upcoming grant deadline: 05/15/2024
Chaska, also known as dj precolumbian, seeks to expand the cultural position of the DJ—not just playing records and throwing parties—but using the dance floor as a tool for community building and transcending borders. Through her work she re-contextualizes popular culture through an anti-oppression lens to create spaces for collective healing through movement and sound. For more than five years she has spun a mixture of tropical bass, future cumbia, ballroom beats, homo hop, and remixed pop music at house parties, clubs across the country, and produced her own dance parties. Chaska has also broadcast a long-running show on WPEB 88.1 called Radio Estregeno, put out mixtapes, and facilitated art education for youth and adults fusing DJ technique with political analysis to help usher in a new generation of conscious DJs. As a cultural producer, Chaska aims to create spaces that are safe for womyn, queer, trans folks, and “other self-defined weirdos” to celebrate their bodies and genders without the fear of harassment.