Mark-n-Sparks is helmed by two queer artists: ashley sparks and Mark Valdez. They are working on a 10-year series of performance and civic engagement activities focused on housing narratives and policy. In partnership with the Los Angeles LGBT Senior Center, sparks leads a series of storytelling workshops with seniors. The group had a range of housing experiences, some currently unhoused, some living with family, and one elder loved his small studio with a view of the Hollywood Sign. Over 4 weeks, they shared stories, wrote poems about home, and showed off the “dance moves you do in your kitchen.” The series culminated in an intimate salon performance of their housing stories.
These stories were complicated, funny, and hard. They also included incredible insights into queer history and queer neighborhood housing history in Los Angeles.
Read one of the poems below.
Home is…
Home is... Enjoying a yum yum donut on Sunday mornings
Home is… Cheese. Hot chocolate. Fresh tortillas.
Home is… A cast iron skillet
Home is… Laguna Beach inside the barrel of a wave
Home is…The sound of birds chirping.
Home is…The smell of Jasmine, orange blossoms, clean laundry.
Home is…Wind by an open window
Home is…Paying $98 for rent in the 1970s
Home is…Staying in the same place for 40 years
Home is…Moving every few years because I love the adventure
For more information about Mark-n-Sparks, check out www.marknsparks.com
NLIHC Manager of State and Local Innovation Tori Bourret volunteered at Mark-n-Sparks during her four-month administrative sabbatical.
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Photo credit: Sam Comen