The reconstruction of “We”: Botanical Cyanotype Workshop By Natalia Nakazaw

Inspired by this spirit of exchange and connection, this cyanotype workshop invites participants to create collective triangular banners.

About this Event

Artist workshop: The reconstruction of “We”: Botanical Cyanotype

Sunday, July 27, 2025 | 12pm - 2pm

Join Socrates 2025 – 2026 fellow Natalia Nakazawa for this cyanotype workshop that will take place during the annual Guelaguetza held in partnership with Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Nueva York (BFMNY). La Guelaguetza, a Zapotec word evoking “cooperation,” “friendship,” and “mutual aid”, honors the vibrant interwoven cultures of Oaxaca through dance, music, and gifts.

Inspired by this spirit of exchange, the workshop invites participants to gather foraged botanicals and draw upon imagery from the Socrates Sculpture Park’s archive, weaving together natural forms and historical memory. Together, we will reflect on the park’s rich legacy of collective action and creativity by creating cyanotype banners; sun-printed impressions that speak to connection, endurance, and place. These works will form part of a larger living archive in the form of a dome, a communal structure built from shared experience and layered histories. Participants are also invited to make individual cyanotypes to take home as personal flags - tokens of nature, resilience, and kinship. Children, families, and people of all ages are encouraged to join.

About Natalia Nakazawa:

Natalia Nakazawa (b. 1982, Charlotte, NC) is a Queens-based interdisciplinary artist and educator whose work spans painting, textiles, and social practice. As a child of Latin American (Uruguayan) and Asian (Japanese American, Yonsei) diasporas, she draws on complex cultural legacies to explore identity, migration, and storytelling. Through collaborative, community-driven projects, Nakazawa blurs the boundaries between education, activism, and art, inviting collective participation. Her jacquard textiles incorporate images from open-access museum collections, often highlighting historical moments of cultural exchange. These works serve as tactile archives; places to critically engage with memory.

About the Fellowship:

The Socrates Annual Fellowship and exhibition reflects Socrates’ founding commitment to artistic experimentation and excellence, while also nurturing artists’ careers. Artists are selected through an open call and receive financial support, access to Socrates’ outdoor studios and technical support, and inclusion in a Park-wide exhibition. Since 2001, 279 artists have participated with many subsequently receiving further commissions for public art projects. The Socrates Annual Fellowship & Exhibition is one of the Park’s longest running programs and is an important training ground for early career artists to gain experience creating art in the public realm.

This year’s Fellowship will respond to the theme “Up/rooted,” which explores the complexities of uprooting species for long-term sustainability and resilience. The term “uprooted” evokes the tension between dislocation and resilience. “Up” signifies the act of lifting away, while “root” refers to the hidden systems below the ground—anchoring life and absorbing essential nutrients. This duality invites us to reflect on the implications of relocation and adaptation, exploring how when done thoughtfully it can foster new growth and understanding. In what ways can we foster regeneration while acknowledging and mitigating the losses within our ecological and social landscapes? How might we navigate the delicate balance between ecological preservation and community needs to create a more resilient future?

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