Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alex Lisette. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alex, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
In short: children and the earth.
“Those are the little builders in my body…. they fix my heart when I feel sad.” – 7 Year old in Art Therapy session 1 week after witnessing a shooting outside her South Chicago community art studio.
“I’m a sex trafficking victim. I need resources and rehabilitation, not incarceration” – 16 year old revolutionary incarcerated in IL prison.
“Let’s add a DJ booth to the farm!” – high schooler from Austin co-creating a mini sustainable farm made from recycled materials.
These are just some of the things I’ve bore witness to within the past year. In 2018 I began working at Chicago HOPES for Kids, working with youth and families living in over 9 homeless shelters across Chicago. Since then, I have worked at a variety of schools, all under funded and filled with children who don’t have their basic and emotional needs met. One time we had a kid bring a gun to school…. that was a lot.. to say the least. I’ve worked in prisons, with too many kids who are wards of the state. Actually one time, I worked with a kid that was being held 3 months past his sentence because non of the group homes would take him. Another time, I saw a kid who I used to work with at his school, walk into the facility. That was like being in a parallel universe. What I have really seen, is a society of adults who actively harm kids through our policies. The food we feed them, ESPECIALLY in schools and prisons (let me tell you, even the prison food is better than CPS’ food contracted through Aramark), the educational environments we provide them, the work and living conditions we create for them through their adults…… it’s honestly horrifying to bear witness to. BUT, despite this, all of the kids I have worked with have been just as magical. Full of joy and hope. Inspiration and creativity. Working with them reminds me of the magic within all of us. More recently, I have looked to nature’s teaching and to our youth to continue feeding my optimism. The resilience of both nature and children is an example of the true magic and love that exists in our world, and that is what keeps me optimistic. That and the power of art, especially music and dance. Art is largely what has brought me to the children I work with, and I believe it is another testament to its power and influence. Giving youth the space and tools to create and express themselves, along with guiding them in how to be in relationship with and steward the land, is the best thing I believe we can do for ourselves and for each other, and that is what keeps me going.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As someone who always has both her hands and feet in multiple projects, while her mind is soaring off into the ether, forever ideating more projects than I could ever complete – and always with a little ancestral magic, this is always a difficult question to answer. I think our capitalistic society really wants us to put ourselves into these clean boxes. To limit us to a few “things” that can be understood, purchased, and profited off of. But my existence, and hereby my work, especially as an artist, aims to push beyond that. I see my “business,” which is really me – my unique energy, intellect, and perspective, as outside of that.
As a business, I am working on creating a website for my portfolio and services. My business name is Lisette LLC, an homage to my very Chicana middle name, and my instagram name is @sanasana.chicagochicana, which is a play on the very well known healing spell “sana sana colita de Rana” and an homage to my identity as a Chicago Chicana, with over 3 generations of roots in Chicago, spreading from Little Village to South Chicago and anchoring deep within Mexico.
I facilitate individual and group healing through engaging folks in art practices, organize events, curate art shows (I recently piloted a youth photography program and exhibition at Meeting of Styles South Chicago) offer project management (I recently worked with the Southeast Environmental Task Force installing 30 air monitors in the neighborhood), offer non profit consulting, bring art instillations to life, host open studios, have a resale and upcycled pop-up store called Mis Tiliches (I currently vend at Plant Chicago’s farmers market) and organize donations for children in Cuba, Oaxaca and in Chicago’s prisons and homeless shelters. I am increasingly more interested in photography, dance as healing, herbalism, Solarpunk, Rascuache, and Cannabis medicine.
At large, I am an organizer, creative entrepreneur, healer, teacher and these days, it’s really feeling more like a survival guide. I spend a lot of my time thinking about ways in which I can bring people together to connect and create – and I am increasingly interested in learning how to become self sufficient, and teaching others to do the same. What I mean by this is building relationships with ourselves, each other and with the land that allow us to thrive. Each of us holds ancestral wisdom inside of us that is screaming to be heard and I am here to call attention to that and encourage people, especially children, to express themselves, connect, and create. But most MOST importantly, I am a lover of the universe and all her natural beings <3
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Don’t be afraid to change your mind. Anyone who knows me personally, or even professionally honestly, knows that at any given point I might change my mind, and that is what has led me to be able to indulge in the creative playground that is Chicago. Surround yourself with a healthy balance of people who are where you want to be, people who are going where you want to go, and youth who would benefit from knowing that the direction you’re going in even exists. Remember: Mejor sola qua mal acompañada.
Get to know the body you’re in and learn how to best take care of it with plant medicine, including your diet. Pay attention to what’s going on around you, especially in the places impacted most by poverty and violence. Get curious about your roots and how you can call in ancestral wisdom. Learn to decipher what is redirection and what is a challenge that will push you to grow. Create, create, create.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in Another America On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City
– At the time, I wasn’t sure why I was so drawn to these books, only that they helped feed my curiously that eventually led me to this work. At the time, I was aware that these were written by white authors from outside of these communities, and it led me to think critically about who gets to tell the stories of youth. Surprise, it’s rarely them. So, a lot of my work focuses on providing space for youth to tell their own stories. I have also been inspired to work on a few digital storytelling projects in my own work and look forward to facilitating those stories to be told by the people who they belong to.
Decolonizing Therapy
– The mental health industrial complex is as strong as ever.
– Behavioral health hospitals are prisons by another name.
– Who gives us permission to heal? Institutions or the community we serve?
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @sanasana.chicagochicana
Image Credits
All original images by Alex Lisette
