JRose has performed on renowned stages like Lincoln Center, S.O.B.’s, Write About Now (WAN), Busboys and Poets, and many more. Beyond the stage, she is a dedicated teaching artist, sharing the transformative power of poetry with youth in schools, libraries, and at Rikers Island, where she helps incarcerated women and young people find healing through words.

In 2024, she made history as the first poet signed to First Generation Rich, owned by Hip-Hop artist Skyzoo, releasing her debut album and book, Pieces of My Crumbled Thoughts. JRose’s mission is clear: to write, perform, and teach as a way to empower others to #KeepGrowing.

Marissa serves as Adjunct Lecturer at the City College of New York and at Baruch College. Currently, Marissa is a Doctoral Fellow at Columbia University’s Teachers College in the Art and Art Education program. As a scholar, Marissa is researching and exploring participatory public art at and around the U.S.-Mexico border.

Marissa holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Southern California, an M.P.A. from the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and an M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Over the years, she has traversed various creative fields, including wardrobe and art department for film, retail display, and teaching art to youth and multigenerational groups. Despite her diverse career paths, Johnson remains committed to her personal artistic expression. She currently primarily focuses on mural/public art with her most notable work being a DOT Art commission as one of the artists selected to paint the 191st St Tunnel on the 1 line. Johnson also does portraiture and is currently exploring paper sculpture. Johnson also became an NYC Department of Education vendor further expanding her quest to inspire more community engagement.

Her work has been showcased in group exhibitions across several cities, reflecting her dedication to her craft and ongoing artistic exploration.

He has shown work in numerous group exhibitions and participated in art talks/presentations in New York and Beijing, China. SantanaCopeland was an En Foco Photography Fellow (Bronx, NY) in 2017 with work published in the accompanying Nueva Luz Photographic Journal (Vol 21.1). Select photos from BlackWhiteColor, Wait, and Paper Waves were shown at the 2019 Tianjin-Philadelphia Sister-City Photography & Poetry Exhibition (Tianjin, China). In 2024, he was the guest curator for the En Foco Photography Fellowship (Translucent Tethers).

Over the past few years, his photographic practice shifted from street/documentary/portrait photography to conceptual photography. His current project Black Work was conceived in 2016 with production starting in 2019 and ending in 2025. It grew from one photograph to a series of 18 images and during that time, he found his artistic voice, vision, and direction. In 2025, photos from Black Work have shown at Islip Art Council’s African Americans & Labor exhibition, Farmingdale State College Memorial Gallery’s Double Exposure exhibition, and Galerie Shibumi’s Black New York exhibition.

Yekta’s play A Study about the Ecologic Arts is Needed was selected as a finalist for the 50th Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival. She received the 2023 New York City Women’s Fund for her new play, In the Stillness of Night, which was showcased at The Tank Theater in February 2024. In 2022, Yekta curated Whispers of the Flesh, an anthology by Iranian women playwrights, paying homage to their enduring strength.

Since immigrating to the U.S. in 2016, Yekta has been a dynamic voice in independent theater, creating work that bridges cultural boundaries and challenges conventional storytelling.

She creates portals for healing, queering, dreaming, protesting, and world building. She was awarded the ’69 Kenneth Memorial Baker Prize for her devised piece “Seasons of Revolution.” This past year, she was accepted to Broadway Advocacy Coalition’s 2025 Theater of Change cohort and MCC’s Ambassadors Program 2025-2026.

When not creating, she facilitates social justice theater classes with young artists across NYC and frequents her local salsa studio. Learn more about her work at leilakashani-sabet.com. #nmrk

Art has always been my language. Expressing emotions verbally has never come easily to me, so I’ve learned to speak through colors, textures, and even through the ritual of making bread. In recent years, I’ve been developing projects that merge bread-making with art exploring ideas of community, memory, and nourishment as both physical and emotional experiences.

My main focus remains on the art history of Iran and the lived experiences of Iranian women. I started studying and working in art from the age of 15 and later went to university for it. Now, as an immigrant artist in New York City, I’m deeply interested in connecting with others and creating collaborative works that bridge cultures, stories, and everyday materials.