Bruh the way we did that tho
The way we had +450 rsvps
The way even the homies homies came thru
The way we have so many empanadas in the fridge left but went thru like 10 trays of them (if anyone’s in the city im legit begging for u to come get them)
The way our house neighbors pulled up and we were like “who tf r these ppl” then like “OMG HIII :3333”
The way nearly all of our walls were covered in paper that was slowly drawn thru over the two day period to fill up the walls
Like???🫵🏼🌞💅🏼 we rly did that
Was it also an incredibly stressful build up? Trying to manage all these moving parts? Making sure everyone was fed and chatting and hydrated and drawing and yapping?
Yea :/
But ultimately, so worth it, and led to one of the most dramatic porch cigs I’ve had in a good minute.
We used rly everything we had. @molly @macy and I had this idea to do a show during nft nyc-we’re all artists from a digital hemisphere (and roommates), so it j made sense. We were able to get a grant, and then we started running. Per my last email, I was tweaking. I tried doing a whole new medium, and then I looked at my schedule and bags under my eyes and decided that maybe this wasn’t a great idea. I wasn’t devestated but I was annoyed - I could’ve put my time into sleep or a woodwork or anything else fr. But there wasn’t rly time to b annoyed, so I kinda had to eat it.
We were blessed to make this guy take his car and help be a pick up person. I was still working tho, so I j had to help out only at the home. That shit ended and I j helped w some last minute things and then got food - a lil Mexican food. Quesadilla. then we started putting paper on the walls. did a lil late night postering. then by 2am, we were knocked out.
Saturday morning - my arts not on the walls, the screen guy is mia, and the dj is mia (note its like 8am on a saturday so everyone is asleep). So we have our lil frantic era - rearranged the entire backyard, basically throwing the one hammer we had to get our stuff mounted and set. rush prepped everything we had to. etc. screen guy was held back by an hour, so i j stared at the walls thinking of what to put up ( i rly wanted to build the pieces around the screen but alas) and I eventually started nailing shit. dj came thru - brought a few homies over too and it was a good lil vibe. helped to set them up as macy brought down the empanadas w some help from others. and ppl started trailing in. first it was our homies - ppl we been hanging with since we moved here, the djs friends, and some closer online friends. a good time. great to catch up, and great to see who our friends were.
and then it hit 2pm. we were expecting a rush - we had food, and the people yearn for lunch. Especially as most events this week only had cheese platters, ppl want legit sustenance. we also didnt have alcohol, which may have been a blessing in disguise (I also dont want ppl walking around this small ass space hammered) (it was j a blessing, no disguise). but the ppl fully came - each room was packed with like 20-30 ppl. backyard was filled with food and spraypaint, the walls were lined with artists going crazy, the main floor was just flooded with conversations. the ppl were fed, the ppl were hydrated, and the ppl were entertained. I was able to tell ppl abt my artwork, abt my woodworks and stopmotions. I showed ppl other ppl, and was able to show ppl my roommates art. it was fun. it was fulfilling. it was stressful.
The next day was also Macy’s birthday - thru the week me and her friends were chatting to get something done, and it all came thru. flowers and a balloon, some cake, and general good vibes. i’ve celebrated so many of my birthdays alone, and as someone who wants more reasons to celebrate, ima help do a lil something for a birthday - happy birthday Macy! <3
There were ppl ive known for years. ppl ive wanted to know for year. ppl ive wanted to know for years. and ppl im excited to get to know over the years. artists, friends, guests, collectors, and even our neighbors. and they are all people I want to spend more time with. my biggest gripe with hosting is that I felt that I couldn’t meet ppl the way I wanted. as the declared ”mother” of the event, I was truly running around making sure everything was maintained and healthy. making sure the screens worked, the dj was fed, the ppl were entertained, and the walls being colored. the vibes were checked beautifully. but theres a sense of longing I felt walking between conversations. I’ve been a social butterfly before, and while theres def perks to it, i do want to have a sit down conversation w ppl. or persons. even a person. its been so long since ive sat for over a few hours with a new person in my life. It’s a feeling I always love, but its something that should be coming in soon.
All i know is that ppl left happy. by sunday night, i had met so many ppl, and i was fizzled out. somebody left their tote bag at our place, so we met at a little after-show gathering at a wine bar and ubered back. they got their stuff, and then it was just me. i rested against the fridge to only hear nothing. it was peaceful and almost nostalgic, but there was definitely something in the air (besides empanadas). I managed to get to our lil stoop outside and had a little ciggy. i got to stare into the city, and had a little cry. i crode a bit, but fasting has left no water for some tears. it wasn’t sad. it was a joyous moment. a completion. a release. to think i could get this far. to think i could stand this tall (5’7). to think i had all these ppl in my life, when all i had was myself to get me thru things.
then like 8 ppl from the after including my roommate popped out the car and was like yoooo wtf y r u so cinema rn (all black fit, teary eyed, staring into the city w a cig in hand) and i was like ahahahaaaa and got a pep talk and finished my ciggy. it was def a rough moment tho, but a needed release. i went back inside and they shared some raising canes w me :)
YIPPPEEEEEEEE,
Faraz
ps. i think im still obsessed with finding out if ppl are taller or shorter than what I expected.
pss. i wanna do another one so bad. like the feeling I have now is the same i have after my fundraisers - its not quite emptiness, but an abundance of energy that wants to go to ppl outside of myself, even if there isnt energy left for me. hmmm summers otw tho soooo who knows :)
psss. ill make a post soon im j so tyred bruh
pisss. shoutout @emotionull for an amazing video of the weekend. truly an amazing fella. check out his video here
and ofc, rly appreciated yall.