HAUS OF DUST to Launch In June

HAUS OF DUST is a multi-layered outreach campaign that exists to elevate Queer Latinx communities struggling with substance abuse by connecting community members with support, treatment, and educational resources. The campaign works at the intersection of HIV prevention efforts, substance abuse awareness, and creative placemaking.

Conceived by artist/activist Gabriel G. Torres, the multi-layered and genre-spanning project includes multidisciplinary artists, addiction and recovery specialists, local arts institutions, community advocacy centers, and tech entrepreneurs. It is supported by The Laundromat Project and The Stonewall Community Foundation.

Two community inclusive arts events launch the project in June, just in time for Gay Pride, moving towards the world premiere of Torres's production HAUS OF DUST on June 17. The project culminates in an early 2022 launch of an online gaming platform designed for Queer Latinx youth.

"Racism, xenophobia, homophobia, internalized stigma, these are all reasons that LGBTQ+ members of the Latinx community become addicted to drugs, with chemsex driving a renewed HIV epidemic. The lack of resources in the community - from access to medical care to financial insecurity - exacerbated by the shame surrounding sexuality and drug addiction provide barriers to treatment," explains the multi-hyphenate theater artist Gabriel Torres. "The purpose of HAUS OF DUST is to galvanize community support, dismantle these barriers to treatment, and focus on the enhancing health and wellbeing of the Latinx queer community."

The HAUS OF DUST events include:

June 5 - 6

Harmony Building Workshop
Location: Virtual and at the Loisaida Center (710 E 9th Street, between Avenues C & D)

This workshop, facilitated by artist Vanessa Rappa, takes an affirmation and tonal-meditation-inspired approach to harmony and breathwork. The workshop is open to all, however, we are especially interested in working with Queer Latinx people who have utilized substances in the past. Throughout the five sessions, Rappa will encourage participants to focus on utilizing breath and presence to foster harmony-building with the self and with others, thus creating an inclusive space for creative expression and inspiration. Footage and recordings from this workshop will be used in the production of HAUS OF DUST.

The workshop is limited to four participants. Sessions will be one-on-one and virtual with the exception of the final session, which will be an in-person socially distanced event.

June 7 - June 10

Creativity and Collaboration Through Shrines, a creative workshop presented by The LGBT Center and Haus of Dust
Location: The Loisaida Center (710 E 9th Street, between Avenues C & D)

Creativity and Collaboration Through Shrines explores the core project themes of spirituality and healing through a shrine-making workshop in collaboration with The LGBT Center. Facilitated by artist Julia Justo, participants will help create life-size shrines for each character from the play. In creating the shrines the same size as the actors themselves, the final product aims to engage the characters' presence beyond their physical role in the project. The shrines will be presented as part of a small exhibit about the making of Haus of Dust. This workshop will directly involve the community in creative placemaking, collaboration, and perhaps, an act of healing. All artists are welcome.

Participants will be divided into two groups of five, with the first group coming in for a session from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM, and the second group coming in for a session from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM.

June 17 - July 25

HAUS OF DUST, written and directed by Gabriel Torres (world premiere)
Location: Teatro Círculo (64 E 4th St, between Bowery and Second Avenue)

HAUS OF DUST is a multi-sensory, immersive, and socially distant experience exploring drug addiction, trauma, and perseverance through a personal Queer-Latinx lens. The show follows a series of ghosts sharing their stories at an open mic in The Abysm, a bar between the living and the dead.

Releases First Quarter 2022
HAUS OF DUST, the Online Gaming Platform

Utilizing both data and personal stories, Haus of Dust, the online gaming platform developed for Queer Latinx youth, engages participants in a series of cognitive games designed to destigmatize conversations around substance use in the community and serve as a cognitive interaction to provide anxiety relief and stress relief. Created by Gabriel Torres in collaboration with Josh Friedman (Columbia University Ph.D. candidate in cognitive science and education); Raghav Bashyal (Unity game designer/developer/producer); and illustrator Juan Daniel.