Our People

 

Warner,

Co-Founder + Co-Director

My background is in untraditional design practice; from the time I was a kid I was fascinated by spaces, maybe that’s because I didn’t have much of one growing up.

I’m a self taught artist who has a passion for visual design and aesthetics, I believe that you can greatly influence the cognizant experience we have as individuals with arts and crafts. I firmly support open source, untraditional and community based learning, and I’m a big advocate for the rights of marginalized groups of people.

My creative medium is multi faceted; I have a background in 3-D design, Graphic Design, Photography and Illustration, However I’m currently studying Industrial, Architectural and Set Design.

EXPERIENCE:

Graduate of Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Stagecraft Fellowship

Graduate of St. Nick’s Alliance Carpentry PreApprenticeship Program

5 years property management + maintenance experience

NEW Museum’s incubator NEW INC Cohort 7

Shanna,

Co-Founder + Co-Director

I’m a self-taught interdisciplinary artist, curator, and educator whose work explores how the intersections between history and healing, travel and education, civic engagement and entrepreneurship can be used to create anti-racist, equitable, and beautiful societies.

My core values are equity, fairness, curiosity, experimentation, empowerment and democracy. As an artist, I always strive to find to engage the 5 senses across media - ritual, sound, video, static art, texture, text, fabric, and found materials.

I have over 15 years education and instructional design experience working for large corporations and small businesses alike. As an educator, I believe in experiential and experimental learning as a way to restore connections to curiosity and lifelong learning for nontraditional students and organic intellectuals.   

EXPERIENCE:

15+ years Instructional Design + Project Management for Fortune 500 brands

20+ years property management experience

Multimedia Artist + Curator

NEW Museum’s incubator NEW INC Cohort 7

Weeksville Heritage Society’s Freedom Fellowship 2021

Advisory Council

  • Aisha

    I am an Afro-Caribbean artist, designer and cultural strategist working to unleash Black imagination to shape the future. I have a commitment to reconnecting Black folks to a vision of a beautiful future where we are thriving, joyful, sovereign and free.

    I was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago and reside in Bed Stuy Brooklyn where I am the Artistic Director of Intelligent Mischief, a multi-disciplinary creative studio using worldbuilding to create art, entertainment and experiences that unleash Black imagination to shape the future.

  • Evelín

  • Faith

    I’m from Brooklyn, NY. Art and community are extremely important to me. Acting and Film are my first loves. I attended The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2015. For the past 6 years I worked as a Production Assistant on various films and TV shows.

    I’m currently working on an archival project called Bed Stuy Forever that captures Black History in Bed Stuy.

  • Genel

    I’m a writer, curator, and mother of three girls. I’m also the Founder of GOOD MIRRORS, a cultural institute and multi-disciplinary studio dedicated to reflecting women of color, particularly Black women, as whole and dignified beings.

  • Tenneh

    I’m a Liberian-American filmmaker, photographer, and creative from Brooklyn, NY.

    My work is informed by my passion for West African traditions, black identity, and the canvas that is New York City.

  • Trevor

    I'm a Brooklyn native, born and raised in Crown Heights. I’m currently working on obtaining a Bachelor's in Anthropology and Philosophy.

    I'm getting ready to work on my senior thesis and although I haven’t quite settled on a specific topic, I'm excited about the potential knowledge transfer which includes all the new things I'll learn in the process, as well as the contributions that I hope to make to the canon of human history.

  • Will

    I’m Founder and Creative Director at Augmented Pictures, a NYC based immersive design and animation studio. Augmented Pictures primarily produces interactive and edutainment content for augmented and virtual reality.

    Outside of world building, I make sure to get away from the computer as well: from documenting the lives of Liberian war orphans, to leading “L.I.F.T.” (Learn It For Tomorrow), a youth empowerment workshop, to co-founding Starseed Arts and Technology; my perspective on design and virtual world building is heavily influenced by my experiences in the real one.

    Virtual and augmented reality may be my vehicle, but connecting and giving back to heritage and culture is my ultimate purpose.