Hi Friend 👋🏾

How are you doing this winter? I personally needed to take a wellness day this week because the hustle and bustle of juggling a full-time job, SpaceCraft, and personal artistry was taking a toll.

So, I did what any anxious creative does…I chatted with close friends and took a step back from the pressures to perform and played. I spent my Thursday night laughing with artists, brainstorming ways to avoid the cognitive dissonance of social media, and wrote this newsletter. All from a place of desire and connection, rather than a place of expectation.

If you are feeling similar, I encourage you to lean into rest, whether that’s creative, spiritual, or regenerative naps. Winter is meant to be a seasonal of hibernation, and progress is made when you allow yourself the space to let go.

Best,

✨ Jaleria Rivera, Founder

🗞️ News ↓

🧹 Volunteers Welcomed to SpaceCraft Cleaning Day 🧹

SpaceCraft is hosting our first time barter volunteer opportunity! This Sunday (2/16) from 9am to 1pm, we’re hosting a cleaning day. This is a low-stakes, cleaning session where we plan to clean the space, upgrade our security system, and elevate our storage to make room for a retail shop—woohoo!

If you feel inspired to meet some of the folks in the co-op and support us in cleaning the space, we’re more than happy to exchange free passes to SpaceCraft events as a toke of appreciation. Go ahead and email me, Jaleria, if you plan to attend. We plan to host a monthly volunteer opportunity to make space for anyone, who prefers to contribute time to supporting the space without having to purchase a member. Hope to see you in the space soon!

🎉 Happenings ↓

View the calendar below to learn more about events, classes, and shows happening at SpaceCraft. Feel free to subscribe to our calendar because it’s ever-evolving as we add more programming.

HAUS OF DESIRE 🔥 Fri, 2/14 🔥 8P-12A 🔥 18+ 🔥 $20 Door

Fundraiser EDM Boiler Room Party

Join us on Valentine’s Day for EDM and vibes as we transform Spacecraft into Haus of Desire—a boiler room style nightclub, with entrancing visual light shows and immersive art experiences.

With a large part of our philosophy and mission centered around community, authentic experience, connection, and presence, we are super excited to host an event focused on these very values––bound by MUSIC, DANCE, and having a good fucking time with people, rather than tethered to our phones.

We believe that the IRL experience holds much more value than the digital. Bring your polaroids and film for an intimate presence. Move your body, laugh with friends, and feel the music move through your bones.

DJ DROPWISE X RIGG

Come at 8 PM for RIGG’s abstract grooves and the techno beat drop at 9 PM for DJ Dropwise. $15 pre-order l $20 at the door | Dress code: Go crazy | BYOB.

All proceeds support independent media and contribute to the first print edition of Hellmouth Magazine, a nonprofit arts and culture publication.

Artists Playground 🎨 Every Tuesday 🎨 6P - 9P 🎨 $15

You’re dismissed! Enjoy an open art-making session with other Artists in your neighborhood. ​Take a break from the stresses of daily life and get back to the child-like wonders of being an Artist. ​You’re welcome to do whatever your creative mind desires, whether that’s to rest, craft, tinker, make, or shake!

Figure Drawing ✏️ Every Wednesday ✏️ 6P-8P ✏️ $15 Door

Our open figure drawing sessions provide a dedicated space for artists of all levels to practice and refine their skills. Every Wednesday from 6-8 PM, we host undraped model sessions that offer a range of poses, from quick gestures to up to 20 minute poses. Our goal is to maintain an approachable atmosphere for new artists practicing, as well as a high quality set.

supernova comedy & smut night 💘 Feb. 22 💘 6:30P 💘 $15

​Join us for a delightful evening of standup comedy and live smut readings featuring Savannah Wolfgram, Rowan Young, Joel Palilla and headliner Brandi Augustus! This show will also feature a live smut annotation by Maddie Collins.

​Tickets are $15 at the door, please feel free to byob! 20% for SpaceCraft members 😄 

📣 Co-op corner↓

Message from Jared with Hellmouth Magazine

Have you heard about the latest grassroots magazine hitting the streets of Knoxville? Hellmouth Magazine is a non-profit dedicated to publishing quality cultural commentary, literature, personal essays, and art.

They are deeply focused on fostering a meaningful dialogue between multiple spheres of influence, encouraging cultural exchange through engaging and provocative compositions. They plan to release their first print edition in March 2025. Go check them out!

🖼️ Throwbacks ↓

🌹 Story Time: Teaching My First Belly Dance Class 🌹

Last Wednesday, I taught my first belly dance class of 2025—eee! This was an important evolution for my artistry because I deeply missed dancing in communion with other belly dancers. It's a delight to be immersed and praised by likeminded people, who share a similar affection for movement.

I was up until 2am the night before geeking with excitement and preparing for the class. It's essential for me to steward the cultural legacy of belly dance alongside the movement, and I felt called to curate a zine documenting the historical roots of belly dance.

In our first lesson, I reviewed the historical zine created and introduced an an essential soft skill called Shadowing. This is used widely in all styles of belly dance and is a wonderful skill to learn, if you're interested in dancing with others in your community. In shadowing, there is a leader and a follower(s). The role of the leader (or the person in front) is to go at a tempo and use movements that familiar to the group. The role of the follower (or the person(s) behind) is to pay attention to the leader, while expressing a personal flow. You're welcome to "turn the wheel" and change the leader, by rotating to a different direction. The person, who no longer has someone in front of them is now the leader.

If you feel called to play, I encourage you to share this concept when you're out with friends or dancing in the city with your partner. It's a gentle game that opens you to new movements, intimate flow, and joyful spontaneity.

After playing with this concept of Shadowing, students and I closed the class with a Hafla (an arabic word for party or social gathering), where we each took turns entering a circle and praising the dancer in the center. It was magical to witness each student's personal express be on full display. Our laughter echoed throughout the space, and we all felt inspired to tackle the day with this newfound expression. I look forward to continuing this journey of sharing my passion for belly dance and inspiring others to steward a culture that is deeply rooted in women's resilience and strength.

You're welcome to view the class resources shared below, if you're curious to learn more about the origin story of belly dance or simply get your groove on.

🎨 Ways to support ↓

SpaceCraft is open to all mediums, no matter if you craft, make, design, tinker, or shake! Our intention is to become a beacon for all artists seeking a space to make art uninhibited.

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• • Exclusive, free entry to SpaceCraft gatherings
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