International House teams up with local artist Jesikah Maria Ross for community-building events
By KATYA OKS — city@theaggie.org
International House hosted the first of a two-part series of Hope Café: Music, Conversation and Inspiration on April 29, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The Hope Café is defined as a “community experiment in joy, connection, and resilience” at a time when many feel “overwhelmed by the news cycle,” according to a description of the event found on their Instagram.
To make this event possible, International House partnered with Jesikah Maria Ross, a local artist who has focused her efforts on creating projects which “share the stories of our communities” and illustrate communal resilience and strength throughout hard times.
“I love to create beautiful events that bring people together; that is my art,” Ross said. “My art form is these kinds of beautiful events that have what I call ‘radical hospitality,’ so from the moment you walk in, you feel that this has been designed for you and that you feel cared for, nourished and supported.”
The idea of the Hope Café came to Ross from her own observations of the community’s emotional response to the changing political climate in the United States.
“A lot of people [are in] despair because there’s so many changes that are happening right now in the world, and here, in the U.S., especially,” Ross said. “I really believe that, when people are struggling, the answer is community.”
The backyard of the International House was then transformed into the Hope Café; fairy lights overlooked tables decorated with fresh flowers, and snacks and drinks were provided at each table. As guests were welcomed into the event, Cedar Cady, a Davis musician, played the violin. Before the event officially started, attendees were invited to participate in a “What brings you hope?” mural by filling out sticky notes with their answers and populating the mural.
Ross wanted to implement art into the community building event and let it guide the progression of various activities hosted at the event.
“In any kind of difficult time, culture, art, music, dancing [and] poetry are some of the best tools [to address struggle],” Ross said. “Poetry, [for example], expands us and it invites us to be more open and inquisitive and [to] experience wonder and awe.”
Ross then introduced the first community-building activity: Acts of Kindness. Guests were asked to have table conversations surrounding the prompt of retelling an act of kindness that they experienced. The activity transitioned into a community mixer, inviting attendees to talk with two other people at the event and share takeaways from their table conversations.
Many attendees noted that a lot of the acts described were small; They felt reminded that kindness exists everywhere. In trios, they were then asked to come up with one to two words to describe their conversations.
As guests returned to their tables, they were asked to participate in the activity, Weaving Experiences, a collaborative form of poetry. Each table was given the prompt “We imagine…,” and each individual wrote a line of their shared poem, using the words they came up with in their previous trios.
Ross later reflected on the moment, observing that the activity became one of her highlights of the first Hope Café.
“My favorite [moment] was when everybody made a poem together, and they just had fun,” Ross said. “You could hear the laughter, you could hear the delight. […] The connection and community [are] contagious.”
The event then concluded with a community choir led by the Free Range Singers, a local choir group. Laura Sandage, one of the leaders of the choir group, shared some musings from other members and the impact and hope they experience from singing.
“Even when we need to express sadness or sorrow, singing is a way to release what is burdening us,” Sandage said. “Right now is a time when it’s easy to feel voiceless, like a lot of voices are being ignored. Singing is a way to put our voices out into the world. We’re not being silenced when we sing together.”
Although the April 29 Hope Café was an experimental event, Ross believes it to be successful from her observations of guest participation and conversations.
“When [guests] were in table conversations, they were leaning in and they were moving towards each other,” Ross said. “They were open; All of their body language was completely signaling connection.”
Ross also shared her hopes that future iterations of Hope Café will attract younger audiences, such as students from UC Davis, and connect with the broader Davis community.
“We’d really love to see more students and folks who could use a dose of belonging, care and community,” Ross said.
Ross also sees Hope Cafés evolving into quarterly events, which will aim to provide frequent opportunities for the community to come together and strengthen the bonds.
“These two events are like pilots to see if there’s an interest and if it works,” Ross said. “But if it does [pick up in interest], I think [Hope Cafés] will be quarterly, and I think each one will be totally different. […] That’s my vision: that we do it every quarter and all the prompts, artists, activities are different. So that if you want to come every time, it’s always [a] different [experience].”
The most recent installment of the Hope Café was held on May 20, with more details on future events on their official website and Instagram.
Written By: Katya Oks — city@theaggie.org
