The Power We Hold

Thank you for joining me, your host, eco-visual artist Vanessa Albury, on my journey to becoming a better ally to people of all diversities (bipoc, LGBTQAI2S+, non-normative brained and embodied +) and steward of the environment in podcast form as The Power We Hold! This is part of Coral Projects' work in eco-consciousness healing. My co-host, Caleb Williams, is also an artist. She is 21 years my junior and makes art about her experience as a Black woman in America. We have in-depth conversation together and with others about difficult topics full of love and healing.

It's been 63 years since the first Earth Day. It was a revolution. It was not a sale on your next new whatever. Today we need that revolution more than ever. Revolution can be joyful. It is fun to heal! It is fun to adjust towards love. There are no quick fixes. To bring everyone along there are no easy answers, but there are WORTHY questions and WORTHWHILE solutions available for us, if we do the work. I don't know what they are because we haven't fully committed yet as a collective to the questions, but I do know from my own experience of asking hard questions, being vulnerable and leaving no one out , something better than I can imagine happens. So let's do the work, together! Together is the only way! Calling everyone in IS the way.

I did just that.  Today I share background and details of Leave It Better NYC, an eco-performance art piece I completed yesterday in honor of Earth Day. Since Earth Day is today, Saturday, I chose end of business Friday to deliver back to the owners of Poland Spring and Blue Triton (which makes Poland Spring) 377 single-use plastic water bottles, caps and labels I collected from the streets of NYC on my walks and bike rides from September until April 20th. I emptied the 2 recycling bag full in the lobby of their offices at 30 Rock Plaza and well, they didn't really like it. But you know what, I don't like seeing their trash all over the streets and knowing that it ends up the oceans increasing global temperatures and acidification. Examining our own trash can be a bitter pill to swallow when you aren't accustomed to examining your crap. I also delivered a 2-page letter to the owners and partners of One Rock Capital Partners, the $6B company that owns Poland Spring,  full of love and invitation to step up to be the global leaders we need them to be.

PLEASE get inspired to make your own giant leaps in going green! It's safe to learn! It's safe to try something else out and risk being liked by others for love! The love of self, others,  and the love of this BEAUTIFUL and FASCINATING planet that we get to call home! Enjoy!

Show Notes:
 The Power We Hold Podcast IG, website
Vanessa Albury IG, website
Coral Projects IG, website + Make a tax-deductible donation
Caleb Williams IG, website

Music Clear Skys by Wael Elhalaby IG, Soundcloud
Audio Editing by Bryan Klausing Rain Junkies website, LinkedIn

Coral Projects in Italy + Hyperallergic

 Allegorie, food-waste plant-leather company with gorgeous accessories

Thank you for joining me, your host and eco-visual artist Vanessa Albury, on my journey to becoming a better ally to people of all diversities (bipoc, LGBTQAI2S+, non-normative brained and embodied +) and steward of the environment in podcast form as The Power We Hold! This is part of Coral Projects' work in eco-consciousness healing. My co-host, Caleb Williams, is also an artist. She is 21 years my junior and makes art about her experience as a Black woman in America. We have in-depth conversation together and with others about difficult topics full of love and healing.

Trigger warning: It's about healing from sexual trauma. We do not go into details, but please decide if this is for you.

Episode 8 is a very powerful conversation between Caleb and I about healing from sexual assault. We feel this is an important topic to share. We both hit triggers and blocks to move through in order to get it out there. Sharing growth from trauma is one of the final signs of healing through it. There is no dodging the trauma in healing. There are acceptance, responsibility for the self and choices all the way.

I open with context around how I see healing and the contemporary moment we are all in together around women’s bodies. I share my masterclass Get the Love You Deserve which is my 4 steps of healing to moving out of jobs and relationships that did not serve me into living the life of my dreams, truly BEYOND my dreams.

I hope our conversation supports you. Please share it with 3 other people, and at least 1 cis-gendered man. We all need to be in this conversation. We need healing around sexual assault as a community. Let’s keep talking about how we heal!

Thank you for your participation in this powerful conversation.

Originally recorded July 12, 2022 in Brooklyn, NY.

 Show Notes:
The Power We Hold Podcast IG, website
Vanessa Albury IG, website
Coral Projects IG, website + Make a tax-deductible donation
Caleb Williams IG, website

Music Clear Skys by Wael Elhalaby IG, Soundcloud
Audio Editing by Bryan Klausing Rain Junkies website, LinkedIn

Coral Projects in Italy + Hyperallergic

Caroline Myss

Karpman's Drama Triangle

Master Sri Akarshana

Get the Love You Deserve Masterclass

Phoenix Rising       

The U.S. Department of Justice reports that: 73% of sexual assaults are perpetrated by a non-stranger. 28% by an intimate partner. 7% by a relative of the victim.

Agnes Vivarelli

To Be Magnetic

Fight, flight, fawn and FREEZE

Hotline for sexual assault 800-656-HOPE (4673) + Link has chat line too 

Thank you for joining me, your host and visual artist Vanessa Albury, on my journey to becoming a better ally to people of all diversities (bipoc, LGBTQAI2S+, non-normative brained and embodied especially) and steward of the environment in podcast form as The Power We Hold! My co-host is Caleb Williams who is the painter that I collaborate with on Between the Windows. She is 21 years my junior and makes art about her experience as a Black woman in America. We have in-depth conversation about difficult topics full of love and healing.

In episode 7, we reair part II of the conversation Trevor Bayack and Vanessa Albury had with Heather McGhee about her essential-reading book The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, covering how racism hurts the privileged class. Heather McGhee is a writer, an activist and a regular guest on all the political shows such as CNN, Tedx, MSNBC, C-Span, Face the Nation among countless others. Heather throws the door wide open for  new aware of the subversive problem of a meager benefit that maintains racist stratification and a new way to approach healing it.

I open the episode with some thoughts around my progress and the growth I see on my horizons. I hope this perspective supports you. 

Originally recorded March 19, 2021 in Brooklyn, NY and aired on April 6, 2021.

Show Notes:
The Power We Hold Podcast IG, website

If you enjoy The Power We Hold podcast, please consider supporting us in covering the costs to create it on Patreon via Coral Projects.

Host Vanessa Albury IG, website
Co-host Caleb Williams IG, website (She's got great swag for sale!)

Coral Projects IG, website, creating underwater, eco-contemporary art to re-wild the ocean with oysters and corals.
Make a tax-deductible donation to Coral Projects and NY Oyster Reefs

Between the Windows IG, public art collaboration with Caleb

Music by Wael Elhalaby IG, Soundcloud
This is a clip from his song Clear Skys.

Audio Editor, and my cousin, making magic from my home recordings, Bryan Klausing of the Rain Junkies website, LinkedIn


Trevor's details:
Freedom Market, freedommarketnbk IG - Shop products made by BIPOC-owned businesses, many are eco-friendly. And you'll find Caleb's t-shirts with her brand Urban Jungle now on the FM!

Special thanks to Jason Todd of Mike's Bikes for the original audio engineering.

Heather McGhee's details:
Her book The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
Do buy it from your local bookstore, bipoc owned if have one in your city.  My favorite NYC bipoc-owned bookstore is also feminist, called Cafe Con Libros does ship!
Her website with appearance and talks linked.

Thank you for joining me, your host and visual artist Vanessa Albury, on my journey to becoming a better ally to people of all diversities (bipoc, LGBTQAI2S+, non-normative brained and embodied especially) and steward of the environment in podcast form as The Power We Hold! My co-host is Caleb Williams who is the painter that I collaborate with on Between the Windows. She is 21 years my junior and makes art about her experience as a Black woman in America. We have in-depth conversation about difficult topics full of love and healing.

In episode 6, we reair the conversation Trevor Bayack and Vanessa Albury had with Heather McGhee about her groundbreaking book The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, covering how racism hurts the privileged class. Heather McGhee is a writer, an activist and a regular guest on all the political shows such as CNN, Tedx, MSNBC, C-Span, Face the Nation among countless others . When Trevor and I read Heather's book, we were both mind-blown.  We became aware of a subversive problem little discussed about racism and a new way to approach defeating it. A meager foot up is not worthy of holding EVERYONE back, right?! Heather McGhee's language is reminiscent of Joan Didion and her research opens the door to a new age of social change.  As Ibram X. Kendi said, "This Is The Book I’ve Been Waiting For.” The Sum of Us is a must read for every American!

Originally recorded March 19, 2021 in Brooklyn, NY and aired on March 28, 2021.

Show Notes:
The Power We Hold Podcast IG, website

If you enjoy The Power We Hold podcast, please consider supporting us in covering the costs to create it on Patreon via Coral Projects.

Host Vanessa Albury IG, website
Co-host Caleb Williams IG, website (She's got great swag for sale!)

Coral Projects IG, website, creating underwater, eco-contemporary art to re-wild the ocean with oysters and corals.
Make a tax-deductible donation to Coral Projects and NY Oyster Reefs

Between the Windows IG, public art collaboration with Caleb

Music by Wael Elhalaby IG, Soundcloud
This is a clip from his song Clear Skys.

Audio Editor, and my cousin, making magic from my home recordings, Bryan Klausing of the Rain Junkies website, LinkedIn


Trevor's details:
Freedom Market, freedommarketnbk IG - Shop products made by BIPOC-owned businesses, many are eco-friendly. And you'll find Caleb's t-shirts with her brand Urban Jungle now on the FM!

Heather McGhee's details:
Her book The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
Do buy it from your local bookstore, bipoc owned if have one in your city.  My favorite NYC bipoc-owned bookstore is also feminist, called Cafe Con Libros does ship!
Her website with appearance and talks linked

Thank you for joining me, your host and visual artist Vanessa Albury, on my journey to becoming a better ally to people and steward of the environment in podcast form as The Power We Hold!

In episode 5, releasing on Juneteenth, we, my co-cost Caleb Williams and I,  pick back up on the conversation in episode 4 with Trevor Bayack of Freedom Market on economic justice,  conflict resolution,BIPOC products, the radical to moderate spectrum of activism and the mix of being an artist and an entrepreneur. Enjoy our conversation with the hardest working activist in North Brooklyn, Trevor Bayack.

A note: in my intro I talk about timeframes but you'll want to subtract 2 weeks from now for them due to a delay with some emergency family issues.

Next we will re-air part I of the interview Trevor and I hosted with Heather McGhee.

Originally recorded Jan 6, 2022 in Brooklyn, NY


Show Notes:
The Power We Hold Podcast IG, website

If you enjoy The Power We Hold podcast, please consider supporting us in covering the costs to create it on Patreon via Coral Projects.

Host Vanessa Albury IG, website
Co-host Caleb Williams IG, website (She's got great swag for sale!)

Coral Projects IG, website, creating underwater, eco-contemporary art to re-wild the ocean with oysters and corals.
Make a tax-deductible donation to Coral Projects and NY Oyster Reefs

Between the Windows IG, public art collaboration with Caleb

Music by Wael Elhalaby IG, Soundcloud
This is a clip from his song Clear Skys.

Audio Editor, and my cousin, making magic from my home recordings, Bryan Klausing of the Rain Junkies website, LinkedIn


Trevor's details:
Freedom Market, freedommarketnbk IG - Shop products made by BIPOC-owned businesses, many are eco-friendly. And you'll find Caleb's t-shirts with her brand Urban Jungle now on the FM!

Recommendations:
The video Trevor recorded of the police confronting protestors who did not engage with them in a strong showing of discipline in McCarren Park is here.

Ta-Nehisi Coates' beautiful and heart-opening book Between the World and Me is linked here. I cannot recommend it to you highly enough.

Trevor mentions the activist group Act Up linked here for more info.

Franklin Furnace led by artist  Martha Wilson funds performance art and has supported incredibly innovative artists for over 4 decades.

Trevor also mentions the architect Ada so here's a link to her firm Lot-ek and the Free Store Project offering a space for communities to exchange goods for free across NYC.

Heather McGhee's power book The Sum of Us pinpointing precisely ho

Thank you for joining me, your host and visual artist Vanessa Albury, on my journey to becoming a better ally to people and steward of the environment in podcast form as The Power We Hold!

In episode 4, my brilliant co-host Caleb Williams and I welcome Trevor Bayack of Freedom Market to talk about economic justice, creating an activated space for all to join in collaboration, Between the Windows, and how we can affect change on the grassroots level. This is the first half of our conversation. Trevor gives us the scoop on his current thoughts around Freedom Market after a little over a year of working on the project. Enjoy our conversation with the hardest working activist in North Brooklyn, Trevor Bayack.

Next week we will share the second half of our chat with Trevor. Then for the following  two episodes, we will re-air the interview Trevor and I hosted with Heather McGhee.

Originally recorded Jan 6, 2022 in Brooklyn, NY


Show Notes:
The Power We Hold Podcast IG, website

If you enjoy The Power We Hold podcast, please consider supporting us in covering the costs to create it on Patreon via Coral Projects.

Host Vanessa Albury IG, website
Co-host Caleb Williams IG, website (She's got great swag for sale!)

Coral Projects IG, website, creating underwater, eco-contemporary art to rewild the ocean with oysters and corals.
Make a tax-deductible donation to Coral Projects and NY Oyster Reefs

Between the Windows IG, public art collaboration with Caleb

Music by Wael Elhalaby IG, Soundcloud
This is a clip from his song Clear Skys.

Audio Editor, and my cousin, making magic from my home recordings, Bryan Klausing of the Rain Junkies website, LinkedIn


Trevor's details:
Freedom Market, freedommarketnbk IG - Shop products made by BIPOC-owned businesses, many are eco-friendly. And you'll find Caleb's t-shirts with her brand Urban Jungle now on the FM!

North Brooklyn Bedford Slip petition - Support the protection of the Bedford Slip in North Brooklyn. Signatures still being collected!

Recommendations:
Judas and the Black Messiah movie

Black Panther Party leader and activist Fred Hampton's biographical information

Trevor also mentions the North Brooklyn Mutual Aid which is a group of neighbors supporting the Greenpoint and North Williamsburg community, here their IG, website.

Heather McGhee's power book The Sum of Us pinpointing precisely how racism not only harms our black and brown communities but also our white ones.

Thank you for joining me, your host and visual artist Vanessa Albury, on my journey as a better ally to people and steward of the environment in podcast form as The Power We Hold!

In episode 3 I review the shifts I've made in my life thanks to a new perspective due to the pandemic lockdown. I ask you to also consider, how has your life changed since the pandemic began? How are you supporting local, eco and BIPOC businesses? How are you supporting yourself?

Originally recorded Nov 16, 2021 in Brooklyn, NY

Show Notes:
The Power We Hold Podcast IG, website

If you enjoy The Power We Hold podcast, please consider supporting us in covering the costs to create it on Patreon via Coral Projects.

Host Vanessa Albury IG, website
Co-host Caleb Williams IG, website (She's got great swag for sale!)

Coral Projects IG, website, creating underwater, eco-contemporary art to rewild the ocean with oysters and corals.
Make a tax-deductible donation to Coral Projects and NY Oyster Reefs

Between the Windows IG, public art collaboration with Caleb

Music by Wael Elhalaby IG, Soundcloud
This is a clip from his song Clear Skys.

Audio Editor, and my cousin, making magic from my home recordings, Bryan Klausing of the Rain Junkies website, LinkedIn

Recommendations:
Free Store Project, IG - This project is NYC-based and they have a map of locations on their website linked here. Create one where you live!

Kylin O'Brien's Feng Shui Consultant Work - It’s not healthy to have more than you need and she can help you make it all beauty and balanced.

Learn more about Alexandra Hammond's Boa's Repair Shop.

As you clear your space consider these options like a checklist before the trash bin:
Donate
Sell
Recycle 
Repair 

Do you want to align your purchases with your ethic to live eco-friendly and support BIPOC and local businesses? I do eco-assessments for households and businesses. I review your household habits and recommend new strategies and products to align your behavior and where you spend your money with your ethic. Email me.

An easy and "feel good" gateway to aligning your ethics and your spending, redirecting your purchases to businesses that create sustainably and responsibly and you'll be supporting Black-owned businesses. It's toilet paper!

Lor tush is a small business selling bamboo toilet paper out of Baltimore run by two Black biological sisters. My highest recommendation as they are a small business.

Reel sells bamboo toilet paper and paper towels. It is a Black-owned company. They ship directly to you. The prices are comparable to those tree wasting TP to which you are accustomed. They are also available at some Target stores. 

Thank you for joining me, your host and visual artist Vanessa Albury, on my journey as a better ally to people and steward of the environment in podcast form as The Power We Hold!

In episode 2 I share an experience I had with another creative on a residency where my food scarcity and emotional baggage around that collies with a trans person's journey with racism and colonialism. Caleb Williams and I discuss how to navigate self-examination, Call In vs Call Out Culture, knowing oneself and sensitivity to the trauma from repeated and continuous confrontations experienced by our LGBTQAI+, BIPOC and non-normative brained and bodied  friends, family and strangers. I hope it provides you with food for thought in your interactions with others when there's more to their story than may meet the eye.

Originally recorded Oct 23, 2021 in Brooklyn, NY

Show Notes:
The Power We Hold Podcast IG, website

If you enjoy The Power We Hold podcast, please consider supporting us in covering the costs to create it on Patreon via Coral Projects.

Host Vanessa Albury IG, website
Co-host Caleb Williams IG, website (She's got great swag for sale!)

Coral Projects IG, website, creating underwater, eco-contemporary art to rewild the ocean with oysters and corals.
Make a tax-deductible donation to Coral Projects and NY Oyster Reefs

Between the Windows IG, public art collaboration with Caleb

Music by Wael Elhalaby IG, Soundcloud
This is a clip from his song Clear Skys.

Audio Editor, and my cousin, making magic from my home recordings, Bryan Klausing of the Rain Junkies website, LinkedIn

Recommended Reading/ Watching:
15 Minutes of Shame is available on HBO Max from Executive Producer Monica Lewinsky

Loretta J. Ross, Professor and Activist since 1978

Thank you for joining me, your host and visual artist Vanessa Albury, on my journey as a better ally to people and steward of the environment in podcast form as The Power We Hold!

In our first episode of The Power We Hold, Caleb Williams and I chat about our intentions for this podcast adventure together.  create this podcast as a companion tool for your journey and to spark hope and more in-depth conversations between people from all backgrounds, lighting a way for hope and action towards a better way. We discuss Caleb's work, how we met, the power of art and some aspects of the issues around facing race as a person in a privileged class. I'm honored to share my journey with you and Caleb's companionship along the way.

Correction, the Combahee River Collective began gathering in 1974. Follow the link at the bottom of the show notes for a PDF of their statement.

Originally recorded March 4, 2021 in Brooklyn, NY

Show Notes:
The Power We Hold Podcast IG, website

If you enjoy The Power We Hold podcast, please consider supporting us in covering the costs to create it on Patreon via Coral Projects.

Host Vanessa Albury IG, website
Co-host Caleb Williams IG, website (She's got great swag for sale!)

Coral Projects IG, website, creating underwater, eco-contemporary art to rewild the ocean with oysters and corals.
Make a tax-deductible donation to Coral Projects and NY Oyster Reefs

Between the Windows IG, public art collaboration with Caleb

Music by Wael Elhalaby IG, Soundcloud
This is a clip from his song Clear Skys.

Audio Editor, and my cousin, making magic from my home recordings, Bryan Klausing of the Rain Junkies website, LinkedIn

Recommended Reading/ Watching:
Some powerful female unity reading, The Combahee River Collective:
View a PDF of the statement from Yale University's archive

I do not have the video artist's name yet that Caleb saw at the New Museum.  Hopefully we can sort that out soon!

Thank you for joining me, your host and visual artist Vanessa Albury, on my journey as a better ally to people and steward of the environment in podcast form as The Power We Hold!

In the Prologue, I explain what has brought me to this podcast including a brief description of Coral Projects and my collaboration with my co-host Caleb Williams with Between the Windows: Perseverance.

The intro music is provided generously by Wael Elhalaby. It is an excerpt of his song Clear Skys. Check him out on Soundcloud linked below.

Show Notes:
The Power We Hold Podcast IG, website
If you enjoy The Power We Hold podcast, please consider supporting us in covering the costs to create it on Patreon via Coral Projects.

Host Vanessa Albury IG, website
Co-host Caleb Williams IG, website (She's got great swag for sale!)

Coral Projects IG, website, creating underwater, eco-contemporary art to rewild the ocean with oysters and corals.
Make a tax-deductible donation to Coral Projects and NY Oyster Reefs

Between the Windows IG, public art collaboration with Caleb

Music by Wael Elhalaby IG, Soundcloud
Audio Editor, and my cousin, making magic from my home recordings, Bryan Klausing of the Rain Junkies website, LinkedIn

Recommended Reading/ Watching:
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
Brené Brown: The Call to Action, a Netflix Special