Governors Island Residency Open House
Join Dancers Unlimited every weekend for artist open houses, events and workshops.
Our artists in residence bring together island communities from Pacific and Caribbean Islands that now reside on Turtle Island together to deepen our connections, collaborate creatively and present community programs together. Through collaborations with program partners who have presented robust and thoughtful programs on Governors Island as artists and organizations, as well as our long-time artistic partners in visual, performing and traditional arts.
Our vision for the house is to provide a space for cross-cultural collaboration and community-building through artistic collaboration residencies, dance and music performances, and public workshops featuring traditional cultural practices.
Current Artists In Residence:
Malia Haili Morioka
DB Amorin
Rozette DeCastro
Caroline Garcia
Sarah Hanssen
Claire Unabia
Matthew H. James
Eduardo Joaquin
Linda Kuo
Paula Walters Parker
EVENT SCHEDULE:
Filipino Martial Arts w/ Guro Kristen Cabildo & Caroline Garcia (The Chrysalis Kali Collective)
Sunday 21st June, 1-2:30pm
Join us to explore Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) with The Chrysalis Kali Collective - a group of Filipina/x women and gender-expansive femmes who train in FMA as an empowering mind, body, and spirit practice. This workshop involves learning the basics of Kali, the national Martial Art of the Philippines (also known as Escrima or Arnis). We will use single-stick applications to learn the foundations of the Inosanto system. This will include training in footwork, learning basic strikes, and then advancing to partner drills!
No prior experience is needed. Please wear comfortable clothing and shoes for outdoor training.
Kristen is a Jeet Kune Do (Black Belt) and Filipino Martial Arts instructor at Unlimited Martial Arts Academy in Brooklyn. She has been training in martial arts for over 20 years and is a certified instructor under the legendary Guro Dan Inosanto, Grandmaster of Filipino Martial Arts and notable best friend and training partner of the late Bruce Lee. In addition, Kristen has experience in boxing, muay thai kickboxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and silat. She is also a trauma-informed social worker, personal trainer, and intuitive coach. She believes that our bodies hold our personal and collective histories, but through an intentional mind, body, spirit practice, we can retell our stories based on healing and transformation. Kristen is the founder of The Chrysalis Kali Collective (https://www.chrysaliskali.com/)
Caroline Garcia is a transpacific, interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, New York. She works across performance, moving image, and installation through a hybridized aesthetic of cross-cultural movement, embodied research, and new media. Caroline is a 2025-28 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow: Technology Centered Arts, 2023 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow: Digital/Electronic Arts, 2021 New York Artadia Awardee, 2021-22 Franklin Furnace Fund recipient, and the 2018/19 American Australian Association’s AUSART Fellow. She has presented work at The SHED, Lincoln Center, Apexart, Creative Time Summit X & HQ, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Smack Mellon, and The Vera List Center, among others (all NYC); and internationally at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney Opera House, Manila Biennale, Art Central Hong Kong, Tai Kwun Contemporary, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Galerie Tanja Wagner, and Salzburger Kunstverein, among others. She was in residence at the EMPAC in 2016/17, The Studios at MASS MoCA in 2019, Pioneer Works (Tech) and the Institute for Electronic Arts (Experimental Projects) in 2021, and was awarded the Edwards Charitable Giving Trust Residency at ISCP in 2020 & 2023. She is a former CultureHub Resident and Recess Session artist for 2021-22, LMCC Workspace artist for 2022-23, and was the Louise H. McCagg A.I.R. Fellow for 2024-25. Caroline holds an MFA in Fine Arts from Parsons The New School of Art, Media, and Technology.
PLAN YOUR TRIP
Governors Island is accessible by ferry daily year-round.
From Manhattan: Ferries operated by the Trust for Governors Island run daily from the Battery Maritime Building, located at 10 South Street in Lower Manhattan. Scroll down for schedules and click the green "Purchase tickets" button to purchase tickets.
From Brooklyn: Seasonal ferries operated by the Trust for Governors Island run Saturdays, Sundays, and Holiday Mondays from May 24 to September 14, 2025, from two Brooklyn locations: Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park and Red Hook/Atlantic Basin. Scroll down for schedules and click the green "Purchase tickets" button to purchase tickets.
