Independent Arts News Reporting ArtWRKD Announces The Mina Project
Reported on Thursday, January 15, 2026.
Pictured Above: Mina Loy photographed by Stephen Haweis. Photo Credit: Contributed.
NEWSROOM POST: NEWTOWN, PA
A Multimedia Poetry–Film and Performance Initiative Led by Poet-Filmmaker Vasiliki Katsarou
Newtown, PA – ArtWRKD, the Bucks County gallery and performance space dedicated to experimental and interdisciplinary art, announces The Mina Project, a winter–spring 2026 multimedia poetry-film initiative exploring the life and legacy of trailblazing 20th-century artist-poet Mina Loy.
Led by poet, filmmaker, and curator Vasiliki Katsarou, The Mina Project will unfold through a
series of immersive, weekend-long workshops hosted at ArtWRKD, culminating in filmed performance material and a work-in-progress poetry-film installation.
ArtWRKD celebrates innovative approaches to art-making through special projects that foster curation, experimentation, and creative incubation. By breaking down traditional structures and constraints, ArtWRKD creates an environment that nurtures bold ideas, fresh perspectives, and groundbreaking collaborations.
Pictured Above: Book of Poems by Mina Loy. Photo Credit: Contributed.
About The Mina Project Are you seeking to be part of a creative collective and engage deeply with theatre, film, poetry, and costume or set design?
The Mina Project is a collaborative, process-driven exploration of Mina Loy’s radical artistic vision—situated within modernism, feminism, and early techno-futurism—and its resonance today. Through writing, performance, design, and video experimentation, participants will work together to generate original material that reflects Loy’s legacy while speaking to contemporary creative concerns.
Throughout winter and spring 2026, ArtWRKD will host this evolving work-in-progress through a sequence of immersive workshops designed to help participants hone skills, gain hands-on experience, and build creative relationships that may extend into future projects.
Workshop Schedule All workshops take place Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
ArtWRKD, 126 South State Street, Newtown, PA
Workshop #1: Experimental Writing
January 24–25, 2026
Led by Vasiliki Katsarou This poetry- and text-focused workshop functions as a Mina Loy reading group and generative writing lab. Participants will explore Loy’s experimental language and themes through close reading and discussion, culminating in the creation of original poems and other experimental texts.
Required reading (prior to workshop):
Lost Writings by Mina Loy, edited by Karla Kelsey (Yale University Press)
Fee: $275
Workshop #2: Bringing Writing to the Stage
March 7–8, 2026
Led by Vasiliki Katsarou and ArtWRKD founder Ashara Shapiro.
This performance-based workshop focuses on adaptation and foundational performance
techniques. Participants will begin with a read-through of selected writings by Mina Loy
alongside original work developed in Workshop #1. Short scripts will be developed, inspiring
movement exploration and performance experiments.
Fee: $375
Workshop #3: Mask-Work, Set & Costume Design
March 21–22, 2026
Led by Vasiliki Katsarou and Ashara Shapiro.
This workshop delves deeper into performance and choreography while expanding into mask-work, costume, and set design, further shaping the visual and physical language of the project.
Fee: $375
Videography Weekend
May 2–3, 2026
Participants from Workshops 1–3 will be invited to assist in the filming of experimental scenes derived from the writing and performance work. Filming will be directed by Vasiliki Katsarou and captured by Brooklyn-based filmmaker Tommy Gonzalez. Participants who take on crew roles will receive credit in the final film. A rough-cut screening will be presented at ArtWRKD at a later date (TBD). This session marks the transition of the project into its next phase of editing and installation.
Registration & Scholarships
Workshops are open to the public, welcoming emerging and experienced poets, writers, filmmakers, designers, and creatives of all kinds, ages 21+. Participants may register for individual workshops or attend multiple sessions. Participation in all workshops is encouraged but not required.
A limited number of scholarships are available.
For details and registration inquiries: Vasiliki Katsarou cineutopia@gmail.com.
Artist Bios
Mina Loy (1882–1966)
Born in the UK and active across Europe and the United States, Mina Loy was a central yet long-overlooked figure of 20th-century modernism. Her work spanned Dadaism, Futurism, Surrealism, and assemblage using found materials. Loy wrote radical poetry and prose, acted in theater alongside William Carlos Williams, and lived among key figures of the avant-garde. Though her groundbreaking poetry was nearly lost to history, decades of scholarship have restored her to her rightful place in the modernist canon. The Mina Project proposes a contemporary poetry-film that reflects on Loy’s life—and reflects us back to ourselves.
Vasiliki Katsarou
is a poet, filmmaker, curator, and publisher with an MFA in Filmmaking from Boston University and an undergraduate degree in Literature from Harvard College. Her work includes 16mm and award-winning 35mm films, international film production in France and Greece, and multiple poetry collections. She has read at the Dodge Poetry Festival and served as a Geraldine R. Dodge Poet in New Jersey. Katsarou has engaged deeply with Mina Loy’s work for over two decades.
Ashara Shapiro
Ashara Shapiro is a multidisciplinary artist, arts educator, and entrepreneur. A magna cum laude graduate of Emerson College (BFA in Acting and Theatre Education), she brings a strong performance and movement background to the project. She is the founder of ArtWRKD, a dynamic creative space in Newtown, PA featuring exhibitions, artist studios, and workshops, and she also produces wearable art from her ArtWRKD studio.
