FlagSSS Day Collective
The FlagSSS Day Collective is Angela Beallor, Hana van der Kolk, and Elizabeth (EP) Press from Troy, NY. They engage social, political, spiritual, and environmental issues creatively in public spaces, using flags. They pay respect to long traditions intertwining celebration and dissent, while staying responsive, flexible, and nimble.
FlagSSS Day arose in response to a particular history, community, and place: The Flag Day parade in Troy, NY was once billed as the largest in the United States, an expression of the patriotic backlash to the protest movement calling for an end to the US war in Vietnam. When that parade ended in 2018, the idea for a FlagSSS Day gathering (with emphasis on a plurality of flagSSS and anti-militarism) emerged and a call was issued for a procession in 2019.
Since 2019, FlagSSS Day processions and rituals have occurred in June and beyond — offering an election day procession (2020) and a ritual for the crows and against displacement of community members. With a 2023 NYSCA grant, they commissioned artists to make flags for their procession hosted a gallery show, and offered multiple public flag-making workshops.