THEURBANX.ORG, New Arts Residency Program Focused On Urban Culture, Names Inaugural Artist Cohort

Creative producer and civic organizer Bryan Joseph Lee (Executive Artistic Director) has announced the launch of theurbanX.org, a new international arts program that connects Black and Brown creatives across the diaspora through the lens of urban culture. The pilot initiative officially launches in May 2023 with an artistic residency in Mexico City, Mexico, and the inaugural cohort of New York-based creators will include Brisa Areli Muñoz, UGBA, Zhailon Levingston, Diego Alejandro González & William Carlos Angulo, and Iyvon E. A second cohort of Mexican creators will be selected in Fall 2023 for a series of residencies in New York City.

"As a Black Queer creator who has been in dialogue with the global artistic community for decades, I am deeply curious about what connects us," says Executive Artistic Director Bryan Joseph Lee. "What does it truly mean to be a part of the global majority? What technology do we have to share with and learn from our siblings around the world? Across borders and boundaries, Black and Brown folks have used culture as a means of creative expression and a lever for social change. I'm thrilled to launch theurbanX.org as a platform for artistic expansion and a resource for creative changemaking around the world."

Founded to serve Black and Brown artists across the diaspora, theurbanX.org's mission is to harness 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. Multidisciplinary and intersectional by design, the inaugural cohort of six U.S.-based artists will utilize hip hop, poetry, playwriting, choreography, dramaturgy, music, and healing ritual as modes of creative expression.

The core of theurbanx.org's program model focuses on three areas: expansion, connexion, and exchange. Through a series of fully-funded international micro-residencies, participants will receive time, space, and the opportunity to see themselves and their work in a global context. Participants will also engage with like-minded creatives in their host city, and spark collaborative conversations with artists of their choosing. Opportunities for creative exchange will be designed by each participant, and may include public sharings, listening sessions with local artists and community leaders, masterclasses, workshops, performances, and more.

As Executive Artistic Director of theurbanX.org, Bryan Joseph Lee brings a 20-year commitment to international development, artistic producing, and cross-cultural exchange. He is the founder of CNTR ARTS, a creative agency that centers artists, activists and communities of color. Previously, Bryan served as Director of Public Forum at The Public Theater, and Executive Producer at Musical Theater Factory. In 2022, Bryan was the opening keynote speaker at TedXBroadway's 10th Anniversary Summit. He is a member of The Shubert Organization's Artistic Circle, a 2018 Global Fellow of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at The University of Maryland, and was named a 2016 Rising Leader of Color by Theater Communications Group (TCG). Bryan holds a degree in International Relations with a focus on Latin American, Latiné and Caribbean Studies from Dartmouth College.

More information on community-led offerings and program activity will be shared on theurbanX.org, as well as Instagram (IG: theurbanXorg). theurbanX.org is a fiscally sponsored project. For more information or to support the inaugural pilot, visit theurbanX.org.

BIOS

Bryan Joseph Lee

(he/any) is a Southern-born Queer Black man who believes in making space for art. He is the founder of CNTR ARTS, a creative agency that centers artists, activists, and communities of color through artistic producing and strategic consulting. Through their work, CNTR ARTS supports arts organizations across the country and around the world as they develop equity-based strategies for program development, social cohesion, and civically-based program development.

Most recently, 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 and The Shed in New York City. In 2021, Bryan was named a Producer-In-Residence with The Shubert Organization on Broadway, and is Executive Producer at Musical Theater Factory.

As an arts consultant, 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.

Bryan is a 2018 Fellow of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at The University of Maryland, 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. IG: @cntrarts

Brisa Areli Muñoz

(she/they) is a Chicane theatre director, healing practitioner, and cultural worker based out of New York City. She is the Artistic Director of Musical Theatre Factory, an organization that develops changemaking new musicals in a joyous, collaborative community. Brisa is also the Artistic Director of One Nation/One Project's collaboration with the city of Edinburg, Texas. ONOP is a national arts and wellness initiative designed to activate the power of the arts to repair the social fabric of our nation and heal our communities. She has directed & facilitated workshops on Broadway, nationally and internationally, and is passionate about using art as a tool to motivate, activate & transform institutions, organizations and communities to become more inclusive and just.

Ungrateful Black Artist

(UGBA - 'oog ba') (pronoun inclusive) is a queer poet, rapper, playwright, actor, and activist based out of Brooklyn, NY. UGBA is the founder/host of CEREMONIES-a Brooklyn based monthly Black-Queer artist showcase held in honor of Essex Hemphill. UGBA is also the founder of "Dark-Skin Support Group," a virtual support network for dark-skin Black Americans in need of a space to discuss the realities of colorism. In 2020, UGBA was named a "Black LGBTQ+ playwright you need to know '' by Time Out NY. UGBA is the current script assistant for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play "Fat Ham." He is an alumnus of The Public Theater's #BARS program, and a current member of The Public Theater's Emerging Writers Group 2020-2023 cohort. UGBA is a 2023 Artivism Fellow through Broadway Advocacy Coalition, a 2022 MAP Grant recipient, a 2020-2021 BAM Resident, and the current Artistic Director at NY Writers Coalition.

Zhailon Levingston

(he/him) is a Louisiana-raised storyteller, director, and activist. He is a Board Member for the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, where he co-created, and taught the Theatre of Change course at Columbia University, which is going into its third year. He is a Music Mentor Fellow and has done work with Idina Menzel's A Broader Way Foundation. His directing credits include: "Neptune" (Dixon Place, Brooklyn Museum), "The Years That Went Wrong" (Lark, MCC), "The Exonerated" (Columbia Law School), "Chariot Part 2" (Soho Rep., for The Movement Theatre Company), "Mother of Pearl" (LaGuardia Performing Arts Center). He is the associate director of "Primer for a Failed Superpower" with Tony Award-winner Rachel Chavkin, and "Runaways" at The Public Theater with Sam Pinkleton. Zhailon is the original resident director at "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" on Broadway and the associate director of "Hadestown'' in South Korea. Most recently, Zhailon directed "Patience" by Johnny G. Lloyd at 2nd Stage Uptown, and "Chicken and Biscuits" by Douglas Lyons which premiered on Broadway last fall.

Diego Alejandro González

[he.they+] is an NYC-based director, playwright, community builder, and theater-maker by way of the México-Texas border. This year, Diego has co-founded THE BORDERLANDS, a cultural arts company, and MUXE Creative, an indie creative agency. Diego served as the Associate Artistic Director for Thirteen O'Clock Theater in the Rio Grande Valley and has held various positions at Ars Nova, The Public Theater's Public Works, Dance Lab New York, Roundabout Theater Company, and Tectonic Theater Project. They have collaborated with WP Theater, The Sol Project, Musical Theater Factory, The Civilians, ¡OYE! Group, and Abrons Arts Center. Directing Credits include new works and regional premieres at Thirteen O'Clock Theater, 24 HR Musical (Abilene, TX), and All Star Theater. Documentary credits: "WHAT DO I STAND FOR?" and "REVOLUTION" (Lawrence Township). They have co-led marketing strategy and consulting with the teams at Baltimore Center Stage and Dance Lab New York. Up next: Diego is creating with One Nation/One Project x Edinburg, TX (a brand new national arts and wellness initiative), and is a member of The Drama League's 2023 Directors Project Cohort.

William Carlos Angulo

(he/they) is a director, choreographer, playwright, and arts educator based in New York City. His work in theater and dance has premiered in fifteen U.S. states and Puerto Rico, as well as in Poland, France, Germany, Croatia, and Bosnia & Herzegovina. William created the first-ever professional training program at GoodmanTheatre in Chicago and was an original instructor for Broadway Across Borders through the US Department of State. He created the NextGen Choreography Apprenticeship in partnership with Dance Lab New York where he mentors gifted, young choreographers. He has choreographed for Grammy Award-winning recording artists like Breland, LOCASH, Florida Georgia Line, and more, and his choreography has been hash-tagged on TikTok and Instagram over 17 million times. William is currently creating two new Broadway musicals: "Hombres" and "Shout Sister Shout." He is a proud member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and the Alliance of Latine Theatre Artists (ALTA).

Iyvon E.

(she/her) is an award-winning Nigerian-American creative producer, dramaturg, and administrator from Brooklyn, NY. She is the Artistic Director of The Parsnip Ship, a new play development company that features a radio-play platform amplifying underproduced playwrights. Additionally, she is the Director of Artistic Programs at Signature Theatre (NYC), where she leads the LaunchPad Residency Program and SigSpace, a free lobby program. Iyvon is a recipient of the Fulbright International Scholarship and Gilman International Scholarship (both to Italy) and the 2019 Mark O'Donnell Prize recipient. A W.P. 2020 - 2022 Producers Lab member and an Affiliate Dramaturg with Beehive Dramaturgy Studio. B.A. Brandeis University 2013. M.A. Baruch College (CUNY) Arts Administration 2017. @iamiyvon @theparsnipshipNY.