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Elisa Mala

@thisismala

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Most surprising calendar entry this year (so far): A buffalo workshop!

A few weeks ago, I worked on some of life-size buffalo puppets that are coming to Brooklyn for Return of the Buffalo: Tatanka Owe Akupi.

Tomorrow, the herd of 40 puppets will march through Brooklyn in a performance that combines puppetry, music, storytelling, and indigenous traditions.

Here’s what it was like behind the scenes!

📍Abolitionist Place —> Brooklyn Bridge Park
🗓️ Saturday, September 19
⏰ 2 - 4 PM
🎟️ Free!

@stannswarehouse @the_walk_productions @the__herds @ukwanda_puppets_official @theaterofwar @brooklynbridgepark @downtownbrooklynartsalliance @downtownbrooklyn by @thisismala

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16 days ago

For many years, I thought my family didn’t know anyone who perished in the 9/11 attacks. Several of my classmates had parents who worked in the area, but fortunately all made it home.

It was only years later that my mother told me that she had personally known one of the victims: Mychal Judge. The world knew this Franciscan priest as the FDNY Chaplain. At the memorial, and in the many news articles, he is forever remembered as first confirmed fatality of the day — though not the first, or the last, death.

Because of his position in the city, I’ve been able to learn about his life in some of its beauty and its pain. @storycorps did a beautiful tribute, told by the priest who gave the homily at a service that was attended by thousands — including a former president.

My parents encountered him before all that: The year that they arrived in America, in search of a better life and any community they could find, they were introduced to him as someone who might help them feel less alone as they navigated uncharted territory.

In the final moments of his life, I imagine he did the same for the people who encountered him at Ground Zero: helped them feel less alone as they navigated uncharted territory. For me, I feel a debt of gratitude for the warmth he provided to two Asian immigrants he encountered long before 9/11, and occasionally wander over to express thanks. by @thisismala

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19 days ago

In remembrance ❤️ by @thisismala

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23 days ago

It was one for the ages 🎂 by @thisismala

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a month ago

Silly hoomans and their silly meetings!

🐕: Zadie, my friend’s beautiful doggo! by @thisismala

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a month ago

My birthday isn’t even for another week, and I’ve already gotten the best present I’ll get this year: the @dunkin turkey hat. 🎉 by @thisismala

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a month ago

Keep glowing ✨ by @thisismala

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2 months ago

Today in New York Harbor, we welcomed ships from all over the world. Fighter jets flew overhead.

In the background, I heard three different languages. That’s how it was before this country was formed. And that’s how I hope it will be for many years to come, in this grand experiment of a country whose story continues to unfold. taken in New York City by @thisismala

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3 months ago

I avoid parades and have never been a diehard spectator of any sport. But with the promise of a parade for the first Knicks championship in 53 years, FOMO got the better of me.

So I went to the parade zone for as long as I could tolerate it: 10 minutes.

The city had been preparing for the occasion for days and had secured the perimeter in uncharacteristically conspicuous ways: helicopters overhead, Coast Guard in the water, and cops absolutely everywhere.

The streets were packed to the gills with confused tourists and day-drinkers, but long-time denizens, as they often are, remained situationally aware and respectful of personal space.

I liked the festiveness. The references to Knicks past, like Ewing and Sprewell, alongside this year’s champions. My personal side quest was spotting the many different kinds of t-shirts, from the standard to the glittery to things I can’t print here. And it warmed my heart when the crowds acknowledged the city’s workers, too, when videos circulated of cheers erupting for sanitation employees and mail carriers.

The teeming metropolis felt like a small town. And even as I continue to be skeptical of professional sports culture, I understand how it fuels the hopes and dreams of people who want to be more than what they currently are. Business was booming everywhere: Even the most bare-bones vendors had huge lines.

This is also a media town, so there has been no shortage of think pieces and column inches about why this win feels qualitatively different from some others. And I can’t remember where I read it, but someone somewhere wrote that it is a rare opportunity to bond over something other than tragedy, something that’s not terrorism, or a natural disaster, or a pandemic.

For a little while, that is exactly what we did.

And maybe that’s why I was there: As a supporter of my hometown and some of the people in it, here for the spectacle that unfolds when an ordinary moment becomes something more.

Knicks in five. Home by noon. by @thisismala

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4 months ago

Many loves all at once: An old-timey mailbox, an artsy photo of NYC, free postage courtesy of a schmancy hotel, and most of all, someone who appreciates my jokes even when they’re hand-written.

📍Park Hyatt New York @parkhyatt @parkhyattny taken in Park Hyatt New York by @thisismala

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4 months ago

One of the most interesting photo exhibits I’ve seen in some time, and the first large-scale photo exhibit at the @cooperhewitt, the “Made in America” series from @christopherpaynephoto captures manufacturing from all around the U.S.

There’s the Q train from the @mta , fuselages from @boeing and Peeps candy! It was a fascinating and important reminder of the ingenuity that lives here, and the skill that brings everyday items to life no matter where they are made in the world.

📍Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, NYC by @thisismala

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4 months ago

My mom says that this is one of her favorite photos of us. by @thisismala

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5 months ago