RATS, PIGEONS & COCKROCHESWhat is New York City without its beloved–and reviled–creatures? In this course, we attend to the lives of rats, pigeons, and cockroaches, inviting participants to reconsider their relationship with NYC’s wildlife through embodied attention practices of disgust, emulation, and fascination.
Participants will attune to the secret lives of NYC creatures through full-body experiences, field observations, and discussions of readings. Each session focuses on the cultural history and ecological role of different vermin: rats, pigeons, cockroaches, culminating in co-created rituals for our urban neighbors. THIS CLASS IS AVAILABLE IN PERSON
AT ABRONS ARTS CENTER: 466 Grand Street, NY, NY THURSDAYS 6-8 PM OCTOBER 16 - November 6 , 2025 4 sessions + culminating share out on Wednesday, Nov 12th Sliding scale tuition: $45, $120, $220, or $320 + $30 non-refundable registration fee |
INSTRUCTORSHi! We’re Olivia & Kyle, from the Chimeras Collective. Chimeras Collective builds community and orchestrates interspecies gatherings: immersive events and classes designed to explore what human-nonhuman relations are and could be. They prioritize the fascinating, the disgusting, the whimsical. Our chimeric spaces ask: Can science be embodied? Can wonder be a practice? Can creatures be collaborators?
Image credit: Theater artist Jonothon Lyons performing as Buddy the Rat in the New York City subway (photo courtesy of Jonothon Lyons) IG: @jonothonlyons
|
|
This program is supported through a Cultural Development Fund grant from the New York Department of Cultural Affairs.
|
|
Our classes are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.