Cultural Work
From the Monkey Mountains: Listening Parties with The Bakken Trio and Z Puppets Rosenschnoz
East Side Freedom Library 1105 Greenbrier Street, St. Paul, MN, United StatesThe Bakken Trio is teaming up with the highly-acclaimed puppetry ensemble Z Puppets Rosenschnoz to invite you to experience live classical music through new ears and eyes. At each of these free events at the East Side Freedom Library, the artists will lead "visual listening" drawing activities for audiences to explore one movement of From the Monkey Mountains by Czech composer and […]
Spooky Stories to Scare the COVID-19 Away feat. 신 선 영 Sun Yung Shin
SERIES DESCRIPTION Lao American artist Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay and the East Side Freedom Library brings you the SPOOKY STORIES TO SCARE THE COVID-19 AWAY, a 6-video series! To kick off Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we are bringing you ghoulish tales from the Asian diaspora told by six APIA artists 신 선 영 […]
Artist Talk Series: Chitra Vairavan In Conversation with Gabrielle Civil
MN, United StatesArtist Talk Series: Consent, Awakening, and Reclamation Conversations between Artists of Color and Indigenous Artists Gabrielle Civil joins Chitra Vairavan in conversation this month, to discuss liberatory performance practices and her latest performance memoir, Experiments in Joy (2019), celebrating black feminist collaborations and solos in essays, letters, performance texts, scores, images, and more. […]
Virtual Storytelling Series: Long Ago—Week #1: Somali Week featuring model and philanthropist Sabrina Dhowre Elba
Abla Elmi & Elmi House Productions present the Virtual Storytelling Series: Long Ago Week #1: Somali Week featuring model and philanthropist Sabrina Dhowre Elba Long Ago: An EHP x ESFL Virtual Storytime Series for Young and not-so-young People Program Info: Join Elmi House Productions and the East Side Freedom Library LIVE as we […]
Afro-Asian Enchantment
Join a conversation between Emma Sapong, an award-winning Liberian American journalist and writer, and Yuichiro Onishi. The Immigration History Research Center (IHRC) is collaborating with the East Side Freedom Library (ESFL). This conversation will be posted on ESFL’s Facebook page on June 9, 2020 at 7:00pm. It will be archived on the ESFL […]
“An Unprovoked, Aggressive and Most Savage War” The Seizure of Indigenous Lands
Maps are essential to how historical narratives are told. Traditional cartographic conventions either erase the territorial holdings of Indigenous nations or superimpose the boundaries of modern American states over the historical maps, making the presence of the United States seem like an inevitability. This series of eight anticolonial maps seeks to complicate discussion […]
Artist Talk Series Episode 2: In Conversation with Anita Chikkatur, Pao Houa Her and Saymoukda Vongsay
This feature focuses on Twin Cities Asian American artists + educators perspectives, identities, political labor, Anti-Blackness, Anti-Asianness and the ongoing Uprising in our communities. Learn and listen to the many ways in which these women of color carry their work into creative, personal and communal spaces. Join us for another 45 minute conversation […]
Outdoor Screening: Ohiyesa: The Soul of an Indian
East Side Freedom Library 1105 Greenbrier Street, St. Paul, MN, United StatesJoin us for a free outdoor film screening! The program will begin at 8PM with a presentation about the making and meaning of the film. The screening will begin at dusk, about 8:30PM, and will last an hour. Please bring your own chairs and/or blankets. Plan to wear masks and maintain appropriate social distances. Ohiyesa: […]
Loving Deeply: A Conversation on Afro-Asian Aesthetic Authority
the second in our series exploring Afro-Asian solidarity Sunday, September 13, 2020, 7pm This event will premiere on ESFL's Facebook page & YouTube channel Alessandra Williams and Yuichiro Onishi explore the world of Ananya Dance Theatre. Williams shares the rich details of the techniques of Ananya Dance Theatre’s specific dance form called Yorchhā, especially how […]
Conversation with Dr. Rashid Khalidi, historian and author of ‘The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine’
Join Middle East Peace Now and the East Side Freedom Library for an online conversation with Dr. Rashid Khalidi of Columbia University, discussing his new book and current events in an interview with Peter Rachleff, Professor Emeritus in the Macalester College History Department and co-executive director/co-founder of the East Side Freedom Library. Dr. Khalidi will […]
Dancing While Somali
Photo courtesy of The Somali Museum Dance Troupe Dancing While Somali Part 17 of MN Dance & the Ecstasies of Influences In partnership with The Somali Museum of Minnesota Sunday, October 18, 2020, 2-4pm Hosted by and in collaboration with East Side Freedom Library Curated and produced by Michèle Steinwald Documented by Tori Hong, Kristin Van […]
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui: Play Reading and Discussion (featuring Wendy Knox and Maria Asp)
The East Side Freedom Library, Frank Theatre, and the On Stage Project invite you to The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui: Play Reading and Discussion (featuring Wendy Knox and Maria Asp) Monday, October 19, 2020, 7 - 8pm UPDATE: This event will be live on Zoom (click here to join). It will be recorded and […]
Dancing While Karen
Photo courtesy of The Karen Organization of Minnesota Dancing While Karen Part 18 of MN Dance & the Ecstasies of Influences In partnership with Karen Organization of Minnesota Sunday, October 25, 2020, 2-4pm Hosted by and in collaboration with East Side Freedom Library Curated and produced by Michèle Steinwald Documented by Tori Hong, Kristin Van Loon, […]
Dancing While Hmong
Photo of dancer Lue Thao by Jania Xiong Dancing While Hmong Part 19 of MN Dance & the Ecstasies of Influences In partnership with The Hmong Museum Sunday, November 1, 2020, 2-4pm Hosted by and in collaboration with East Side Freedom Library Curated and produced by Michèle Steinwald Documented by Tori Hong, Kristin Van Loon, and […]
Book Talk: Oromo Witness by Abdul Dire
The East Side Freedom Library invites you to a conversation with Abdul Dire about his new book Oromo Witness: From Ethiopia to Minnesota, one man's struggle for his people, for his family, and for his freedom This event will premiere on ESFL's Facebook page and YouTube channel Join ESFL’s Co-Executive Director Peter Rachleff […]
Twin Cities JACL Day of Remembrance
Free registration: tinyurl.com/DOR2021 The Twin Cities JACL is commemorating the 79th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 with a "Day of Remembrance" program that will be presented on Zoom. The program includes the screening of "Conscience and the Constitution," an hour-long, award-winning PBS documentary that tells the story of the draft resistance movement at […]
Book Talk: Co-Conspirator of Justice: The Revolutionary Life of Dr. Alan Berkman with Susan Reverby
Register here to join the event on Zoom or watch the live stream on Facebook Alan Berkman (1945–2009) was a medical student and doctor, who became radicalized by his experiences at the Wounded Knee takeover, at the Attica Prison uprising, and at health clinics for the poor. He provided covert care to members of revolutionary […]
Nina Simone: Four Women (Presentation and Discussion)
This event is live on Zoom using this link. Join us for a stimulating theater presentation and discussion led by Regina Williams, Thomasina Petrus and Sun Mee Chomet. Regina, Thomasina and Sun Mee will read two scenes from the play, Nina Simone: Four Women, a play that Pillsbury House Theatre hopes to produce in the […]
Yang Warriors with Kao Kalia Yang and Billy Thao
Register here for the link to join on Zoom or watch the event live streamed on ESFL's Facebook page. Kao Kalia Yang and Billy Thao will host a virtual event with the East Side Freedom Library on Friday, April 16 at 7:00 p.m. for a discussion of their new book, Yang Warriors. In this inspiring […]
Walking Tour: Immigration and the (Re)Making of Saint Paul’s East Side
Classes for Adults / Trips & Travelogues Spring 2021 – Adult – Saturday, May 22, 2021, 10am-11:30am Examine the role of immigration in the making and remaking of St. Paul's East Side over the last 150 years. Explore Swede Hollow and its role as the first site of settlement in the 1850s, then onto Payne […]