FROM TOP LEFT TO RIGHT:

Brandon Zang — Playwriting; Cambridge, MA — Brandon is a sci-fi and fantasy playwright who uses worldbuilding to distance, deconstruct, and dissect the complex issues of today. His work has been developed at Lifeline Theatre, Live Arts, KCACTF, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, and the University of Chicago. His play Ah Wing and the Automaton Eagle is the winner of the Voaden Prize. Brandon is currently completing his MFA in playwriting at Boston University under the mentorship of Nathan Alan Davis, Ronan Noone, and Melinda Lopez, and he holds a BA from the University of Chicago. Check out Brandon’s work on New Play Exchange and his website

Tielin Ding — Visual Arts; NY, NY — Born in Chongqing, China. Tielin is a wanderer, observer and mixed-media artist whose diverse practice involves working with playful objects, indeterminate traces and movements to create performative actions. His application of “Mapping” and “Walking” gives him more opportunity to reflect on invisible systems within urban and natural spaces.  Under the practice of way-finding, mark-making and game-changing, he has been very interested in drifting in the field of language and space, risking getting lost from point A to point B.  He studied architecture engineering at Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture for his bachelor and  MFA in photography at Parsons School of Design, The New School in NYC. Recent residency program he participated includes Abbott Watts Photography Residency at Monson Arts in Maine, Nars Foundation Satellite Residency at Governors Island, Ellis-Beauregard Foundation residency in Maine. 

Christy Davids — Poetry; Philadelphia, PA — Christy is a poet and a teacher. Some of her creative and critical work can be found in VOLT, Open House, Bedfellows, Jacket2, Dusie, The Tiny, and the Poetry Foundation’s Harriet, among others. She is the author of three chapbooks: on heat (2017) was selected by the editors in BOAAT Press’s 2016 chapbook competition; Dysphoric Geography (2019) was published by Neighboring Systems; and wanton (2020) was published by DoubleCross Press.  

Jennifer Ackerman — Non-Fiction; Charlottesville, VA – Jennifer has been writing about nature and science for more than three decades. Her latest book, What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds (Penguin Press, June 2023), was an instant New York Times bestseller and has been described in reviews as “eloquent and engaging”, “revelatory”, a “fascinating read”, “a masterful survey”, and an “enchanting guide.” Jennifer’s previous books include The Bird Way, a finalist for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award and named a Best Science Book of 2020 by National Public Radio’s “Science Friday”, and The Genius of Birds, also a New York Times bestseller, which has been published in 25 languages. That book was named one of the ten best nonfiction books of 2016 by The Wall Street Journal, a Best Book of the Year, and a Nature Book of the Year by the London Sunday Times. Ackerman’s other books include Birds by the Shore, Chance in the House of Fate: A Natural History of Heredity, and Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body. Her articles and essays have appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times, Scientific American, and many other publications. She has two daughters and lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her very old and beloved dog, Diego. 

Loren Loiacono — Composing; Manlius, NY – The music of Loren has been described as “plush…elusive” (New York Times), “vivid and colorful” (Albany Times Union), “dreamy, lilting” (Pioneer Press), and “quirky and fun” (Bad Entertainment- Twin Cities). An emerging orchestral voice, Loiacono has received commissions and performances from such nationally esteemed ensembles as the Detroit Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Sacramento Philharmonic, Lexington Philharmonic and the American Composers Orchestra. She frequently collaborates with the Albany Symphony, partnering with them to create new concerti for Sandbox Percussion (2022) and pianist Vicky Chow (2018). Dr. Loiacono also served as the Albany Symphony’s Mellon Composer-Educator-in-Residence for the 2017-18 season. Dr. Loiacono is a prolific creator of chamber and vocal music, with performances by ensembles and performers including clarinetist Anthony McGill; pianist Xak Bjerken; cellist Peter Stumpf; New Morse Code; Latitude 49; the New York Virtuosi Singers; Music from Copland House; Transit New Music Ensemble; and the JACK, FLUX, Friction, Argus and Altius String Quartets. Current project include a new piano trio for the Merz Trio, to premiere in spring 2023, and Primum Non Nocere, an ongoing multimedia collaboration with piano duo HereNowHear. Dr. Loiacono has received awards from ASCAP’s Morton Gould Awards, New York Youth Symphony’s First Music Commissioning Program, the Minnesota Orchestra Composers Institute, and others. In 2015, she was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, where her “Stout With Another Man’s Song” was performed by the New Fromm Players. In 2017, she received the ASCAP Foundation Fellowship for Composition at the Aspen Music Festival & School. Loiacono served as Executive Director of the internationally-acclaimed MATA Festival from 2019-2021, and is a co-founder of New York’s Kettle Corn New Music concert series. A native of Long Island, New York, she holds degrees from Cornell University (D.M.A.) and Yale University (M.M./B.A.). She has held teaching positions at Colgate University, SUNY Purchase, and the Kaufman Music Center, and currently serves as Assistant Teaching Professor at Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music.  

Lissette Norman — Fiction; NY, NY — Lissette is a poet and author of the picture books My Feet Are Laughing and Plátanos Go with Everything. She is also co-author of the picture books, Until Someone Listens (w/ Estela Juarez) and On the Line: The First African-American Rockette (w/ Jennifer Jones). Lissette received her BA in English at SUNY- Binghamton and currently lives in New York City.

Sarah-Mecca Abdourahman — Visual Arts; Ottawa, Canada — Sarah-Mecca is a Somali-Indian multidisciplinary artist. Her art practice involves painting and video art. Abdourahman’s work is inspired by her heritage as she explores themes of identity, family, and land occupation. Abdourahman’s work takes a decolonial approach, using her practice to reconnect with her homeland from a first-generation Canadian perspective. She informs her art practice through the tradition of oral storytelling, shining a light on impactful moments in her familial and community’s history. Her paintings are often oil-based, with the inclusion of collages. Drawing from her graphic design background, her creative process begins with applying digital collages to images from family photo albums. Abdourahman’s use of collage and colour addresses an aspect of memory and nostalgia throughout her storytelling. Being a first-generation Canadian disconnected from the homeland, this use of family photos allows her to insert her own experiences, making these stories much more personal. Her video work takes on an abstract and playful approach. In contrast, these narratives investigate social disadvantages and marginalization using animated montages resembling dystopian environments. These complex animations operate as metaphorical reflections of present realities. Leading artist talks, exhibition walkthroughs, and creative workshops with youths, Abdourahman noticed the impact her use of Black joy and positive representation had. They saw themselves represented in scales more significant than life. This year, she plans to continue creating thought-provoking art by using all the multidisciplinary aspects of her art practice: mixed media painting, video art, and sculpture to create an immersive and interactive solo exhibition and to challenge her innovation as a multidisciplinary artist.