Instagram story viewer> @ninasarnelle> Posts

Nina Sarnelle

@ninasarnelle

4.3K

followers

3159

following

artist, musician, researcher

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

feeling so grateful for 9 weeks in the swamps of @skowheganart fermenting humans and nonhumans into a powerful stew of ideas and jokes and climate anxiety

special thanks to my microbiotic collaborator @m_rebolledag
to @sachachavega @daisy_collingridge @cristina_lahumana for all the support and collaborative energy
to Cow Studies & the Counter Worldmaking workshops of #NaomiRinconGallardo
to @cwcarroll81 and @moonburnedeye for making it all possible
to @rubyq.ue and @jazzygirl______ for filming
and @doobopboo & @psychedelicsonnet for the excellent questions :)
to Penny Lane for saving me
and to @ruthaestevez 💕

gut of the earth
non
binary
wet
land
neither land
nor water
just flux
in
determinacy
trans
formation
necro
mass
methano
genesis

Gutland was produced on the stolen lands of the Wabanaki/N’dakina/Nanrantsouak people and is dedicated to the return of this and all native land. by @ninasarnelle

386

45

2 months ago

This is the thing i am most proud of from 2024. It may be the most meaningful art work I’ve ever worked on, and is definitely the most supported.

𝒲𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓌𝑒 𝓋𝑜𝒸𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓏𝑒, 𝓌𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓃𝓈𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓂 𝒶𝒾𝓇, 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒸𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒷𝑜𝒹𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝒸𝓇𝒾𝓉𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓁 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝓃-𝒽𝓊𝓂𝒶𝓃 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹

Breath Work is an experimental community opera that explores air as a medium for resistance. Part documentary, part collaborative ritual, it takes place in Long Beach, California—an area filled with oil production and one of the largest ports in the world, where 25% of all imported goods enter the USA. Shipping infrastructure, railyards, freeways and oil refineries provide a striking backdrop for scenes of solidarity and grief staged by a collective of 13 local community members aged 11-65. Breath Work weaves together their creativity and their voices with personal stories of respiratory disease and environmental racism.

Directed by Nina Sarnelle
Starring Mara Bautista, Azizi Blowe, Jahzara Blowe, Sharnell Brown, Ashton Phillips, Veronica Scott, Chester Thrower III, Emily Quest, Sofia Uribe

@marab_g @mandyluv @emilyquest1763 @ashtonsphillips @sobelle.su

Cinematographer: Don Edler
2nd Camera: Doc @prod.bydoc

Featuring Rudy Cardoso, Amanda Luases, Stephanie Madera, Peter Madsen, Jeremiah Rosborough, Pastor sk8board, Dusty Stiggers
Production: James Suazo, Diana Martinez, Melissa Morgan, Rudy Cardoso
Production Assistants: Liz Bocardo, Victoria Martinez, Gabriela Velazquez

@baddiebmindset @_petermadsen @pastorsk8board @l.b.inyourcitynews @jaisuazo @di.mar
@immelissamorgan @

Created in collaboration with Long Beach Forward.

Funded by the California Arts Council, a state agency.

[visual description: a rhythmic, fast cutting trailer featuring close ups of community members breathing and vocalizing, and making sounds with giant black mylar balloons. The trailer ends with a drone shot of the Port of Long Beach and red text on a black background: “breath work, coming soon”] by @ninasarnelle

271

36

2 years ago

Feeling so much heartbreak and rage this week. But I’m also thrilled to perform these songs I’ve been working on for so damn long. alongside dear friends and brilliant artists, in a free community gathering, in honor of Paayme Paxaayt. Truly the best way.

This is a clip from rehearsal of Lost Shark, which will be activated by a vocal score for collective grieving in this era of mass extinction. Please join sat 6:30-9pm ✨

tinyurl.com/PaaymePaxaayt
(Also in bio linktree)

Many thanks to @livingearth.la @ce_org @blackcube.museum @metabolicstudio and @spectra__studio @sharonchohikim @laurenmetropolis by @ninasarnelle

351

25

2 years ago

Passionate about environment justice? Join us for the screening of Breath Work October 7th! 🎞️

Breathe Work is an experimental opera that explores breath as resistance. Part documentary, part performative ritual, created by 13 community members ages 11-65 from Long Beach. The film brings together personal stories of communities affected by environmental racism through the impacts of freeways, rail yards, oil refineries & shipping infrastructure.

A panel will be followed after the screening by community members from various communities impacted by environmental racism, including one of our very own youth from Boyle Heights 📍 * more info on the panel soon 🤩 by @ninasarnelle

48

4

17 days ago

Highlights from the grassroots screening tour of Breath Work ~ a dirty air opera.

The final screening is coming up Wed Oct 7, 6:30-7:30 at @legacy_la in collaboration with USC Children’s Health Center.

I feel so grateful for these powerful clean air events we were able to organize at:

🔥Sandalwood Farm with
Solstice Theater IE & Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ)

🔥Metabolic Studio (Los Angeles)
with Living Earth, The Scream Team, Ashton S. Phillips, K Bradford, Ana Iwataki, Laura Steenberge & Jheanelle Brown.

🔥West Los Angeles College as
part of the Climate Arts Festival

🔥The Cheech Marin Center for
Chicano Art & Culture with Sofia Figueroa, Ismael Gonzalez, Franco Pacheco & The People’s Collective for Environmental Justice (PC4EJ).

🔥Ford Park Aquatic Center with BGArts, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, Libros Con Alma, SLA, Atencion Plena & Vida Sana.

🔥Los Angeles Poverty Department (DTLA)
with Joshua Nathan

@sandalwoodfarm_ie @iesolsticetheatre @ccaej_ @metabolicstudio @livingearth.la @ashtonsphillips @misterroadshow @anaiwataki @imaginarymusic @jheaneeeeeelle @climatedesignersla @thecheechcenter @comeandseemedia @zzzuuurrrggg @inlandvalleyalliance @pc4ej @gobgarts @eycej @librosconalma @lapovertydepartment

This tour was supported by @awaw.award @nyfacurrent. Breath Work was created in collaboration with @movelbforward , and funded by the @calartscouncil. Starring Mara Bautista, Azizi Blowe, Jahzara Blowe, Sharnell Brown, Ashton Phillips, Veronica Scott, Chester Thrower III, Emily Quest, Sofia Uribe @marab_g @mandyluv @emilyquest1763 @ashtonsphillips @sobelle.su by @ninasarnelle

61

6

17 days ago

Highlights from 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓡𝓪𝓲𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓥𝓸𝓲𝓬𝓮 an evening of eco-vocal potency presented by Living Earth at Metabolic Studio

Including a screening of Breath Work, a live interspecies sound performance by Ashton Phillips, texts by K. Bradford, Ana Iwataki (read by Zoë Jones) and Laura Steenberge, a performance by the Scream Team (this iteration: Wesleigh Gates, Huntrezz Janos, Kira Kull, Cat Mahatta, Ashton Phillips, Serena Kolodin, Emji Saint Spero, Nina Sarnelle) and a conversation with Jheanelle Brown. Camera: Linda Franke
 More info ~~
 Ashton Phillip’s Crucible (an interspecies (de)composition) is a sonic exploration of metamorphosis, plastic(ity), and interspecies (de)composition with live contributions from a colony of plastic-metabolising mealworm/beetles and the post-plastic ecosystem they make possible.   Nina Sarnelle’s Breath Work (film screening) is a 40-min experimental opera that explores breath as resistance. Part documentary, part performative ritual, it was created by a group of 13 local community members aged 11-65 in Long Beach, CA. Created in collaboration with @movelbforward, with support from @calartscouncil @artslb @awaw.award @nyfacurrent  “A Quiet Scream” is a short program of readings and performance on screaming, including texts by @misterroadshow, @anaiwataki, & @imaginarymusic. The Scream Team is a collective research project focused on the queer/trans scream initiated by @saintspero. “give me something to scream about” was performed by @_seako , @catmahatta, @ashtonsphillips , @ninasarnelle, @huntrezz, @wesleighhhh, @saintspero @kkmiracle  Jheanelle Brown @jheaneeeeeelle is a film curator/programmer, educator, and arts administrator based in Los Angeles whose curatorial practice creates frameworks to explore the boundlessness of Black life in experimental and non-fiction film and video. by @ninasarnelle

89

8

2 months ago

Monday June 1st 7-9pm at VOX Populi (Philly) ✨

there will be some shapeshifting whispering powerpoint antacid from Nina & Julia & Sacha & James & Rose & James & John (!!) Come get your mind stroked and boundaries poked and still get to bed by 9:30. There will be video, live music, bodies moving, humiliation, maybe jokes. Your friends will all be talking about how extremely on time it was.

RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/June1VOX (link in bio)
$15 pay at the door only (Venmo/Paypal or exact cash)

A million thanks to @tedpasson and @jock_witch for making this dream team possible ❤️‍🔥

PERFORMANCES:

Mouth Noise (Nina Sarnelle) is a container for sounds coming up from the gut. It’s a solo performance made of live music and projected video by an artist with severe chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease. Mouth Noise offers inflamed and intimate attempts to digest white supremacy, techno-colonialism, ecological collapse, and the brutality of the US immigration system. @ninasarnelle

The Odds is a hybrid dance-performance by Julia Gladstone and Sacha Vega with live sound by James Gentile. The Odds ricochets between parody and exposure, playing a field where American privilege, chance, control, and humiliation emerge and shapeshift in the performers’ bodies. Inspired by Avgi Saketopoulou’s Sexuality Beyond Consent, Édouard Glissant’s Poetics of Relation, and the deadpan absurdity of Nathan Fielder, the piece turns performance into a game of unstable signals, shifting advantages, and speculative strategies. @jamesgentile @sachachavega @optical_massage

Rose Luardo will make us an ASMR chakra dusting performance art joy factory. @roseluardo

John Miller Giltner (clown) is going to come on stage and blow everyone’s mind by the fact that they do beer and weed at the same. Then they are going to rock your freaking socks off. @john_miller_loves_the_olympics by @ninasarnelle

251

10

5 months ago

Domingo, 3 de mayo, 7:00-9:30 p.m. en el Ford Park Aquatics Center - 7950 Scout Ave, Bell Gardens

*Este evento se llevará a cabo en inglés y español.

**Este es un evento al aire libre. Por favor, considere traer una manta de pícnic y cojines para su comodidad, así como ropa de abrigo para cuando bajen las temperaturas y repelente de insectos.

[ Enlace de confirmación de asistencia: tinyurl.com/airedebg ]

ᗩIᖇE ᗪE ᗰIs ᑭᑌᒪᗰOᑎEs es una noche de cine, poesía y música en la lucha por un aire limpio 🍃 Tendremos música, libros de Libros con Alma, poesía de Atención Plena / Vida Sana, la proyección de una película (detalles a continuación) y una conversación con East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice.

Breath Work (proyección de la película) es una ópera experimental de 40 minutos que explora la respiración como forma de resistencia. En parte documental y en parte ritual performativo, fue creada por un grupo de 13 miembros de la comunidad local, con edades entre los 11 y los 65 años, en Long Beach, CA. Esta zona alberga una masiva producción petrolera, así como uno de los puertos más grandes del mundo, por donde ingresa al país, vía marítima, el 25% de las mercancías importadas a los EE. UU. En la película, la infraestructura portuaria, las terminales ferroviarias, las autopistas y las refinerías de petróleo sirven de impactante telón de fondo para escenas de solidaridad y duelo, entrelazando historias personales de enfermedades respiratorias y racismo ambiental con actos colectivos de desafío.

-----ENGLISH-----

Sunday, May 3, 7:00-9:30pm at Ford Park Aquatic Center - 7950 Scout Ave, Bell Gardens

*this event will be held in english & spanish

**This is an outdoor event. Please consider bringing a picnic blanket, and pillows for comfort, along with warm layers for cooling temperatures and bug spray.

[ RSVP link: tinyurl.com/airedebg ]

ᗩIᖇE ᗪE ᗰIs ᑭᑌᒪᗰOᑎEs is a night of film, poetry & music in the fight for clean air 🍃 We’ll have music, books from Libros con Alma, poetry from Atencion Plena / Vida Sana, a film screening "Breath Work" by Nina Sarnelle and conversation East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice. Full details: tinyurl.com/airedebg by @ninasarnelle

174

2

6 months ago

📽️ Join us in celebrating Earth Day with a double feature screening of Breath Work (dir. Nina Sarnelle @ninasarnelle) and Warehouse Empire (dir. Sofia Figueroa @comeandseemedia).

Screenings will be followed by a discussion featuring the directors along with environmental activists Franco Pacheco (@inlandvalleyalliance) and Ismael Gonzalez (@IEculturacollective).

Doors Open at 6PM
Screening at 6:30PM

🎟️ Admission is FREE - registration link in our bio

In collaboration with KVCR, People’s Collective for Environmental Justice (PC4EJ), and the Inland Valley Alliance for Environmental Justice.

About the films:
Breath Work is a short documentary and experimental opera created by a group of 13 local community members aged 11-65 in Long Beach, CA, an area home to massive oil production as well as one of the largest ports in the world, where 25% of imported goods enter the US by sea. In the film, shipping infrastructure, railyards, freeways and oil refineries provide a striking backdrop for scenes of solidarity and grief, weaving together personal stories of respiratory disease and environmental racism with collective acts of defiance.

Directed and hosted by San Bernardino-based filmmaker Sofia Figueroa, Warehouse Empire is an Emmy award winning docuseries that investigates the growth of the warehouse and logistics sector in the Inland Empire, examining its environmental, economic, and social impacts.

Flyer by @hellbnder taken in Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum by @ninasarnelle

395

6

6 months ago

I’m honored to share this film in so many important community centers across LA county and the Inland Empire, partnering with an inspiring line up of badass activists and environmental justice orgs.   ***RSVP in Linktree OR www.tinyurl.com/BreathWorkSpringTour  Air pollution is the second leading threat to global health worldwide. 7 out of 10 of the cities with the worst air in the US are within a few hours of LA. In sharing this film, I hope that the creative voices of Mara Bautista, Azizi Blowe, Jahzara Blowe, Sharnell Brown, Ashton Phillips, Veronica Scott, Chester Thrower III, Emily Quest & Sofia Uribe can help to catalyze urgent conversations among those most impacted. In a world that suffocates, breathing together is a powerful act of solidarity. How can we use our breath as resistance?   🍃  𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 (𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚)  Sat April 11, 6-10pm at Sandalwood Farm (Rialto) with a performance by Solstice Theater IE, and a discussion with the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ)  Tues April 14, 7:30-9:30pm at Metabolic Studio with Ashton S. Phillips (live sound), A Quiet Scream (readings + performances) and guest respondent Jheanelle Brown. Presented by Living Earth & TreePeople  Sat April 18, 1pm-2pm at West Los Angeles College (Culver City) part of the Climate Arts Festival  Thurs April 23, 5:30-8:30pm at The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture (Riverside) with a screening of Sofia Figueroa’s Warehouse Empire, and a discussion with Ismael Gonzalez, Franco Pacheco & The People’s Collective for Environmental Justice (PC4EJ).  Sun May 3, 7:30-9:30pm at Ford Park Aquatic Center (Bell Gardens) organized by BGArts, in partnership with East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, Libros Con Alma, SLA, Atencion Plena & Vida Sana.  Fri May 15, 7-9pm at Los Angeles Poverty Department (DTLA)  @movelbforward @awaw.award @nyfacurrent @artslb @marab_g @mandyluv @emilyquest1763 @ashtonsphillips @sobelle.su @sandalwoodfarm_ie @iesolsticetheatre @ccaej_ @livingearth.la @treepeople_org @thecheechcenter @laclimateweek @climatedesignersla @pc4ej @gobgarts @lapovertydepartment by @ninasarnelle

27

0

6 months ago

👂Tues April 14, 7:30pm at Metabolic Studio 1745 N Spring St (Chinatown/Lincoln Heights)
*free parking & entrance on Baker Street*
ADA accessible  

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓡𝓪𝓲𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓥𝓸𝓲𝓬𝓮 
Nina Sarnelle: Breath Work (film) 
Ashton Phillips: Crucible (an interspecies (de)composition) 
A Quiet Scream: readings + performance 
Jheanelle Brown: guest respondent  

RSVP IN BIOOOOOO 🔈🔈  

Ashton Phillip’s Crucible (an interspecies (de)composition) is a sonic exploration of metamorphosis, plastic(ity), and interspecies (de)composition with live contributions from a colony of plastic-metabolising mealworm/beetles and the post-plastic ecosystem they make possible.   

Nina Sarnelle’s Breath Work (film screening) is a 40-min experimental opera that explores breath as resistance. Part documentary, part performative ritual, it was created by a group of 13 local community members aged 11-65 in Long Beach, CA. Created in collaboration with @movelbforward, with support from @calartscouncil @artslb @awaw.award @nyfacurrent  

“A Quiet Scream” is a short program of readings and performance on screaming, including a visual score by @catmahatta, and texts by @misterroadshow, @anaiwataki, @kourtneykyung & @imaginarymusic. Organized by the Scream Team, a collective research project focused on the queer/trans scream initiated by @saintspero. The Scream Team includes @table_blue , @_seako , @catmahatta, @harlequinknights , @pau_s_pescador, @ashtonsphillips , @ninasarnelle, @kourtneykyung , @huntrezz, @wesleighhhh & @kkmiracle Their first collective scream was hosted by @poeticresearch at @2220arts.  

Jheanelle Brown @jheaneeeeeelle is a film curator/programmer, educator, and arts administrator based in Los Angeles whose curatorial practice creates frameworks to explore the boundlessness of Black life in experimental and non-fiction film and video. by @ninasarnelle

182

3

6 months ago

The Breath We Share
SATURDAY APRIL 11 at Sandalwood Farm (Rialto)
✨rain or shine✨

6-10pm (performances 7-9pm)
RSVP for address ~ link in @ninasarnelle’s bio or www.tinyurl.com/BreathWorkSandalwoodFarm

Join us for an evening of inspiration — live performance by IE Solstice Theater, a powerful film on air quality by Nina Sarnelle

PLUS free tomato & pepper starts courtesy of @metabolicstudio @mudbaron!

Take home some plugs to grow your own clean food ~ there’s a limited quantity, so don’t be late!

🌍💨 Clean air. Clean soil. Clean food. It all grows together. 🌿💚 by @ninasarnelle

72

0

6 months ago