator, youth worker, and rebel, based in the traditional, unceded lands of the Munsee-Lenape people, now known as so-called New York City, with deep roots in the Andes and Pacific region of Colombia. Ingrid began organizing at fourteen, with friends through a youth-led collective called Misled Youth Network. She has a passion for the arts, culture, and music, especially in alchemy with liberation, transformation, and people power. Her youth work career includes Sadie Nash Leadership Project, The Brotherhood/Sister Sol, Kite’s Nest, and Global Action Project. Aside from youth development, her work spans from anti-gentrification, food and labor justice organizing, museum education, and community-public art initiatives. Ingrid has completed trainings and fellowships from institutions such as the School of Unity & Liberation (SOUL), the Highlander Center and The Laundromat Project. Ingrid is currently somewhere dreamin’, schemin’ and fallin’ in love on Pachamama.
TAP Work:
“Teaching Artist Project has been a dream of mine for many years. I am a community arts educator and I believe in developing a network of other like-minded individuals to strengthen our skills, practices and re-envision what a future of liberation, justicia and creativity looks like for all of us. Since the pandemic began, I have been seeking a space to build and cultivate what it means to be a teaching artist virtually. TAP has been essential in connecting me to other folks who are also longing for that. I feel that we all, collectively, have dreamed up this opportunity. As a community organizer, I feel there is no separation from my identity as a teaching artist to my political and community work, because I know that we have no excuse to not challenge society, each other and ourselves to change this world for the better. In fact, time has been up, and we need to claim our visions towards liberation, and acknowledge that we have the power as teaching artists to inspire and offer tools to support that fire within our young people. This is what hope looks like to me, and I couldn’t imagine ended this powerful year without Teaching Artist Project.”
Most Memorable TAP Moment:
“I remember our Salon that we hosted the week of the elections here on turtle island. It was a Thursday night, and we still had no idea if orange was going to be voted out. That week was a whole lot of energy and everyone was feeling something. However, the Salon was lit! So many TAP folks shared and showed out, and folks who didn’t even sign up felt inspired to share or show something. There was laughs, inside jokes, and just all over good vibes. That Salon was definitely something I’ll remember when reflecting back on that week and on TAP. *BULLHORN*”
Find out more about ingrid here: