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Social Practice CUNY Teaching Scholar-in-Residence Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles Morel Atrib joins host Catherine LaSota for a conversation about the South Bronx, cats, definitions of home, ecosexuality, and more. Tune in and be inspired by Nicolás's description of his writing office, The Shrine, plus his deep love for water and his connection to the Bronx River.
This is our last episode before a brief hiatus in season two, while Catherine focuses on other projects at SPCUNY, including a book of conversations (Practicing in Public) to be published by OR Books in February 2027. We will be back with more Part of the Practice episodes soon!
A couple of corrections on things mentioned in this conversation:
Dumit is actually Nicolás's middle name (not his last name), and the Ecosex Symposium in the UK was in 2013.
About our guest:
Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles Morel Atrib treads an elusive path that manifests itself through creative experiences that he helps unfold within the quotidian. He has exhibited or performed at Madrid Abierto/ARCO, The IX Havana Biennial, PERFORMA 05/07/21, IDENSITAT, Prague Quadrennial, Pontevedra Biennial, Queens Museum, MoMA, Printed Matter, P.S. 122, Sculpture Center, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance BAAD!, Hemispheric Institute of Performance Art and Politics, City as Living Laboratory, Princeton University, Anthology Film Archives, El Museo del Barrio, Center for Book Arts, Longwood Art Gallery/BCA, The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Franklin Furnace and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Nicolás has received mentorship in art in everyday life from Linda Mary Montano, a historic figure in the performance art field. Nicolás holds an M.F.A. from Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, where he studied with Coco Fusco, and an M.A. from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. He was recently a Senior Lecturer and Social Practice Artist in Residence in the Art and Art History Department at The University of Texas at Austin; and a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow. Nicolás is a 2025-26 Teaching Scholar in Residence at Social Practice CUNY (SPCUNY). Born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, he was baptized as a Bronxite in 2011.
Photo of Nicolás is by Donna Hoffman.
More about Nicolás:
website: interiorbeautysalon.com
Instagram: @interiorbeautysalon
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Thank you to our podcast editor Jade Iseri-Ramos, and thank you to Gaius LaSota for our Part of the Practice music.
Part of the Practice logo courtesy of Maliyah Mohamed.
Social Practice CUNY is funded by the Mellon Foundation.