Broadway Advocacy Coalition Reveals Class of Fellows For Fourth Annual Artivism Fellowship

Broadway Advocacy Coalition has revealed the 2024 fellows selected for  the fourth annual BAC Artivism Fellowship, created to support artist-activists using their tools to have an impact on the world around them.
 
The selected fellows are Ari Ayesha Afsar and Wildlin Pierrevil.
 
This year’s fellowship will support BAC’s partner, Justice Beyond Punishment, a coalition working to end the reliance on punishment, criminalization, and incarceration as the primary responses to violence, to build power and solidarity around shared messages, to develop shared tools and campaigns, and to amplify our individual and collective voices to press for lasting narrative change in New York.
 
“Narrative change is a holistic process that necessarily requires cultural production,” said Raphael Eissa, Project Coordinator of the Justice Beyond Punishment Collaborative with the Center for Justice. “In order for us to popularize new ways of being in community and relationship with one another, we must engage the arts. Only then can we prepare to embrace justice beyond the punishment paradigm.  We are deeply excited to partner with our comrades at Broadway Advocacy Coalition for that reason, and congratulate two brilliant artists, Ari and Wildlin, on their selection for fellowship. We are sure they will help us build power over the course of the Justice Beyond Punishment Campaign.”
 
The Artivism Fellowship is a 7-month incubation process that provides two participating artist-activists with the tools and resources to blend artistry, law, policy, and community engagement in order to leverage their creative talents for meaningful systemic change. Throughout the program, fellows will be partnered with Justice Beyond Punishment, gaining valuable insights into the organization's inner workings and current advocacy initiatives. The fellowship culminates in each fellow creating a compelling piece of art that activates the coalition’s goals.
 
Over the course of the fellowship, Ari and Wildlin will work directly with Justice Beyond Punishment and the Artivism Advisory Committee, made up of: Chala June, Chike Okonkwo, Brandon Michael-Nase, Zakiyah Ansari, Tia Powell Harris, Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin. This year’s fellowship will also include a writing retreat at Space on Ryder Farm, a work-in-progress presentation, and a final workshop at a theater in NYC.
 
Each fellow will receive $10,000 in financial support, $5,500 in project support, and mentorship/networking opportunities through BAC and JBPC.
 
"We embark on a transformative journey with great enthusiasm for the Artivism Fellowship's upcoming year, establishing a potent collaboration with Justice Beyond Punishment," stated Dria Brown, Co-Director of Programming. "This year, our unwavering commitment includes substantial financial support, focused mentorship, and expert guidance for our fellows. By uniting with Justice Beyond Punishment, we aim to amplify the impact of our fellows' projects, ensuring they are deeply rooted in data that propels systemic change. This collaboration is not only about empowering emerging narratives and advocacy efforts; it's also about equipping Justice Beyond Punishment with an additional influential tool for their ongoing narrative change campaign."
 
For more information, visit https://www.bwayadvocacycoalition.org/artivismfellowship. 
 
ABOUT THE FELLOWS

ARI AYESHA AFSAR

(she/her) is a Bangladeshi-American mixed race singer, songwriter, and storyteller who believes in the power of art changing culture, and culture changing policy. A graduate of Ethnomusicology from UCLA, Afsar recently released her album, We Won’t Sleep, distributed by Sony Masterworks. She is the composer of Broadway-bound Jeannette, as named by Playbill. Her musical work has been commissioned by and featured at the La Jolla Playhouse (Allegory & Teacher Of The Year), Warren Miller Performing Arts Center (Keep Your Head Down), McCarter Theatre (I & You), University of Tennessee Knoxville (Teacher Of The Year), University of Missoula (Jeannette), Loyola Marymount University (Jeannette), Cooper Union (Letters To The President), Signature Theatre (Jeannette) and Texas State University (Jeannette). Afsar has opened for Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, Raphael Warnock, Gloria Steinhem, Jane Fonda, Misty Copeland, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Kwan, Ani DiFranco and Cory Booker. Her credits include starring in the top 10 Netflix original movie Wedding Season, co-composing a song with Pasek & Paul for Shawn Mendez in Sony’s Lyle Lyle Crocodile, originating Eliza in Chicago's Hamilton, starring in the world premiere of Bhangin’ It at La Jolla Playhouse, winning Miss California 2010, placing top 10 at Miss America 2011, winning the Lyricist Award at The O'Neill NMTC 2018, and placing top 36 on American Idol. She is the co-founder of Until We Do It which provided 1 Million masks to communities disproportionately affected by Covid-19 in 2021 and she is currently an MPA candidate at NYU Wagner.

WILDIN PIERREVIL

(He/They) is a proud Haitian-American born and raised in Orlando, FL. The most online person you know, Wildlin has garnered a following of over 600,000 and millions of likes with his comedy, creativity, and commentary across digital platforms as @NOTWILDLIN. As an actor, writer, and personality, he’s been featured in publications like the Washington Post and is so excited to be sharing his work with you through BAC’s initiative.