WHO WE ARE
CORPUS Family is the intervention apparatus & incubator of the artist-run music platform-label CORPUS. Our agendas are centralized in self-defense, direct action, youth advocacy, collective study and political education. We are motivated by an upkeep of a common struggle and fight for, and by, the people in order to build a conducting hub for strategy and actionable steps against imperialism. We are an arrival zone where the creative message of CORPUS, nurtured by the history of the underbellied subcultures of New York City, can be transmuted into operations for our freedom.
HOW WE’RE STRUCTURED
Living on the occupied land of Turtle Island and under the oppressive and infantilizing operation of Capitalism-Imperialism our structure seeks to disrupt those existing socialist conventions. We employ methods under a non-hierarchical consensus basis, while maintaining the importance of strong and self-determined leadership and organization. Our decision-making mechanisms are built through an intra-organizational leadership committee and its associated limbs per the precision of differentiated engagements. We are continuously developing our own processes to make decisions and amplify marginalized voices in New York City and beyond.
CORPUS Family is raising an urgent call for financial stability and sponsorship in efforts of mature base building and hub-stabilization to effectively carry out duties and initiatives that directly serve our community and members. We are in crucial need for monetary assistance not only to execute our functions, but to maintain our operations hub in Blissville, Queens. Our outpost is integral to our success as an organization and without it many, if not all our operations and initiatives would be subject to failure. With this aid we would have the opportunity to survive, sustain, and develop ourselves in order to support and nurture those who are our members or beneficiaries to our mutual aid, revolutionary study, and search for a determined and liberated future.
WHAT WE DO
CORPUS Family is concerned with fighting back against the corrupt privatization of New York City through people-power initiatives such as the Blissville Winter Coat Drive, CORPUS Self-Defense, CORPUS Family Studio Residency, coalition support for the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Burning World Book Club, the CORPUS Family Mutual Aid Fund, organized actions like “Uprising, A March for Black Women,” and more.
CORPUS FAMILY PROGRAMMING
ARTWORK BY ELIJAH MAURA
BURNING WORLD BOOK CLUB
BURNING WORLD IS A MONTHLY BOOK CLUB BY CORPUS FAMILY AND PLAYGROUND ANNEX.
ARTWORK BY BEELZEBABY
CORPUS FAMILY STUDIO RESIDENCY
THE CORPUS FAMILY STUDIO RESIDENCY IS A SEASONAL, WEEK-LONG PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES LOCAL MUSICIANS WITH 36 HOURS OF FREE RECORDING TIME AND THE USE OF PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT AND ENGINEERS AT CORPUS STUDIO IN BLISSVILLE, QUEENS.
IMAGE BY CHEAPWORK
CORPUS SELF-DEFENSE
CORPUS SELF-DEFENSE IS AN ANNUAL SERIES OF FREE SELF-DEFENSE CLASSES, OPEN TO ALL SKILL LEVELS.
STAY TUNED FOR ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE 2023 SERIES.
CORPUS JAM SESSIONS
CORPUS FAMILY JAM SESSIONS IS A SERIES BASED OFF AN OPEN BASEMENT JAM SESSION DURING THE WEEK-LONG CORPUS DISTRO IN JUNE 2019. THE PURPOSE OF THE SERIES IS TO GIVE LOCAL MUSICIANS ACCESS TO LIVE INSTRUMENTS, PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT, REHEARSAL SPACE, AND THE RESOURCES THEY NEED TO MEET, WORK AND COLLABORATE.
ONGOING ESSENTIALS DRIVES
BLISSVILLE IS ONE OF THE SMALLEST AND MOST UNDERSERVED NEIGHBORHOODS IN QUEENS, WEDGED BETWEEN CALVARY CEMETERY, THE NEW TOWN CREEK, AND THE LONG ISLAND EXPRESSWAY. THOUGH IT IS CENTRALLY LOCATED, IT IS LARGELY OVERLOOKED BY THE REST OF THE CITY. THE COMMUNITY EXISTS IN A 4 X 6 BLOCK RADIUS THAT IS LOCATED BETWEEN NUMEROUS HOMELESS SHELTERS. THESE ONGOING ESSENTIALS DRIVES WILL PROVIDE MONTHLY DROP OFFS OF SUPPLIES TO OUR NEIGHBORS IN BLISSVILLE.
IMAGE BY ROY BAIZAN
CORPUS FAMILY DAY
CORPUS FAMILY DAY IS AN ANNUAL OUTDOOR FREE EVENT HIGHLIGHTING LOCAL MUTUAL AID, COMMUNITY GROUPS AND ORGANIZERS. PAST EVENTS FEATURED NARCAN TRAINING; FREE LEGAL ADVICE AND RESOURCES ON IMMIGRANT RIGHTS, TENANT RIGHTS AND RECORD EXPUNGEMENT; NATURALIZATION FORM PREP; YOGA, DJ CLASSES AND ASTROLOGY LESSONS FOR CHILDREN; CF ESSENTIALS DRIVE DISTRIBUTION; AND TABLING FROM GROUPS LIKE BRING BROOKLYN BLACK, CLUB A, FRIEND OF A FRIEND, MEXICANOS UNIODS, NUEVAYORKINOS, NO FLOWERS FOR YT POWERS, AND MORE.
ARTWORK BY ELIJAH MAURA
CORPUS FAMILY MUTUAL AID FUND
THE CORPUS FAMILY MUTUAL AID FUND (APRIL 2020 - JANUARY 2021) WAS FOR CORPUS ARTISTS AND PEOPLE WORKING IN THE NYC DIY/EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC COMMUNITY WHOSE WORK HAD BEEN AFFECTED BY COVID-19, AS WELL AS BLACK, BROWN AND INDIGENOUS ORGANIZERS.
ART WORK BY NOIAMREISS
UPRISING: A MARCH FOR BLACK WOMEN
A DAY OF DIRECT ACTION LED AND ORGANIZED BY BLACK WOMEN AND FEMMES, TO HOLD SPACE FOR BLACK WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN MURDERED BY STATE SANCTIONED VIOLENCE, WHITE SUPREMACY, AND TRANSPHOBIA; TO CELEBRATE A STORIED HISTORY OF BLACK WOMEN AT THE VANGUARD OF BLACK LIBERATION AND ABOLITIONIST ORGANIZING; AND TO HONOR THE INNUMERABLE BLACK WOMEN WHO ARE CURRENTLY INCARCERATED GLOBALLY.