Lena Kaminsky studied acting at Emerson College and has been working in the theater and film world for over 20 years. As an actor, she has worked in tv, film and regional theaters around the country. She has written two full length plays Salvage and Ursa Major. Little Mouse a short film (written and directed) is her first film and is currently making its way through the festival circuit. In addition to the Inwood Film Festival, it has screened in Los Angeles and NYC (Audience Award) at Dances With Films, Outshine in Miami (Best Short Film Honorable Mention), and upcoming screenings with Albuquerque Film and Music Experience, Vancouver Queer Film Festival and Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival. She also has a casting business, Selective Casting that focuses on educational and corporate industrials. She lives with her wife in Inwood. www.lenakaminsky.com

Jeanne Jalandoni is a painter and textile artist born and based in New York City. Her practice involves personal research, relating family stories to historic Filipino American archives, in order to draw out a mythological narrative that traces the complexities of inheriting two cultures. Jeanne received her BFA in Studio Art from New York University, and has had solo shows with Taymour Grahne Projects, Real Art Ways, the Little Underground Gallery, and the Berkshire Art Museum. She has exhibited in various group shows and in 2019, she curated "Cultural Cousins: a show of Filipinx and Latinx artists" for ChaShaMa, New York, NY. In addition, Jeanne was an artist-in-residence at 36 Chase & Barns Residency, the Textile Arts Center, and ChaNorth Artist Residency, Jeanne has been awarded the 2019 Real Art Award and is a past recipient of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) Creative Engagement Grant. Discover her work at www.jeannejalandoni.com 

Inwood Art Works celebrates 150 episodes of our On Air podcast with this special podcast. When we hit a milestone, we like to take a moment to recognize it. If you didn’t know it, Inwood Art Works On Air is the only podcast dedicated to profiling the artists that reside in Northern Manhattan. For this episode we would like to do something a bit different and unique for our listening audience. The interviewer shall becomes the interviewee, as our host, Aaron Simms, is put on the hotseat and will be on the other end of the questions given by none other than his lovely mother, Debby Simms. Enjoy!

Jeanine McAdam is a long time Northern Manhattan resident that loves our community, and she channeled that love to co-creating and overseeing Heightsites.com, a website and newsletter dedicated to sharing the wonderful artistic and cultural events happening in Washington Heights and Inwood. Heightsites covers cultural events river to river, from 155th Street to the Northern tip of Manhattan. www.heightsites.com

Ruth Cunningham is a classically trained musician, a sound healing practitioner, and a founding member of Anonymous 4. She combines these skills to improvise music that connects people to the healing and spiritual power of music. She specializes in improvisational sacred music from varied spiritual traditions in both liturgical and concert settings. Her solo program Light and Shadow encompasses a mixture of music including several traditional chants from Western and Eastern traditions as well as Ruth's own compositions and improvisations. With Anonymous 4, she performed in concerts and festivals throughout the United States, Europe and the Far East and made twelve recordings. Ruth's CD releases include Light and Shadow: Chants, Prayers and Improvisations and Harpmodes: Journey for Voice and Harp.Keep up with Ruth here: www.ruthcunningham.comwww.youtube.com/ruthreid/www.instagram.com/ruthreid11Enjoy the work of Elizabeth Cunningham here:www.elizabethcunninghamwrites.com

A Montreal native, Jason Huza and his wife Denise moved to the city simply to live amidst great theater. Shortly thereafter, he tried his hand at writing a play. Then a musical. Then they had twins. Then they had one more. And several years of chaos later, he wrote the book and lyrics for the new musicals: It Happened in Key West is set for US Premier in January 2024 at the Fulton Opera House, The Last Match is just off a series of sold-out events at White Eagle Hall, and The Crossing, which was most recently performed in concert in partnership with the Princeton Battlefield Society. Also, Jason is working on a song-cycle with composer John Allen Watts, a new musical with Jeremiah James and composer Sujin Kim-Ramsey, and co-authoring a biography with Steve Grillo of The Howard Stern Show. When not doing all that, Jason can be found in and around Inwood wrangling his boys or smooching his wife, and his kitties, Fuzzy Jez Butterworth and Sir Tomcat Stoppard. Keep up with Jason at www.jasonhuza.com

Recording live from the Inwood Film Festival in Inwood in NYC on May 25, 2023, welcome to this very special edition of Inwood Art Works On Air Live!Inwood Art Works Founder and Executive Producer, Aaron Simms had the pleasure of speaking with the man who made “the run” - Inwood’s own John “Chick” Donohue, and producer of “THE GREATEST BEER RUN EVER”, Andrew Muscato. We recorded the podcast on location in front of a live audience, who have just finished watching the Inwood-based true-life tale of THE GREATEST BEER RUN EVER to close out the 6th annual Inwood Film Festival. While the audio recoring picks up a bit of the live room noise, we are glad this came out well enough to share it with you.

Recording live from the Inwood Film Festival in Inwood in NYC on May 25, 2023, welcome to this very special edition of Inwood Art Works On Air Live! Inwood Art Works Founder and Executive Producer, Aaron Simms had the pleasure of speaking with local Inwood resident, playwright, and screen writer of the "The Whale", Samuel D. Hunter. We recorded the podcast on location for the first time in front of a live audience who have just finished screening the award winning film to kick off the 6th annual Inwood Film Festival. While the audio recoring picks up a bit of the room noise, we are glad this came out well enough to share it with you.

This is our 2023 Live N’ Local Seasonal Sampler – Volume 1. It’s where we take a pause at this midway point, look back at the first part of 2023, and chose to highlight a musical performance from each Live N’ Local podcat that has appeared throughout the first half of the fourth season of our On Air podcast. This Seasonal Sampler is less of a greatest hits, and more of a critic’s pick. A curated mixtape of clashing styles and diverse forms with one thing in common – they all hail from the musical melting pot of Northern Manhattan.  2023 LIVE N’ LOCAL SEASONAL SAMPLER Bridget Kibbey Frank Rapkiewicz James Noyes Annette A. Aguilar Robert Silverman Jestin Pieper Gilbert Dejean & The Inwood Chamber Players

Enjoy this special Live N' Local concert edition of Inwood Art Works On Air featuring the Inwood Chamber Players performing “Mostly French” – a chamber concert, featuring the arrangements of Inwood resident, Gilbert Dejean, recorded live at Good Shepherd Auditorium in Inwood NYC on June 4, 2023. Johannes Brahms - Academic Festival OvertureClaude Debussy - Petite Suite·        En bateau·        Cortege·        Menuet·        BalletGabriel Pierne - Concertstuck for Harp and Orchestra. Featured performance by Violetta Marie Norrie - HarpGabriel Faure - Dolly Suite·        Berceuse·        Mi-a-ou·        Le jardin de Dolly·        Kitty-valse·        Tendresse·        Le pas espagnolAntonin Dvorak - Romance for Violin and Orchestra Featured Performance by Claudia Schaer - ViolinSerge Rachmaninoff - Hungarian Dance Featured Performance by Claudia Schaer - ViolinJohn Phillip Sousa - The Liberty Bell MarchMusicians: Helen Campo, Flute; Kaoru Hinata, Flute/Piccolo; Michele Farah, Oboe; Setsuko Otake, Oboe/English Horn; David Gould, Clarinet; Meryl Abt, Clarinet; Rachel Drehmann, Horn; Laura Weiner, Horn; Bill Hughes, Horn; Will DeVos, Horn; Patty Wang, Bassoon: Yuki Higashi, Bassoon; Deborah Spohnheimer, Double Bass; Violetta Marie Norie, Harp Soloist; Claudia Schaer, Violin Soloist.

Luciannys Camacho is a Dominican filmmaker, illustrator and sequential artist based in the NYC with a passion for comics, storytelling, and all things colorful. She is continuing her journey through comics and is currently pitching her first graphic novel based on her short film “Check Yes!” called Heroes Circle. She has done work for clients like IDW, Hasbro, Tapas Media, and Wacom. She currently holds a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 3D Animation and Visual Effects. Connect with her on instagram @opal_lines

Carla López-Speziale is a mezzosoprano with experience in opera, oratorio, as well as symphonic and chamber repertoire. Some of her most notable roles include Carmen in Bizet’s Carmen, Dalila (Saint-Saëns’ Samson and Delilah), Azucena (Verdi’s Il trovatore), the Old Lady (Bernstein’s Candide) and Bloody Mary (Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific), among many others. Her symphonic performances include Mahler’s Second, Third and Eighth symphonies, Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, St. John and St. Matthew Passions and Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder to name a few.She has been a winner of competitions such as the Vincenzo Bellini in Italy, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in New York, and the Carlo Morelli competition in her native Mexico, among others. Ms. López-Speziale holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the National Conservatory in Mexico and as a Fulbright fellow, received Master and Doctor Musical Arts Degrees from the Manhattan School of Music. Find more of her work at www.carlalopezspeziale.com

Jestin Pieper is a New York City based pianist, vocal coach, organist, conductor, and educator. As a performer, Mr. Pieper has appeared in major venues across the country and abroad including guest appearances on the Discovery Channel, WNYC and WNPR and performances across the country including Carnegie Hall and The Bruno Walter Auditorium. He has a solo piano album titled “Humoreske” and is a pianist and conductor for many opera companies and festivals. Jestin is a member of the Washington Heights based Luminae Trio, and is currently the music director and principal organist at Holy Trinity Episcopal church in Inwood. In addition, he is on faculty as an Associate Adjunct Professor of Music at LIU Brooklyn RocNation School of Music, Sports and Entertainment. Find out more at www.jestinpieper.com

Stephen Cole is a prolific award winning musical theatre writer whose shows have been recorded, published, and produced from New York City to London to the Middle East. His works include: After the Fair, which was nominated for the Outer Critic's Circle Award for Best Musical, The Night of the Hunter, The Road to Quatar!, Merman’s Apprentice, and many others. He is also the author of five published books, and is the creator, writer and executive producer of a new comedy web series based on his story CONEY ISLAND SURPRISE, starring Anita Gillette and Brian Hathaway. The pilot has been chosen as an "official selection" in the Inwood Film Festival and played at the LA Independent Shorts Festival where it won several awards. Check out more from Stephen at www.stephencolewriter.org

Gregory Hernandez is a filmmaker and video producer. Since 2017, he has worked on a feature length documentary called “1.5 million” which centers around the literacy crisis in The Bronx.He is the founder and owner of "Green Canvas Productions," a video production company that produces commercials and explainer videos, and is the co-host of "Uptown Films," a 30-40 minute weekly podcast created to: improve the Uptown NYC cinema landscape, appreciate the craft of filmmaking, and spotlight the array of career paths within the industry. In addition, Gregory is the Executive Director and President of the "Bronx Independent Cinema Center," a movie theater and incubator coming soon to the Bronx! Follow at @1.5million_documentary

Suzanne Russo is a NYC based artist and illustrator. She is inspired by her love of the city & walks around her neighborhood, Washington Heights. Influenced by working 20 years as a fashion designer, she is drawn to interesting mixes of color, pattern, and texture. She looks to capture the beauty of her neighborhood & surroundings in a real way using primarily marker & inks. Follow on instagram @sketchingtheheights

Josh Liveright is a writer, director, and producer. In 1991 he co-founded Zena Group, a not-for-profit theater and film collective based in New York City. As Zena Group's artistic director Josh produced New York premieres of plays by Mark O'Donnell, Jose Rivera, Neena Beber, Steven Dietz, among many others. As a filmmaker, Josh has produced several short films including Let Go, nominated for best short at the 1997 Hamptons International Film Festival and the US Comedy Arts Film Festival, American Falls, Matt Higgins: The Improvisor, and the three “What if?” Shorts. In addition to his own work, he curates performing arts space at Buunni Coffee in Inwood.

Martyna Majok was born in Bytom, Poland and raised in Jersey and Chicago. She was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, Cost of Living, which debuted this past fall on Broadway. Other plays include Sanctuary City, Queens, and Ironbound, which have been produced across American and international stages. Keep up with her projects at www.martynamajok.com

Emmanuel Abreu is a New York City based photographer who has been collaborating with his Uptown community of Washington Heights/Inwood since the start of his career. His images tend to capture the raw joy in almost any situation, and this is why his work led him to become a professional wedding photographer. His travel photography focuses on landscape, street, and sometimes portraiture, just like in his neighborhood. Some of his work has been featured on media outlets like the local Manhattan Times, New York Times, and Local Blogs, as well as sites like HuffPost and Gothamist. He hopes to continue capturing the love and beauty of his community for years to come. Check out more of his work at www.eabreuvisuals.com

Max Pollak is pictured on the US Postage Stamp honoring Tap Dance and has recently been awarded a NY State Artist Grant for his musical compositions and choreography. Seamlessly combining body percussion, tap dance and singing, he has performed worldwide with top artists in jazz, Latin, and classical music. He spent his formative years learning from and working with his mentors Carnell Lyons, Heather Cornell, Buster Brown, Jimmy Slyde, Cyro Baptista, and Los Muñequitos de Matanzas. He is also recognized for playing in prestigious international classical music venues and festivals, and for his pioneering work with the visually and hearing impaired, and people with cognitive disorders. As an award-winning choreographer and composer, he is a co-creator of the Off-Broadway hit show Carmen - To Havana and Back, and a sought-after educator, writer, and recording artist. In addition, in 2015, he released his first CD entitled “RumbaTap.” Find out more at www.mxpllk.com

Originally from Overland Park, Kansas, Hayley Podchun has been working consistently as a professional actor since the age of 10 and on Broadway since the age of 12. With eight Broadway shows, two national tours, film/television/voiceover work, and a guest host on QVC, she is a true triple threat. From 2013-2014 she was seen touring the country by bubble in the smash hit musical, Wicked, where she played her dream role of Glinda and even earned a “Best Actress in a Touring Production” win from BroadwayWorld.com (Austin, TX). She was also on the National Tour of Hairspray where she played one of the “nicest kids”, Tammy, and closed the tour as Penny Pingleton. Broadway credits include: Hello, Dolly, Something Rotten!, Chaplin, Anything Goes, Pal Joey, Sunday in the Park With George, Hairspray, and The Sound of Music. She has numerous regional and New York credits, including originating the title role of Julianne Moore’s Freckleface Strawberry Off Broadway. Keep up with her at www.hayleypodschun.com

Louis Carrasco is a filmmaker and photographer from the Bronx, NY. He has worked in the media industry for close to 10 years. Having graduated from CUNY-Lehman College with a BA in media studies. He recently moved back from LA, working on many settings. His last directed short was a two episode series title Famished Artists. He is also a recipient of the Inwood Film Festival Filmmaker Fund Award for his project The Puerto Rican Jew. Follow on instagram @loucarrproductions

Daniel Bonilla is an artist that lives in Washington Heights/Inwood. Through his art, her “strives to reflect the movement of the times in a bright and impactful way.”  During the early days of the pandemic, he had the opportunity to bring the neighborhood to life with vivid and compelling street art. Through his handle “Art Man Dan” he continues to display his talent on window panels during the various holiday season, which brings a lot of joy to the community. Follow on instagram @artmandan

Hillary Carrigan is an award-winning Producer/Editor known for her contributions in post-production for feature-length film (You Hurt My Feelings, Jerry and Marge Go Large, Marriage Story, among others). She values projects that are uniquely human and foster creativity, a love of storytelling, equality and change. Her digital work for politics and nonprofits has been viewed online over fifty-million times across platforms, notably for International Planned Parenthood Federation, Hillary For America, and Biden/Harris. Hillary’s creative work has been officially selected for film festivals including: The Master of Art Film Festival, Mediawave, Slate Open 5.0 Chicago. She was a member of the jury for Split Video Art Festival 2021.  In addition, she is a recipient of the Inwood Film Festival Filmmaker Fund grant for her upcoming short, NANA.

Robert Silverman was born in New Haven, Connecticut. and has been playing jazz piano, trumpet, singing and composing for about 50 years. Mr. Silverman was first mentored by the great Jackie McLean in Hartford, and then moved on to study at the New England Conservatory in Boston where he was fortunate to work with George Russell, Jaki Byard, Fred Hersch, Jimmy Guiffre, Ran Blake and many others and graduated from the Jazz Studies Department in 1984. He moved to New York where he did graduate work with Jimmy Heath at Queens College and has been the recipient of many awards including two Meet the Composer Grants and a Brio award in 2013 for Best Jazz Composer for his CD Fractured time and 3 Grants during the Pandemic including New York Foundation for Arts and the Louis Armstrong Foundation. Mr. Silverman has released 15 CDs in NYC, and works with the elderly population and Alzheimer patients in the Bronx. He is on the Staff of 92nd St Y, and will soon be teaching at the Duke Ellington School in NYC.

Annette A. Aguilar is a multi-percussionist, recording artist, producer and bandleader. She was born in San Francisco into a family from Nicaragua and currently resides in New York City. She began playing music at the age of 11 and by the time she turned 16, she was sitting in andperforming with renowned Latin artists Santana, Cal Tjader and Sheila E. She has led her Latin Brazilian Jazz group Annette A. Aguilar & StringBeans since 1992 and has released three albums to wide acclaim. The band toured three times as Latin Jazz Ambassadors for the U.S. Department of State, and  has also toured and shared the stage with many top New York City Pop, Jazz and Latin groups including Darlene Love, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Tito Puente, and many others. Keep up with her on social media including @aaabeans on instagram.

“A monumental force of ideas and energy” (Saxophone Journal), James Noyes has performed with the Long Island Philharmonic, Juilliard Symphony, Argento New Music Project, New York Arts Ensemble, David Amram, Rosemary Clooney, the Doobie Brothers, and many more. His articles are published in The Musical Quarterly, Saxophone Symposium, and Saxophone Today. He is currently completing Elise Hall: La Dame au Saxophone, a biography of the world’s first female orchestral saxophonist. James earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Manhattan School of Music, and teaches at William Paterson University and Manhattan School of Music, Precollege Division, and is the author of over fifty musical compositions. Check out more of his work at www.jamesnoyes.com

Frank Rapkiewicz is a musician born and raised in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. He has been playing music, Guitar, Bass and Piano, for 50 years. He has worked with the likes of Dion and the Belmonts, Chuck Berry, and James Brown to name a few. He comes from a Broadcast Engineering background and has worked at Sony, NBC, CNN and Lifetime Television. He currently works in higher education and lives with his wife in Washington Heights.

Jeffrey Hardy trained at LAMDA and has had an international career as an actor. He was a member of New Shakespeare Company of San Francisco, has worked in London’s West End, in repertory theatre in the UK, Off-Broadway and toured in the US, Austria, Germany, Sweden and his native Australia. With Dame Judi Dench, he was a founding Director of The Royalty Theatre Company. In the Noel Coward world, he was a close personal friend of Joyce Carey, Joan Hirst and Graham Payn. He has taught Shakespeare for the Actor in London, Australia and New York and is an adjunct professor at the New York Institute of Technology. He currently lives in New York and is also a working Barrister and Attorney at Law. He is married to chanteuse Shana Farr, well known for her interpretation of The Noel Coward Songbook.

Called the “Yo-Yo Ma of the harp,” by Vogue Senior Editor Corey Seymour, Bridget Kibbey is in demand for her innovative, virtuosic performances that expand the expressive range of the harp. Kibbey has received a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and a Salon de Virtuosi SONY Recording Grant. She is the winner of the Premiere Prix at the Journées de les Harpes Competition in Arles, France, the Concert Artists Guild competition, and the Juilliard School’s Peter Mennin Prize for Artistic Excellence and Leadership. She is a graduate of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Bowers Program and is annually featured with the company. She made her NPR TinyDesk debut in 2020, and her debut album “Love is Come Again,” was listed as a top ten debut by TimeOut, NY. Bridgett has been featured as soloist on Front Row Washington, A&E’s Breakfast with the Arts, WQXR, WRTI, among others. In addition, she is also curating a new classical music concert series at Our Savior’s Atonement in Washington Heights. For a schedule check out www.mosaconcerts.org

Frank Coleman has had a long career collecting hyphens. He's a musician-composer-writer-editor-filmmaker-animator-producer-director-designer and software developer. A former child actor, Frank appeared in two productions picked by TIME Magazine as Top of the Decade in 1969 before retiring at age 10. He studied percussion and electronic music at Berklee College of Music, eventually developing an interest in integrating technology into live performance. This led to a long and successful career in new media, encompassing over 500 projects since 1990, including the first CD-ROM, the first interactive music site on the Internet, and the first website to receive an Emmy nomination. He’s also a professional rock drummer with an extensive discography, and has performed in front of over 40,000 people, most notably with John Ashton, formerly of The Psychedelic Furs. Returning to his theater roots with his partner, playwright Bambi Everson, they've released six volumes of her work in paperback in the last year, had a sold out run at the 2019 NY Fringe Festival, and co-host a web series on cinema. Check out more from Frank at www.frank-coleman.com

Welcome to Inwood Art Works' 2022 On Air Seasonal Sampler. It’s where we highlight a musical performance from each Live N’ Local episode throughout our third season of On Air, which spans the entire calendar year. We believe these musicians deserve your attention, and hope that if you like what you hear, it will prompt you to check out more music from these amazing local artists. Or at the very least, go check out their Inwood Art Works On Air podcast episode! 2022 LIVE N’ LOCAL SEASONAL SAMPLERMaggie Clarke - Truth Doesn't MatterJimmy Delgado - TimbalesLeadlights Ensemble - El ManiceroBob Windbiel - It's All Over Now Baby BlueSanakori Ramos - Edwin Sudano’s Earth MotherFrank Rhodes - Mi CanciónTony Davis - GoodbyeMarchena - Un Día Antes

Tony Davis is an internationally renowned guitarist and composer based in New York City. He regularly performs in NYC’s top venues such as The Blue Note, Birdland, Smalls and Mezzrow. He has played the Newport Jazz Festival and currently leads several projects such as his trio, solo guitar and voice, and a co-led duo with Brazilian vocalist, Jamile. He has most recently toured internationally, playing at Mexico City’s Zinco, Jazzatlan, Parker & Lenox and Casa Franca. In 2019, Davis was signed by the Posi-Tone record label and released his debut album, “Golden Year” which features an all-star lineup of some of modern day’s most acclaimed jazz musicians such as Dezron Douglas, Eric McPherson, and Steve Wilson. Since then, he signed with La Reserve Records, for his co-led album with vocalist, Jamile “Daring Two Be,” released in 2022. Find more of his music at www.tonydavismusic.com

Born in Santo Domingo, Hector Marchena is a singer/songwriter, musician, guitarist, producer, and performer living in The Bronx, New York City. He first began singing at 5 years old, and has not stopped since. His music draws influences from Latin, tropical, and bohemian with a mix of rock, ballads, jazz, and pop and identifies his own style as “Alternative/Tropical-Bohemian." Hector intends to spread his music nationally and internationally and is releasing what promises to be enjoyable, quality music that is food for the soul, and enjoyed by Spanish and non-Spanish speakers alike. Stream Marchena's music from anywhere and folllow on instagram @marchenamusic.

Ran Xia is a Shanghai-born Playwright, Director and Audiogremlin. She is a current member of WP Lab, Soho Rep's Writer/Director Lab; and is the Beatrice Terry Resident at the Drama League. Her recent writing credits include her play Chava the Giant and the Oldest Bird at Rattlestick Global Form Festival.  In addition, she is the Resident Director at the Tank where she directed and composed for the film adaptation of Prometheus Bound. She has also guest directed at Barnard (Orlando) and Montclair State (Randi & Roxanne), and is a commissioned playwright at Vanderbilt University (To Stab a Butterfly Through the Heart). Ran is also a Usual suspect at Exquisite Corpse Co. where she provide the Sound Design for the NYT critics' pick Zoetrope, audio installation for Memory House, and many more); and has also designed sound for productions at LIU Brooklyn, John Jay College, Theater Lab, and more.  Find more of her work at www.ranxia.info 

Harry Mandel has been performing magic most of his life. Inspired by the Amazing Randi on Wonderama and Mark Wilson on his Magical Land of Alakazam back in the early days of kids television shows. Harry has always been intrigued by Carnival hucksters and pitchman, as well as the escape artistry of Harry Houdini. For more about his magical life, visit www.mandelmagic.com

Franklin Rodriguez, aka Frank Rhodes, was born and raised in Washington Heights, here in NYC. Frank began with writing poetry, which he would later turn into songs while teaching himself how to play guitar. In the Summer of 2020, he released the electronic ballad “un poco.” Then in January of 2022, he began to record his debut album, “The Many Deaths and Life of Frank Rhodes.” Newly signed by the independent record label, Another Dream Records, he gives us an eclectic love letter of the genesis of something new and the unknown. Follow him @frankrhodesmusic

David Friend is an experimental musician living in New York City. A classically-trained pianist, he performs regularly with new music groups and as a soloist at major venues and DIY spaces throughout the city, across the country, and abroad. The New York Times describes him as '[one] of the finest, busiest pianists active in New York's contemporary-classical scene.'  He has recorded for numerous labels, including his most recent release for solo piano and electronic processing, 'Post-,' for New Amsterdam Records; and with Third Coast Percussion for Cedille in an album that won the Grammy award for Best Chamber Music Performance.  He is a cofounder of Bent Duo, an interdisciplinary project with Bill Solomon, that frequently explores issues of queer identity, theory, and aesthetics through performance, multimedia work, and artistic collaborations. As a generative artist, his work often focuses on experimental queer traditions of availablism, aesthetics of extremity, and the disruption of traditional hierarchies between and among artists and the public. Learn more at www.davidfriendpiano.net

Sarah Seeds has appeared in TV Shows, Web series, Films, Off-Broadway plays, and national Voiceover campaigns. Sarah created and starred in the series, ‘Riding The D with Dr. Seeds,' now distributed worldwide on PlexTV, and can be seen in the feature films, ‘THE MINT,’ and ‘AMERICAN FANGO’ on Amazon Prime. Sarah also filmed a principal role in the TV Pilot "After Life," and played the female lead in the upcoming dramatic short, "Powerful Stuff." She's attached to the dystopian series, "The City of Children," and the sci-fi feature, "The Madison Code." She's currently filming the dystopian sci-fi thriller, "Bathed in the Night," (Written by Sarah herself and directed by Michael Pizzano!) in the lead role. She is on the SAG-AFTRA Board and is a member of the Television Academy. Keep up with her at www.sarahseeds.com

Charlie Kirchen is a music-maker and theorist based in Inwood, NYC. He composes, improvise, plays bass, and lead bands. Roughly situated in the realm of “jazz/experimental music,” his music reflects an aesthetic and technique gained from study of the broad sweep of both jazz and western classical music, as well as immersion in American pop music of the past 50 years.His compositions are made of a handful of notated themes which are related by subtle motivic and structural correspondences and linked together by passages of free improvision.As a theorist, he is working on a dissertation at Columbia University which studies cases to theorize the nature of musical “influence,” drawing on ideas surrounding notions of creativity, embodied cognition, hybridity, craft, and aesthetics in the process. Find more of his music on bandcamp and follow @charliekirchen 

Rory Lutz is a born and raised New Yorker. He’s a comic, writer, and dad to a smaller and more well behaved version of himself. He is a believer in the human connection and helping each other…and that laughter really is the best medicine. Rory hosts comedy shows from his Uptown apartment is and venturing out to start a production company to bring consistent comedy to the neighborhood.  Keep up with his comedy schedule on instagram @the_laughing_pad_

Sanakori Ramos is a cultural keeper and spiritual leader of the Indigenous-Caribbean Tribal Nation, Arayeke Yuyayek. He has served on various Indigenous-Caribbean communities and non-profits for the past 25 years. He founded the NYC Indigenous Day of Remembrance event, NYC Indigenous Mobile Library and traveling cultural center, and Tainoradio.com. Sanakori is a Taino dancer and Powwow Fancy Dancer with years of cultural musical performances. He is also a NYS licensed Social Worker. Get involved with Sanakor by emailing him at [email protected].

Mary Illes has had a storied Broadway, touring and international acting career. Her Broadway performances include The Phantom of the Opera, The Music Man revival (with more than 80 performances as Marian, I might add), The Scarlet Pimpernel, Steel Pier, and She Loves Me.  Internationally, she was in the original Toronto company of Sunset Boulevard with Diahann Carroll, directed by Trevor Nunn, and she played the Gumbie Cat and Griddlebone in Cats/Paris in French, and Cats/Vienna in German. Mary was also an original company member in the Anastasia 1st National Tour in 2019, where she understudied and performed the role of the Dowager Empress. Select Off Broadway credits include: Fidler Afn Dakh at National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene, directed by acclaimed actor/director Joel Grey, Noel Cowards’ After the Ball at Irish Rep, and four shows for New York City Center’s Encore Series.  When not performing, she teaches voice in New York, and is a founding teacher for the Joffrey Ballet Summer Musical Theater Workshop. Check out her work at www.maryilles.net

Dylan Tuccillo is an award-winning writer, video producer, and filmmaker. While attending NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, a feature screenplay that he wrote won a $10,000 award from the Sloan Foundation. A recent short documentary of his was picked up by Upworthy and viewed over 270,000 times. After 15 years of working with advertising agencies and companies, he’s learned how to market content in a media-saturated landscape. His short films have won "Best Short" at the Inwood Film Festival, "Best Director" at the Austin Revolution Film Festival, and awards at the Las Vegas Film Festival and the First Run Film Festival. As a freelance producer and video editor, Dylan has been hired to create content for Ann Taylor, Johnson and Johnson, IBM, Bayer, Berlitz, Columbia University and Vogue, to name a few. In 2013, his non-fiction book about dreams "A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming" was published by Workman, co-authored with two friends. The book was translated into eleven languages and is on its seventh printing, selling over 75,000 copies. Learn more about his projects at www.dylantuccillo.com

Cristobal Vivar was born in Mexico to an artistic family. His father is a painter, sculptor and jewelry designer, his mother a textile artist. His uncle created model buildings for architects and his grandfather was passionate about photography when not working as a miner. After studying Graphic Design, Cris became interested in animation and photography, and graduating he worked doing interactive websites and motion graphics for television.  In 2001 he immigrated to New York and photographed the social movements born out of the post 9-11 turmoil. After becoming a father, he became pursued photography as a career and worked for the Inwood Newspaper Manhattan Times.  His film projects were included in the first and most recent Inwood film festivals, and his photography was featured in Inwood Art Works “Focus on Photography” gallery exhibition. Check out more of his work at www.vivarphoto.com

Michael Pizzano is an independent filmmaker and a proud New Yorker. He recently created a 9 episode web series, Lockdown Living, that takes a dark, comedic look into lessons learned from the 2020 quarantine. His short films The Replacement and Say No to Drift Walking, were festival favorites – including the Inwood Film Festival!Michael’s first feature project, Exposure 36, where he acted as lead producer was released in the Spring of 2022 and he is currently in pre-production for a post-apocalyptic thriller to be shot toward the end of the Summer. In his first foray into directing horror, Michael is incredibly excited to announce Drifter, a slasher film hitting the film festival circuit this year. In addition to his narrative projects, Michael works as a producer of branded content for Vox Media. Check out more of his work at www.michaelpizzano.com

Elizabeth Starcevic learned to weave in Mexico on a sabbatical from City College while doing research on a Mexican writer and found her way into weaving. She produces large scale weavings on a standing loom that is both nonrepresentational and very political. Elizabeth is inspired by the world around her and tries and portray both the beauty and the difficult reality that we are living in. She has been weaving in Mexico for over twenty-five years and has had solo shows and been in group shows in Mexico and in New York City. Her work is on permanent display at the City College and at York College of the City University, as well as on long term loan to the NYC Career Center and the New York Public Library. See her work at: www.estarweaver.com

Tom Okada is a third-generation Japanese American born in New York City. Tom holds a BFA from NY Tech and an MFA in Photography from Pratt Institute. He is also a NY State Certified Art teacher and is now a Professor at St. Thomas Aquinas College where he teaches digital and documentary photography. Throughout his career, Tom has exhibited his photographs in galleries on Cape Cod, Boston, and at the Hammond Museum in Salem, New York. Currently, Tom is working on portraits of Cape Cod artists at work. View more of his work at www.tomokada.com