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Erin Genia, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist, educator and community organizer specializing in Indigenous arts and culture. Genia’s work in these areas is focused on amplifying the powerful presence of Indigenous peoples on the occupied lands of America in the arts, sciences and public realm to invoke an evolution of thought and practice that is aligned with the cycles of the natural world and the potential of humanity. Genia’s artistic practice merges Dakota cultural imperatives, pure expression, and exploration of materiality with the conceptual. Erin is fluent in multiple modes of expression: sculpture, fiber, sound, performance, digital media, painting, printmaking, jewelry and ceramics. Her work has received attention from diverse audiences, and has been exhibited nationally and internationally, at the Urbano Project in Boston, the Venice Biennale, Ars Electronica, the Museum of Northwest Art and the International Space Station. Erin has an M.S. in Art, Culture and Technology from MIT, an M.P.A. in Tribal Governance from the Evergreen State College and studied at Institute of American Indian Arts. She was awarded the 2021 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Grant from Mass Cultural Council, the 2019 MIT Solve Indigenous Communities Fellowship and the AAF/ Seebacher Prize for Fine Arts in 2018. In 2021, she was named one of the ARTery 25, “Artists Of Color Transforming The Cultural Landscape” of Boston. Erin served as an artist-in-residence for the City of Boston in 2020 and the Institute of American Indian Arts in 2021, and her public art commissions include the Rose Kennedy Greenway, Tufts University Art Galleries, the Minnesota Historical Society, the City of Saint Paul and the City of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture.

Photo Courtesy of the Artist.

Ángela Varo is an Andalusian violinist, producer, and composer. Combining Flamenco, Jazz, Contemporary Improvisation, and the Mediterranean and ROM influences, her sound is one of a kind. She is an alum of the Berklee College of Music, where she recently graduated with Magna Cum Laude Honors with a double degree in Contemporary Writing and Production and Jazz and Flamenco Performance, and a minor in Jazz Composition. Being an active part of the Jazz and Gender Justice Institute and Global Jazz Institute communities, Varo focuses in the power of music as a global tool for generational healing and Social justice. Thanks to both Institutes, she has also collaborated with artists such as Dianne Reeves, Ingrid Jensen, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Wayne Shorter among others. She has performed in the Panama Jazz Festival, JEN (Jazz Education Network), and Vermont Jazz Festivals, among others, and in the USA, Spain, Romania, Italy, Malta, Sweden, and Panama. Varo is Winner of 2020, 2021, and 2022 Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation scholarship, 2021 AIE scholarship, and 2019 SGAE Young Composers Scholarship among others. Varo is the first Andalusian student in the Berklee Global Jazz Institute Master’s Program, directed by Danilo Perez and Marco Pignataro, and is currently recording her first album under the review and partnership of Henry Threadgill and his project “Bakers Dozen”.

Photo Courtesy of the Artist.

Taíno Afroborikua and award-winning choreographer Mar Parrilla is the founding artistic director of Danza Orgánica (DO). She is a proud mother, an interdisciplinary movement artist, an educator, and a community organizer. After attaining a BA in Languages (Italian, French) from the Universidad de Puerto Rico, Mar crossed the ocean to Nueva York, where she completed a Master's degree in Dance Education at New York University. Now a Boston resident, Parrilla is a recipient of several awards from the New England Foundation for the Arts, the Boston Foundation, and Barr foundation among others. She is the recipient of the Brother Thomas Fellowship Award from the Boston Foundation, and the Outstanding Community Arts Collaboration Award in Dance from the Arts/Learning Organization. Mar is also the founder of the acclaimed program Dance for Social Justice™, as well as the founding producer of the Boston-based annual festival: We Create!. Parrilla is also a luminary artist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where she has been commissioned to create artistic work, and continues to work with in several capacities. In 2018, Mar Parrilla/ Danza Orgánica received a Creative Development Residency at Jacob's Pillow, where they also performed at the Inside/Out Festival. Currently, she is still in partnership with Jacob's Pillow through DO's signature program: Dance for Social Justice™. In addition, Mar and DO are working in close collaboration with members of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe, through a multiyear partnership between Danza Orgánica, the Aquinnah Cultural Center, and The Yard. She is also collaborating with Puerto Rico-based artists on an ongoing cultural exchange towards the continued development of Melaza: a project that explores the colonial relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States of North America. Most recently (2021), Danza Orgánica was awarded the Powering Cultural Futures Multiyear Partnership with the BARR foundation. Since 1998, Mar has also been an educator based in NYC and Boston. She has been a dance educator in public schools across both states, as well as higher ed institutions such as: Boston University, New York State University at Stony Brook, Wesleyan University, Roxbury Community College, and Emerson College. Her focus lies on Decolonizing Practices, which she embeds in her Dance for Social Justice™ curriculum. Mar's production history includes company concerts since 2007, as well as the acclaimed and award-winning annual festival: We Create! (est. 2014).

Mar Parrilla Photo Credit Ernesto Galán

Andre StrongBearHeart Gaines, Jr., is a citizen of the Nipmuc people. He serves as a cultural steward for his Tribe, is a father, public speaker, traditional dancer, Indigenous Activist for Indigenous rights, carpenter by trade and educator. With 15 years in recovery from drugs and alcohol, Andre is a recovery sponsor and integrated life coach for those in need. Andre's work focuses on bringing traditional knowledge back to Indigenous Peoples. Some of this consists of how to flesh and brain tan hides to make items such as drums, buckskin, and blankets. This work is focused on cultural revitalization and preservation. Andre is a resident artist for the Ohketeau Cultural Center based in Ashfield Massachusetts. He is also the creative director of @No_Loose_Braids and http://www.andrestrongbearheart.com.

Andre's work is grounded in restoring balance between everyday life and traditional values while navigating the colonial systems we live in. Cultural revitalization, family, and traditions values are the driving force that keeps Andre ever diligent on his daily journey.

Photo Courtesy of the Artist.

Daniel Callahan is a multimedia artist, filmmaker and designer. Merging various disciplines including painting, digital photography, film, music, writing, and performance Daniel seeks to create immersive experiences incorporating story, ritual and the human form to explore aspects of human resilience and mysticism. A graduate of the UPenn School of Design, and Emerson College, where he received an MFA in Film and Video, Daniel is a recipient of the Donor Circle for the Arts, NEFA Creative City Grant and The Transformative Public Art Grant. In his position as President of the Roxbury Cultural District Daniel also works to identify, recognize and amplify Roxbury’s cultural assets and elevate the community of Roxbury as a living repository of arts and cultural expression – past, present and future. His work has been featured in the Museum of Fine Arts, The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Queens Museum, The New Orleans Museum of Art and publications such as The Boston Globe, The Bay State Banner, WBUR, The Smithsonian, and Words Beats & Life: The Global Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Photo Credit: Ashleigh Gordon.