Lower Mystic Cool Communications Call for Artists

Hania Mariën (she/her) (team lead) is an artist, educator and social science researcher, who works with children, caregivers and educators to create more just futures. She graduated with a PhD in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), and currently serves as a postdoctoral researcher at HGSE, supporting Critical Participatory Action Research projects. Her research uses participatory, arts-based and qualitative methods to explore how adults can support children in exploring identity, power and justice. With Anna Deloia, Hania runs Imagining More Just Futures, a social justice educational project offering Youth Participatory Action Research camps, intergenerational workshops, consulting for educators and organizations, and free resources for families. 

Hania’s art (under the name Wombat Wisdoms) is inspired by the natural world, and what it can teach us about interdependence, community and solidarity. Her work draws heavily on the wisdom of her inner child and the youth she works with, of the environment around us, and of social justice movements. Her whimsical and colorful style is inspired by the color-rich land and waterscapes she explores, and a strong belief that play and imagination are essential tools to work towards liberation. She explores these core tenets of her practice primarily through printmaking, digital art, acrylic paint markers, and participatory projects with youth. Hania imagines, dreams, creates and educates on Squaxin, Nisqually, Coast Salish, Cowlitz & Massachusetts land. 

Anna Lucia Deloia (she/her) is an educator, writer, and social science researcher interested in how families and communities can work toward social justice together. She graduated with a PhD in Human Development, Learning, and Teaching from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) in 2024. In her research, she uses qualitative and participatory methodologies to explore how grown-ups can support children in engaging with ideas like identity, justice, and power. She currently works as a teaching fellow and postdoctoral researcher at HGSE. With Hania Mariën, she is the co-creator of Imagining More Just Futures, a social justice educational initiative offering intergenerational workshops, consulting for educators and organizations, and free resources for families. 

Anna's poetry is published in outlets including Rattle, Paterson Literary Review, Midway Journal, and the forthcoming anthology Love is for All of Us, edited by James Crews and Brad Peacock for Storey Publishing. Her debut poetry chapbook, of god and merriment both, is available now from Bottlecap Press. She tends to write enthusiastic poems about ordinary things. Anna is White and queer. She lives on Mohican land in Western Massachusetts.