Fugitive Libraries
The Story
Fugitive Libraries is a project at the intersection of art and activism conceived and facilitated by Marissa Ramirez. It is an evolution of Books in the Barrio, a grassroots effort originally started by a group of high school students in San Antonio, Texas demanding a bookstore in their working-class neighborhood. Instead of focusing on a retail space or a brick and mortar, Fugitive Libraries is an experiment, inviting community to think more expansively about literacy by creating spaces for us to read the world together—critically, culturally and politically.
Books in the Barrio
Books in the Barrio was born out of the recognition that access to knowledge is dangerous, that the lack of bookstores in our communities is systemic and deliberate, and that it is up to us to change it.
We understand that this work demands that we engage literacy in our communities in dynamic and creative ways and that we center the dignity of our people. We are committed to making literacy an integral part of our stance against every type of oppression.
Talleres for dreaming
Guided by questions and embodied inquiry, The Talleres for Dreaming is an experimental performance laboratory at the intersection of art and activism that focuses on questions, facilitated conversations, curated gatherings, and skill building workshops, honoring the lived realities, daily practices, rooted wisdoms, and embodied knowledge of local communities.
By building spaces with community to study together and think together, work and collaborate together, we can begin to collectively and creatively identify and construct tools to imagine and create a world where as a community we are free to dream.