WhiteBox presents a panel discussion in collaboration with and hosted by
First Spanish United Methodist Church of East Harlem
Exhibition supported in Part By The New York City Department Of Cultural Affairs
Co-sponsored by
2B&2C: The Ken Cro-Ken Memorial Foundation
and Blueprint For Accountability
Moderator
Raul Zamudio | curator, art critic, educator
Panelists
Stacey Rubin | nurse, Mount Sinai Opioid Division
Giorgio Handman | artist and social worker, Mount Sinai Opioid Division
Raymond Perez Sr | The People’s Church
Noritoshi Hirakawa | artist-activist and filmmaker
& Special Guests
Special performances designed for the occasion:
Jorge Quevedo | Guitar, New Composition: “Perfect Day”
Matt Sullivan | Oboe, “A Graceful Maze (Amazing Grace)”
Chin Chih Yang | Performance Art
Since the dawn of history, entheogens were thought as sacraments by shamans. Today, medical research into the synthetic equivalent of hallucinogenic flora and fauna has produced possibilities in treating psychological disorders through micro-dosing. At the same time, pain-relieving drugs used during surgery and in postoperative rehabilitation have been abused creating large-scale addiction and fatal overdoses, leading to lawsuits against the main producer of opioids: Purdue Pharma.
This panel discussion, presented in conjunction with the exhibition, PERFECT DAY: Drugs & Art, opens up a dialogue and debate around the show’s theme: the use and abuse of drugs, with emphasis on opioids and the destructive force in NYC minority communities.