The Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) and Processa proudly present The Spring Awakening Festival, a free, one-day celebration of creativity, culture, and community. Saturday, May 10, 2025, (Rain date: May 17, 2025) from 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at Williamsbridge Oval Park, this vibrant afternoon of performances, music, games, and artmaking invites neighbors of all ages to come together in community.
Curated by Bronx-born Dominican American artist and curator Kiara Cristina Ventura, The Spring Awakening Festival honors the dynamic cultural landscape of the Bronx through intentional, intergenerational programming rooted in music, movement, and togetherness.
This year’s lineup features a dynamic mix of live performances and DJ sets that spotlight the breadth and brilliance of Bronx talent.
Live performances by:
- Savannah Hannah – The festival’s opening performer, Savannah is a Bronx-based lyricist whose poetic delivery and powerful bars capture the pulse of her community.
- Maluca – Fusing electronic, Afro-Caribbean, and punk aesthetics, Maluca delivers a genre-bending sound that’s as radical as it is danceable.
- Baby Osama – Representing the next wave of Bronx energy, Baby Osama brings bold charisma and a sound rooted in grit, humor, and hometown pride.
DJ sets include:
- DJ Set By Dada Cozmic: A high vibe, opening soundscape to welcome the community into the space and ground the afternoon in rhythm.
- DJ Set By TOTAL XTC: A final jam to close out the day in dance, celebration, and collective joy.
In addition to performances, the festival will feature a hands-on T-shirt customization station in collaboration with local Bronx brand Public Housing Skate Team (PHST). Attendees can take home a limited-edition tee featuring custom designs by PHST and personalize it using fabric paints, markers, and stencils—all materials provided on-site, free of charge while supplies last. This interactive activity is open to kids and people of all ages, and is a great way to make your mark while supporting local creativity.
This festival is free and open to all ages, designed to center BX talent and uplift Black and Brown artists through intentional, community-rooted curation. Attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket, pull up with friends and family, and be part of this celebration of spring, spirit, and creative resistance.
About The Bronx Council On The Arts
Founded by visionary community leaders in 1962, the Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) is a pioneer in advancing cultural equity in The Bronx. Our programs serve artists, the public, and the field at large by building connections, providing resources, and advocating for equitable practices. Then as now, we focus on supporting the work of underrepresented groups – especially artists of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Through this lens we offer free programs for seniors and youth and provide direct services to artists and community-based arts groups each year.
About PROCESSA
PROCESSA, formerly ARTSY WINDOW (est. 2015), is a roving curatorial platform that collaborates with galleries and artists. Their physical space in Ridgewood, Queens serves as an experimental studio and programming space run by curator and writer Kiara Ventura and artist Kameron Robinson. PROCESSA centers the narratives of marginalized communities, centering Black and Brown artists. Our goal is to create curated experimental happenings to connect artists and the public.
About The Curator
Kiara Cristina Ventura is a Bronx-born Dominican American artist, writer, independent curator, and founder of the roving curatorial platform Processa. Launched in 2015 and grounded in a physical space in Ridgewood, Queens since 2021, Processa functions as both a studio and a hub for programming, centering community-driven, experimental exhibitions and gatherings.
Ventura’s curatorial practice creates space for dialogue and collaboration with Black and Indigenous contemporary artists, often exploring themes of healing, spirituality, ritual, street culture, intuitive process, and femininity. She has curated exhibitions and programs at institutions including the Museum of the African Diaspora (San Francisco), BronxArtSpace, VisArts Maryland, Penn State University, Longwood Gallery at Hostos, The Andrew Freedman Home, Reparations Club (LA), NXTHVN, and Sean Kelly Gallery.
Her writing has been featured in Artforum, Performa Mag, Aperture, Cultured, Teen Vogue, and Latina. From 2022–2023, she was a Curatorial Fellow at NXTHVN. Ventura was recently highlighted and named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 2025 list.
Featured image credit: DepositPhotos.com
