theurbanX.org
theurbanX.org is an international arts residency program that connects Black and Brown creatives across the diaspora through the lens of urban culture. theubanX harnesses the power of urban culture and the arts to build bridges across borders, share knowledge and resources in community, and empower creators of the global majority.
During their time in residency, theurbanX.org will be continue the development of their Ciudad de México → New York City (CDXM → NYC) Fall Residency, a residency program that invites artists from Mexico City to explore and create work in NYC through the pedagogy in a way that centers care, transparency, and the emergent needs of everyone involved. theubanX encourages artists to anchor their residencies in their guiding pillars: conneXion, eXpansion, and eXchange.
Bryan Joseph Lee, Founder, Co-Curator
V(ivianne) A. Njoku , Co-Curator
V(ivianne) A. Njoku (she/her) is an educator, drummer, video artist, visual artist, storyteller, comic, social activist, and lover based in Mexico City, MX. Since 2008, V has taught internationally in a wide range of formal and informal educational spaces and workshops, focusing on the ways that youth and adults can create visual art, media, and music as a means of deeply and personally engaging with issues of anti-oppression. Vivianne has collaborated with the NYC DOE, NYU, Harvard's AiE Conference, the New School, Hunter, Rutgers, Tribeca Film Institute, Willie Mae Rock Camp, and others....
From 2016 - 2019, V also proudly produced and hosted Saggy Boobs, a Brooklyn-based comedy variety show, and cabaret exclusively featuring the work of Queer, Trans, and BIPOC artists. Currently, she is synthesizing her work of the past 15 years through all manner of critically resistant artistic expression, education, and radical love.
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Bryan Joseph Lee (he/any) brings a 20-year commitment to international development, artistic producing, and cross-cultural exchange. Bryan wears many hats, including producer, facilitator, community organizer, arts marketer, and advocate.
Bryan Joseph Lee is the founder of CNTR ARTS, a strategic consulting firm that centers artists, activists, and communities of color. Through their work, CNTR ARTS supports arts organizations across the country and around the world in building equity-based strategies for audience development, social cohesion, and civically-based program design.
As a leader in arts engagement and audience development, Bryan has guided numerous audience engagement initiatives around the world, including projects in Salem, Oregon; Alexandria, Egypt; and Perth, Australia. He is a frequent speaker on building relevance and resilience for arts organizations and has delivered keynote speeches at the PAC Australia Conference in Sydney, and the Creu Cymru Annual Conference in Wales. In 2022, Bryan was the opening keynote speaker at TedXBroadway’s 10th Anniversary Summit in New York City.
Previously, Bryan served as Director of Public Forum at The Public Theater in New York City, where he investigated civic organizing and cultural changemaking at one of the nation's leading off-Broadway theater companies. He has also independently produced several Black, BIPOC, Queer, and Trans artists at venues like La Mama Theater Company, The Shed, Chelsea Factory and Dixon Place in New York City. In 2021, Bryan was named a Producer-In-Residence with The Shubert Organization on Broadway.
Bryan is a 2018 Fellow of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management and was named a 2016 Rising Leader of Color by Theater Communications Group (TCG). He holds a degree in International Relations with a focus on Latin American, Latiné, and Caribbean Studies from Dartmouth College.
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Image Credit: César Camarillo