Hi, I’m Jessica. 👋🏾 I am an artist, organizer, dharma practitioner, community gardener, daughter of Kenyan immigrants, living and breathing in Brooklyn, NY. I’ve spent the last ten years studying and teaching dharma, the last five years training organizers in political campaigns, the last three years supporting a community garden in Bed-Stuy and through this all, somehow, finding time to develop my art practice, which uses writing, photography, and dharma to explore the effects of specific places, environments, and objects on personal and collective awakening.
Currently: I am a member of the 2025 - 2027 Community Dharma Leader cohort at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, a 2025 Bandung Resident with the Asian American Arts Alliance and The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, and a 2025 - 2026 New City Critics Fellow with Urban Omnibus c/o The Architectural League of New York and Urban Design Forum.
SLOWLY, SLOWLY is a monthly newsletter exploring dharma, deep ecology, and awakening consciousness. It takes its name from the Swahili pole pole (pronounced “po-lay, po-lay”). It translates to “slowly, slowly” or “little by little” or, most colloquially, “take it easy,” which is how I endeavour to move through the world (to varying success).
Here you’ll find writings about Dharma, ephemerality, personal archives, technicality, vulnerability, intimacy, deep vulnerability, ecological wisdom, indigeneity, awakening consciousness, intangibility, writing, printing, placemaking, self-making, objects and talismans, altars, migration, immigration, displacement, home, chanting, devotion, etc.
This list is intentionally broad, and despite its length, I think you’ll find a common thread woven throughout SLOWLY, SLOWLY.
Subscribe to:
hear all of my ‘lil dharma thoughts
hear updates on my projects
collectively process a feeling and / or moment
to close the distance between you and me.
My hope is that reading this newsletter will prompt your reflections, (maybe, sometimes) hold a mirror to your experience, or create a connection of some sort (physical, temporal, spatial, etc.).
SLOWLY, SLOWLY is a free newsletter: all posts, for everyone, always. Should that ever change, I will endeavor to ensure that there are accessible payment options so that no one is turned away for lack of funds. If you would like to support this work, in the spirit of generosity, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. In exchange, you’ll receive:
Occasional zines and printed ephemera
Occasional online programming and live classes
Right now, when you become a paid subscriber at the $10/month or $50/year level, you’ll receive a copy of my art book, THE MANY FACES OF THE BUDDHA. You can read more about the book here (scroll down in the post!).
You can also support my work by sharing SLOWLY, SLOWLY on social media or forwarding it to a friend. My forever gratitude for your support. It truly is a gift to be in community with you.
That’s all folx! Thank you for being here, and thank you for allowing me to land in your inbox. 🌱
xo Jessica
