Channel Your Creativity: Hosted by Artist, Annika Connor
Reach for the Stars, 30” x 40” Oil on Linen ©Annika Connor
An intimate panel discussion on leveraging creative mediums to spark and support positive change.
About this event
Location: The Screening Room at 1 Hotel Brooklyn, Floor -1
Get in touch with your imaginative side during an intimate discussion panel with Annika Connor and other local creatives, as they share how different mediums can spark and support social and environmental change.
About Our Panelists:
Annika Connor is an Artist, Activist and SAGAFTRA Actor. A modern-day Renaissance Woman, Connor is primarily known for her Watercolor & Oil Paintings. Connor uses strong Symbolism and passionate imagery to ignite the imagination. As the proud recipient of the City Artist Corps Grant – sponsored by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), and the Queens Theatre – she is the host of this panel discussion, with the goal to teaching individuals how to leverage their creativity for positive social and environmental change. https://www.annikaconnor.com/work
Curtis D. Young is a New York City based Nonprofit Executive and Community Leader. He joined Artistic Noise as Executive Director in 2017 after more than 10 years working with education nonprofit organizations, including the International Education Resource Network, where he managed U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs grant programs in Morocco, China, India, Taiwan and South Korea and with the Ross Institute, supporting the mission to transform education and prepare children with the skills, knowledge, and values to succeed in a complex, global society. Early in his career, he worked for U.S. Congressmember Bobby Scott, Delegate Mamye BaCote in the Virginia Legislature and was a Clinton Administration White House Intern. He currently serves as a member of Manhattan Community Board 12, where he serves on the Public Safety Committee. Additionally, he sits on the Board of Directors of Community Healthcare Network. Mr. Young studied Political Science at Hampton University, Urban Planning at New York University Wagner School of Public Service from 2005-2006 and most recently completed Columbia Business School Executive Education Program for Senior Leaders of Nonprofit Organizations obtaining a Certification in Business Excellence May 2019. https://www.artisticnoise.org/programs-1
Darley Newman: Darley Newman is the six time Emmy Award nominated host, writer and executive producer of the PBS series “Travels with Darley.” She takes viewers around the world with locals as the guides to experience food, culture, heritage, history and active adventures. Her upcoming season focuses on the Civil Rights Trail for two half hours including exclusive interviews with artists and activists who lived through the Civil Rights Movement and share their stories. https://www.darleycnewman.com/
Avery Tsai: Avery Tsai is an 11-year-old Brooklyn-based climate activist and feminist who is a member of Extinction Rebellion NYC, a global nonviolent movement to compel the world’s governments to address the climate and ecological emergency. As an art-loving, creative spirit she joined XR in 2019 because art and creativity is central to their climate activism. She has been in the streets raising her voice and calling for change since 2016 when she attended the Women’s March on Washington. Most recently she has been focused on the ongoing movement to have Biden declare a Climate Emergency as well as to get Chevron to clean up their ecocide in the Ecuadorian rainforest and to free Human Right’s lawyer Steven Donziger who is currently facing jail after a Chevron-backed prosecution. When she grows up she wants to be an “artivist” and counts artivists Michele Pred (@michelepred), Yvette Molina (@yvettemolina) and Giada Lubomirski (@ecoshaker) as inspiration.
Joseph Grazi: Joseph Grazi is an American artist from Brooklyn, New York, known for using non-traditional and often controversial materials to create a wide and diverse variety of work. Collected internationally by the likes of Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Lalibertè and the late mega producer Jim Steinman, Grazi’s work has been known to illicit a range of emotions from laughter, joy, controversy to protest. His work has been featured in major publications ranging from The New York Times and Interview Magazine, to TedX and NowThis News. Grazi currently still lives and works in Brooklyn, where he also sings and plays guitar in the band Ferrari Truck.