Photos by Jana Astanov

Heart of the Mountain is a work-in-progress multimedia performance piece about the housing crisis in my homelands of the Hudson Valley. Here we'd like to propose the question "What Is Home" in the context of sought-after colonized land, and with the aim of deconstructing and decolonizing.

From the microcosm of the lack of affordable housing in this region, to the macrocosm of the colonial history of the region, Heart of the Mountain sheds light on real, diverse experiences regarding housing, home, community, and ultimately, the grief of disconnection from what is considered home. This piece uses real interviews with local folks from Ulster, Greene, Delaware and Dutchess Counties in Upstate NY. The interviewees are all local, some multi-generational residents, and consist of folks with housing insecurity, those who are housed (and have experienced difficulties), landlords, real estate agents, housing justice organizers, and local historians.

This project is in its seed stages and received a small grant from Arts Mid-Hudson in 2024, plus donations from local individuals to develop the initial stages of research and staging. The first draft of this show was performed at the Arm-of-the-Sea Tidewater Center in Saugerties, NY, and at Paul McMahon's Mothership in Woodstock, NY in June 2024.

I hope to be able to continue this project and create a refined full-length theater production, and potentially, a podcast/video series featuring the fuller versions of the stories from community interviewees.

Housing is a human right and unrestrained control over the housing market in the name of capitalism is hurting communities globally. From the Hudson Valley to the Bay Area to Mexico City to Lisbon to Bali to Melbourne and beyond - people are getting pushed out of their communities. And some of those people who were pushed out of their communities, are now pushing other people out of their communities. The cycle of gentrification and colonialism continues, and most are complicit, save for the most marginalized who are literally just trying to continue what little is left of their culture without having to resort to the touristified Disneyfication of their hometown.

We have enough resources to feasibly house and feed every individual on the planet, but the subtle dragon of greed has overridden our survival instinct and caused a select few to hold as many golden treasures as they possibly can in their little claws, thus trickling down and causing all of us to do the same. This continues isolation and destruction of the community. We are much more intelligent than to only abide by "survival of the fittest", and we owe it to ourselves to dismantle the system for the good of all. In the face of the climate crisis, there is no other way forward. Somehow, some way, some day.

Sincerely,

Anna

P.S. - FREE PALESTINE

Thank you Carlyn and Emma and Kira. I love you all so much and it is an honor to work with you all. Thank you all so much for being my friends and helping me bring visions to life, while adding each of your own beautiful creativity. Thank you to all my old friends and new friends who interviewed with me and shared stories with an open heart. Thank you, I love you .