Based in Washington Heights, Leadlights Ensemble connects people through music and brings joy and vitality to communities through high quality musical programming in all kinds of spaces, from the concert hall to the sidewalk. Founded in 2018, Leadlights is dedicated to amplifying the music of living composers, particularly the music of women composers and composers of color. In addition, the Ensemble has commissioned or premiered new works for string quartet by J. Mark Stambaugh, Kyle Werner, Nick Marsella, Simon Brown, and Washington Heights students Raschkes Evensen and Julian Jackson. Find out more at www.leadlightsensemble.weebly.com

Osaliki Sepúlveda is on a mission to tell stories that instill and uplifts Latino pride. In 2018, he founded the Collectives for Arts Music & Dance, a non-profit cultural organization that provides authentic artistic performances and cultural programs that celebrates the humanity of Afro-Dominican and Latino traditions in the United States. Also, he serves as artistic director for Dominican Folkloric Squad, a performing arts ensemble that produces folkloric presentations for the stage and community spaces across New York City. Learn more at www.c4amd.org

Robert Bailey currently serves as the Head of Photography for Tarisio Fine Instruments and Bows (New York, London, Berlin). He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from Ohio University and has gone on to work as a commercial photographer for clients including United Airlines, Nike and the United Nations. Robert was also an adjunct professor at Ohio Northern University and has lectured at the School of Visual Arts, Rochester Institute of Technology and The International Center of Photography. Robbie Bailey is a freelance photographer and digital consultant in New York City. She studied radio and television broadcasting at North Carolina State University, followed by documentary photography studies at the International Center of Photography. Her commercial clients include: Toys 'R Us, Betsey Johnson, Ralph Lauren, and the New York Yankees.  The Baileys collaborate on their personal documentary projects and environmental portraits. Their photographs have been published in the New York Times as well as being featured on The Today Show, The Discovery Channel, and NBC’s Nightly News. Keep up with their work at www.baileyphoto.com

Jesse Lauter is a rock-doc/concert film director, music producer/engineer/mixer, and DJ. His production credits include artists such as the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Stephen Stills & Judy Collins, and Ben Harper, among others. Jesse directed, produced and co-edited Learning To Live Together: The Return of Mad Dogs & Englishmen about Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour, featuring the late Leon Russell, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Rita Coolidge and Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, among others. The movie premiered at the Woodstock FIlm Festival, made its international premiere at the Raindance Film Festival, and won Best Music Film at the Prague and Amsterdam International Film Festivals. Jesse was the Executive Producer of Bob Dylan In The 80s: Volume One, a tribute album to Bob Dylan’s overlooked 1980s catalog, and of Sincerely, L. Cohen: A Live Celebration of Leonard Cohen, a tribute concert that took place in Brooklyn after the passing of Leonard Cohen.In addition, he is currently the producer of The Relix Sessions on Twitch, a weekly live-stream concert series with the largest viewership of a music channel on the Twitch platform. You can also catch him spinning his favorite brands of funk, disco, soul, reggae, and classic rock at festivals like Bonnaroo and Outside Lands. Keep up with him at www.jesselauter.com

Maite Bonilla made her debut as the director, co-writer and lead character in her first short film “La Entreviú.” She won Best Actress, Best Screenwriter and Best Short film for the film at FEMUJER film festival (2019) in her hometown of the Dominican Republic, and won third place in The Dominican Film Festival in New York City (2018). And, her second short film I AM POEM is a recipient of the 2021 Inwood Film Festival Filmmaker Fund Award from Inwood Art Works. As an actor, she recently played “Beli” in the Spanish adaptation for “The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”, and gave an award winning performance in her role as "Ramona" from the adaptation of the novel "En el nombre de Salomé" – both at Repertorio Español. Bonilla studied with Terry Schreiber, The Acting Studio and The School for Film and Television in New York City, and in June of 2020 she graduated with her Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling from Alfred University. Keep up with her on Instagram @maitebonilla

Carol Diamond's engagement, and entanglement - with the urban landscape has traveled with her through the various neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Manhattan, developing a lifelong passion for urban forms, spaces, and architecture. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Carol received a B.F.A. in Painting from Cornell University and studied at the New York Studio School. She is a tenured adjunct professor at Pratt Institute and teaches Graphic Design at CUNY’s City College of Technology. Recent show venues include Equity Gallery, Newbury Fine Arts, Boston, and at Zurcher Salon, May ’22. Her artwork is included in public and private collections, including the Portland, Oregon Museum of Art.  Diamond was awarded a Purchase Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Invitational Exhibition, a Pratt Institute Professional Development Grant, and the National Academy Museum’s Edwin Palmer Prize. Her work has been featured in Hyperallergic, Too Much Art, and the Manhattan Times, among others. Her art writing and reviews are published in Art Critical, Painters on Painting, Two Coats of Paint, and Delicious Line. Keep up with her work at www.caroldiamond.com

With over 25 years in the costume and wardrobe world, Erin Brooke Roth has worked in regional theater, summer stock, bus & truck tours, national tours, and has spent the last 13 of those years working on Broadway, and the past 4 in Film and Television. Erin is a graduate of Butler University with degrees in theater & history and received an MFA from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in costume design & construction with an emphasis on wig & makeup design & construction. She has made anything & everything that goes on a actors body, and have dressed actors in any situation you can think of.

KarynRose Bruyning is an award winning writer/director/producer and the “July” in CHRISTMAS IN JULY 1982,(a film and theater production company which she co-found} the produced the hit docu-series, P.OP. which would later be licensed by Mass Appeal and the SMOKE AND MIRRORS web series. She has worked as co-creator/ co-writer for the web series BEYOND COMPLICATED with Andrea Lewis, written/directed the well noted short films PERCEPTION, I KNOW THE SUNSET, NEVERTHELESS and executive produced THE COLORED HOSPITAL by Terrance Daye. Her films have been screened at various film festivals including Academy Award eligible Reel Sisters Film Festival. Find more about her work at www.christmasinjuly1982.com

Joe Foley is an award winning cinematographer who has been working in the industry for over two decades. He has shot eighteen feature films including Killing Time that premiered at Sundance and Dogs: The Rise and Fall of an All Girl Bookie Joint that premiered at Rotterdam. The last two features he completed (The Understudy and Brief Reunion) had successful runs in New York and Los Angeles and are currently available online. In addition, Joe has shot music videos and concert films with Leonard Cohen and U2, Dinosaur Jr, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The National and many others. He has a BFA in Film from NYU, and an MFA in film from Columbia University, and he has gone on to share his experience by teaching filmmaking at NYU Singapore-Tisch Asia, Barnard College, SVA, Hunter College, The New School and the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. Find out more about him and his work at www.joefoleydp.com.

Steven Hansen specializes in working for nonprofit organizations and community projects around the U.S. His clients include NBCUniversal Publishing, Comcast, MetroBeat TV, Anythink Libraries, Open Library, The City of Denver, National Audubon Society, The Center for Digital Archeology, and Starbucks.He has also freelanced as a greeting card illustrator, an exhibition designer, and a user-experience reviewer for retail websites. Steve is also the creator of The Happiness Archive; which is a collection of stories, hacks and odd facts that make us happy. Get happy at www.happinessarchive.com

A 2020 Pollock-Krasner awardee and currently an artist research fellow at the Hispanic Society of Americas, Ana Paula Cordeiro thrives in the communal space. A founding member of the Introspective Collective, in 2018 she co-curated a multi-media installation at The Clemente and co-authored a book about making books titled Bookforms. Originally from Brazil, she does her work at The Center for Book Arts shared shop. Her artist books are collected by major institutions in the US and abroad. Keep up with her at www.anapaulacordeiro.com

Jimmy Delgado is best known for his timbale playing, however he is well versed in all elements of Latin percussion. With a career spanning over 5 decades, he has played with Ray Barretto’s Big Band, Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Harry Belafonte, and many others. He has a discography to long to mention, but just released the new single “Algun Lugar Bajo El Sol” this past February, and has a new album "A Mis Mentores...To My Mentors" just out this March.

Inwood Art Works On Air puts its spotlight on local theatermakers, Leslie and Joe Burby. Leslie Kincaid Burby is thrilled to be directing live theatre once again as the Covid pandemic (hopefully) winds down. Last fall she directed Sherlock Holmes: The Baker Street Irregulars for Pied Piper Theater of New York, an open-air production in the spectacular outdoor setting of the Audubon Terrace. The previous fall, due to pandemic restrictions, Leslie was delighted to direct the companies first film, Robin Hood, which she co-wrote and edited with husband Joseph Burby. She has also received the New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Direction for her work on Eddie Antar's Drama Desk nominated play, The Navigator, which was developed at the WorkShop Theater, where she is an Associate Artistic Director.Joe Burby is an accomplished actor, a versatile VO guy, and wears many other hats as well. Recent stage appearances include as the character WAR in The Four Horsemen of the Internet by Duane Yancy; Will Brown in Mesquite, NV at The Workshop Theater; and Dead Tom in The Dudleys at HERE Arts Center with Loading Dock Theater.  He has provided voice talent as well as on-camera appearances for the National Road Safety Foundation's PSAs, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum in NYC, among others. Joe also works as a real estate agent at New Heights Realty here in Inwood, Manhattan and also directs and writes for Pied Piper Theatre of NYC.

Born in New Haven, Connecticut to Sri Lankan immigrants, Dileepan Ganesan is a filmmaker based in Inwood, NYC. His films share a common thread: humanism and love struggling to prevail in an often unforgiving society. He has made one feature film "Sometimes Why," which was selected by the Inwood Film Festival in their Feature Film category and is also a recipient of a grant from Inwood Film Festival Filmmaker Fund for his newly completed film “The Other Side of Broadway.”

Dorkys Ramos is a Washington Heights/Inwood-based writer and illustrator. She writes for various publications both in print and online all the while managing and designing for her stationery company Porcupine Hugs. Her writing has been featured in Travel + Leisure and TravelandLeisure.com, BET.com, Latina and Latina.com, Parents Latina, Time Out New York, Time Out New York Kids, The Manhattan Times, and many other publications. She is also the Deputy Director of Uptown Stories, a local nonprofit that offers small-group writing workshops for children ages eight to eighteen. Visit www.uptownstories.org to learn more.

Sloka Iyengar is a dancer and scientist, passionate about the power of science to change the world for its most vulnerable populations, and the importance of communication to effect that change. She is a practitioner of Bharatanatyam and is interested in using its narrative and storytelling aspects to reach wider audiences. She is also interested in the convergence of arts and sciences and has created productions exploring and defining this convergence. Learn more about her at www.slokaiyengar.net

Bruce Katz is an architectural, portrait and fine art photographer based in New York City. Working regularly for a diverse clientele over a 40-year career, his work has appeared in Architectural Digest, New York Magazine, Landscape Architecture, and The Washington Post as well as for top hospitality, design and advertising firms throughout the country.Recent NYC gallery exhibitions include SPF 16 at the Arsenal Gallery on 5th Avenue, Photoville in Brooklyn (2016 and 2017), Alice Austin House Museum, and many others. His Elevated Lines was exhibited in 2018 at the Inwood Art Works pop-up gallery. In addition, select work from his City Limits project was recently acquired by New York Historical Society for the museum’s permanent collection. Bruce is a strong advocate for business education for photographers and has taught at the International Center of Photography. He is an active member of ASMP and has served on the National and NY Chapter board of directors. Learn more at www.asmp.org/newyork. View his work at www.brucekatzphoto.com. Learn more about the photosafari mentioned in the podcast at www.newyorkcityphotosafari.com

Maggie Clarke is a long-time Inwood resident and is the singer and rhythm guitarist for classic rock cover bands, The Apple Bonkers and The Meetles. She is also a concert and Landscape photographer, and the main concert photographer for the Zombies (band). In her non-musical life, she is a Zero Waste Professional, community environmental activist, founder and President, RING garden on Dyckman Street, the founder, Inwood Preservation, a founding member of Inwood Legal Action, and is on the boards of the National Recycling Coalition and the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board. Find out more at www.maggieclarkeenvironmental.com

Marella Martin Koch is an Inwood-based librettist, director, and playwright that has been praised by the press for her “cleverness in constructing humor for opera” (from DC Theatre Scene) for her 20-minute opera Pepito; written with composer Nicolas Lell Benavides, for Washington National Opera at its Kennedy Center premiere in 2019. Marella also wrote the lyrics for Marianne Dashwood, Songs of Love & Misery and Elinor Dashwood, two song cycles written with the composer Aferdian and commissioned by mezzo-soprano Meagan Martin. Furthermore, she has full-length operatic works in development, which include an adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense & Sensibility with Aferdian, the West Edge Opera Aperture commission Dolores with Nicolas Lell Benavides, and 28th Ave with Michael Lanci. Last, but not least, Marella also is the Founder and Director of The Rally Cat, an energized multidisciplinary performing arts company that inspires and empowers artists and communities through opera, musical theatre, and theatre. 

Brandon Stirling Baker is an Inwood-Based filmmaker and lighting designer working internationally in the areas of dance, opera, theatre and film. His lighting can be seen internationally in the repertories of New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and many others. Baker’s work has been presented by major venues including the Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Theatre du Chatelet (Paris), Sadlers Wells (London), and the Guggenheim Bilbao (Spain). Baker received the prestigious Knight of Illumination Award (KOI-USA) in 2019, and was appointed Lighting Director and Resident Lighting Designer of the Boston Ballet in 2018. His forth-coming short film documentary “Go Live in the Woods” is a recipient of the Inwood Film Festival Filmmaker Fund Award.  Learn more about his work at www.stirlingbaker.com

Jeffrey James Keyes is an interdisciplinary writer and artist living Uptown NYC. He is a New York Times best-selling author for Killer Chef, which he co-authored with James Patterson. Keyes was the inaugural L’Engle-Rahman Prize recipient for Mentorship through PEN America. His award-winning short film Uniform was featured in over thirty film festivals worldwide and his short 181 was part of the first Inwood Film Festival. He just wrapped work on his latest project Christmas, which is a short that will be part of a series of filmed monologues through the Fresh Fruit Festival. His new television pilot script Cream City has placed in over ten film festivals including recently winning first place in the Niagara Falls Short Film Festival. He's also been collaborating with a new collective of playwrights he initiated called The Convening. You can learn more about his work at www.jeffreyjameskeyes.com

Matt Higgins is an original member of the spontaneous theatre troupes Centralia and Burn Manhattan. His improvisation bears the indelible influence of past directors Paul Sills and Shira Piven, as well as teachers Ralph Buckley, Paul Lazar, and Josh Broder. Matt is an Andy Kaufman Award Finalist and his stand-up has appeared on Comedy Central. His TV Credits include: The Jim Gaffigan Show, Late Night and Law & Order. Films include Shadowboxer, a Lee Daniels film. In early 2019 Matt wrapped production on The Improvisor, an improv comedy concert film. Matt performs regularly with Centralia at The Peoples Improv Theater in New York City. Keep up with Matt at www.matthigginswebsite.com

Steven Burneson is an independent filmmaker and video production professional based in Washington Heights. He currently serves as head of post production at Red Summit Productions, having created content for clients such as PayPal, Mars, and Walmart. Steven’s upcoming narrative short, Beautiful Strokes, was a 2020 recipient of the Inwood Film Festival Filmmaker Fund. Steven’s first play, Cross Stitch Bandits, co-written with his fiance Sanam Laila Hashemi and developed under the mentorship of David Lindsay-Abaire, will make its world premiere at Cadence Theatre Company in June 2022. Keep up with Steven's work at burnesonfilm.com

Born and raised in Washington Heights in New York City, Miguel Mike Medina is a Dominican-American actor, writer, and filmmaker. His acting career began when he performed two One-Act Plays: Poison and The Game while he was attending the City College of New York. Following his graduation, he has directed, produced, written, and starred in multiple short films, including: The Grade, Bittersweet Holiday, Torn Feelings, From Dad, To Bobby, Valentine's Dinner, and many more. Medina’s films have won 23 awards and he is set to release his first documentary in 2022. In addition, he also runs Double L 94 Productions, which produces Theater, Independent Films, and Web Series. Check out the YouTube channel or follow on instagram at ll94prod.

Kirby Fields is a neighborhood writer and the Artistic Director of UP Theater Company, which produced his full-length plays K COMMA JOSEPH and LOST/NOT FOUND. His short plays have been featured in the Sam French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival, the Gallery Players One-Act Play Festival, and the NY 15-minute Play Festival. His plays have also been produced or developed in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, and Kansas City. His short film, "Not So Hilarious Anymore," which he wrote and produced, appeared in 10 film festivals, including those in San Francisco, Portland, and Liverpool and will be coming soon to the Inwood Film Festival!  You can keep up with Kirby and Up Theater at www.uptheater.org

This is our On Air 2021 Live N’ Local Seasonal Sampler - Volume 2. We’re going to share with you one live selection from each local musical artist we presented in the second half of 2021.   This is less of a greatest hits, and more of a critic’s pick - a mix-tape, if you will, curated by hosts Aaron Simms and Jonathan Bell, with the hope that if you like what you hear, it will prompt you to check out more from these amazing local artists. Or at the very least, go check out their On Air episode!2021 LIVE N LOCAL SEASONAL SAMPLER - VOL. 2 Rich Shemaria – The Invisible Bridge Jerome Kitzke – The Green Automobile Eri Yamamoto – Improvisation Asher Ben-Or – Untitled Guitar Instrumental Manuel Valera – Expectativas Atom Fellows – Space Girls Will Save Us Eli Yamin - Me and Lulu On Air is created and produced by Inwood Art Works. You can support this program by making a tax-deductible donation at www.inwoodartworks.nyc/donate.

Filmmaker Carlos Hiciano was born and raised in the NYC tri-state area where he developed an affinity for both film and music. This led him to achieve his Bachelor’s degree in Multimedia Studies from CUNY- Lehman College. He freelances in both production and post-production in film, television, and the music industry; and often works alongside fellow filmmaker and cousin, Alfonso Rodriguez. His films have been recognized and well-received in multiple film festivals including, the Tunxis Short film festival, Chicago Horror Film Festival, and the Dominican Film Festival. In addition, his short film “Quico” is a recipient of the Inwood Film Festival Filmmaker Fund Award from Inwood Art Works. You can check out his work at vimeo.com/contactlightstudios

Heather Godfrey has been teaching dance and working with children for over 20 years. After moving to NYC to attend Barnard College where she earned a B.A in Dance, Heather went on to pursue a career in musical theater for nearly 10 years. Highlights of her performing career included the national tour of The Will Rogers Follies, West Side Story, White Christmas, Damn Yankees, and Fiorello!She has combined her passion for dance, performance, children and her love of the Washington Heights community through the creation of Dance Project of Washington Heights (DPWH) - a nonprofit dance organization she co-founded that provides access to dance education to the Washington Heights community. Learn more at www.danceprojectwh.org

With his home-base out of New York City, filmmaker and non-fiction storyteller Brian Miller focuses primarily on creating short-form video content: documentaries, commercials, branded content and promos. Working in the roles of producer, shooter and editor, his work has taken him from Ghana to Japan to Costa Rica, telling stories for a variety of individuals and organizations along the way including GE, Unilever, McDonalds, Vogue, and Johnson & Johnson. Along with freelance clients, Brian works with Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs to create promotional and editorial content for the school. He has a particular interest in telling stories that highlight our human potential. Brian has also recently worked as a DP and producer on several short narrative films based in Inwood, and surrounding, area. He is also among the recipients of the 2020 Inwood Film Festival Filmmaker Fund Award. 

Swedish-born choreographer Julia Bengtsson came to New York in 2012 to immerse herself in diverse opportunities that have ranged from classical ballet to baroque opera and film. She has choreographed over 20 productions at venues such as Carnegie Hall, UN Headquarters, Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, and Alvin Ailey Dance Center. In addition, she has choreographed and directed works for Opera Lafayette, Connecticut Ballet, Atlanta Baroque Orchestra – among others. She is fluent in Feuillet notation and aspires, through her study of historical choreography, to create works that embody the Baroque meaning of ballet – a Gesamtkunstwerk.Julia dances nationally and internationally and regularly performs with companies including New York Baroque Dance Company and the Connecticut Ballet. She received ten years of education from the Royal Swedish Ballet School and was a Scholarship Student at the Joffrey Ballet School.  In the summer of 2021 she was the first choreographer to be awarded a position in Early Music America's Emerging Professional Leadership Council. She has served four years as Board Member and Choreographer of Higher Ground Festival (NYC), as a Choreographer and Advisory Board Member of Bach Cello Suites Festival. Keep up with Julia's projects at www.juliabengtsson.com

Since graduating in 2018 from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Hassiem Muhammad has gone on to work in regional theater, Off Broadway workshops, indie films, and network television. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hassiem penned the web series “Angels of Uptown” – which he a co-produced, co-directed and acted in. Follow it on YouTube: Angels of Uptown, or Instagram/Facebook: AngelsofUptown_Series

Len Cicio is an architectural and landscape draftsman who works in colored pencils, pen & ink, oil pastels and aqua stick oil pastels.  Influenced and inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s use of strong vibrant colors, Lyonel Feininger's towering architectural forms, and the essential strokes illustrating the work of Georgia O’Keefe, Len captures gothic, abstract, and surreal images with lush colors, and wonderful design patterns. Check out his work at www.lcicioart.com

Born in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, Carla Franchesca attended Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo and moved to New York with her family in 2010. Following her graduation from BMCC with an associate’s degree in Video Arts and Technology, she got her Bachelors in Film and Video at the City College of New York, and has risen through the ranks at the Manhattan Neighborhood Network to become its Production Facilitator. In 2016, Carla created her own film production company, Rayoelú Films with the mission to raise the voices of the unheard and ignored and tell their stories through film.  Her first documentary, Buhoneros (Street Vendors), was awarded for Excellence in filmmaking at the 2017 Inwood Film Festival, and her documentary Layers of a Baker, will screen at the forthcoming Inwood Film Festival.  Check out Carla's work at www.rayoelufilms.com

Michael Manese is a Inwood-based Philippine-Born Filmmaker. His previous films include When bart6874 met lulu5547, Maxine, and The Pleasure of Being Served; which has gone on to play 22 film festivals throughout North America, Europe and the Philippines. He is currently in production for his latest project, "Asian PersuAsian" - which is a recipient of Inwood Art Works Inwood Film Festival Filmmaker Fund. Keep up with Michael's work at www.angrydougfilms.com

This Live N' Local episode features local composer, pianist and educator, Eli Yamin. Eli has dedicated his life to performing, teaching, and building community through jazz. He has performed and toured as a jazz ambassador for the United States in over 25 countries, and at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the White House. He co-founded and now directs Jazz Power Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming lives through jazz arts education and performance. His three youth-centered musicals have been performed internationally and across the U.S. including Message From Saturn, about the healing power of the blues. Keep up with Eli and Jazz Power Initiative at www.jazzpower.org

Melissa Riker is the Artistic Director/Choreographer of Kinesis Project dance theatre where she, and her collaborators, create large scale dance performances in public spaces. Kinesis Project has core company members in NYC and in Seattle, and the company regularly performs in both cities.Melissa is also the Executive Director of the EstroGenius Festival and founding co-producer of Women in Motion, both are performance and development platforms celebrating and supporting women and non-binary artists. In 2020, in reaction to the sudden closure of the dance field, Riker founded Dance Rising a collective of dance artists and administrators that uses performance as activism and advocates for the dance field of NYC.

Atom Fellows is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, record producer, filmmaker and creator of the YouTube show The Anarchy Funhouse.Born in 1971, in Fort Huachuca, Arizona and raised in a Catholic blue collar suburb of Baltimore County, Atom moved to New York City in 1992 to become a rock star. He played countless gigs in dive bars and clubs while also honing his recording engineer skills, eventually building a modestly successful recording studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. After Atom and his wife’s first child was born in 2007, he began his new career as a stay-at-home dad. It was during these years that Atom dived into filmmaking, producing short films and music videos for musical acts including Coyote Love, Thomas Denman, Terminal Service and many others. Then during the pandemic lockdown of 2020, while Atom was brainstorming music video ideas with his teenage daughter for his original song “Space Girls Will Save Us” she pitched, “What about a dark kids show?” and The Anarchy Funhouse was born. 

Zafiria Dimitropoulou Del Angel is a GreekMexican performer and Director. She has studied Political Science and Public Administration at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Acting at the Greek Art Theatre Karolos Koun, and is currently the Artistic Director of People’s Theater Project. Rooted in Upper Manhattan, the Peoples Theatre Project is a social justice arts organization that creates ensemble-based theatre with and for immigrant communities to develop the next generation of diverse, socially-engaged artists and leaders.  For more information visit www.peoplestheatreproject.org

On this Artist Spotlight episode we welcome the Co-Founding Directors of the Higher Ground Festival, Temple Kemezis & Pablo Francisco Ruvalcaba.  The Higher Ground Festival brings Northern Manhattan artists together to network and create interdisciplinary, stage-based collaborations produced by the festival and present them locally during the annual HG Premiere Performance.  Since their inaugural year in 2015, Higher Ground has brought over 150 artists together through their programming and have produced 27 Premiere Collaborations presented free to the Uptown Community. Additionally, they have presented over 10 new works and works-in-progress outside the HGF season.  Tune in to hear what Higher Ground brings Uptown NYC and then check out their work at www.creatinghigherground.com  

  On this Live N' Local episode of Inwood Art Works On Air we are excited to welcome Grammy nominated Cuban pianist & composer Manuel Valera. Valera was born in Havana, Cuba, but since 2000 he has lived in New York City, where he attended New School University. His playing is influenced by Bill Evans, Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett, and he has worked extensively in many groups including those of Dafnis Prieto, Arturo Sandoval, and Paquito D'Rivera. In 2005, Manuel’s released his first CD as a leader, called Forma Nueva. He followed that up with a succession of records: Historia, Melancolia, Vientos, and Currents. After taking a hiatus as a leader, to focus on sideman work, in 2012 Valera released New Cuban Express; a big band album which earned him a nomination for a 2013 Grammy Award in the category "Best Latin Jazz Album.”    

  A lifelong resident of Inwood, NYC, Asher Ben-Or has been playing the guitar since the age of 13 after falling in love with Rock and Roll and Blues music. Since that time his musical journey has spanned several rock bands, cover bands, freelance work in and around NYC, and most recently, a steady roster of gigs performing jazz inspired by Django Reinhardt. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jazz performance from the City College of New York and works a second career as a real estate agent here in New York City.  You can keep up with him at www.asherben-ormusic.com  

Takashi Harada is a Japanese Painting (Nihonga) artist born in a small porcelain-making town, Arita, Saga, in Japan. After completing the PhD program of the Graduate School of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (which is currently Tokyo University of the Arts), he was granted a fellowship to study overseas by the Japanese Government in 2005, and has been exhibiting his artworks in Japan and the US collectively over 30 years.  Working outside of Japan has allowed him to explore his Japanese identity, and also, given him opportunities to contemplate the connection between humanity and other natural elements while collecting images of nature in other countries.  You can follow his work at www.takashiharada.com  

Since moving to the United States in 1995, Eri Yamamoto has established herself as one of jazz's most original and compelling pianists and composers. Jazz legend Herbie Hancock has said, “My hat’s off to her... already she’s found her own voice.” Eri has collaborated with such creative and celebrated musicians as William Parker, Daniel Carter, Hamid Drake, among others. Since 1998, Eri's trio has been appearing regularly at Arthur's Tavern in Greenwich Village. She is also skilled in the art of solo piano, moving audiences with her renditions of her own compositions and her spontaneous improvisations. Check out more of her work at www.eriyamamoto.com

Libby Stadstad is a scenic designer for theater, opera, dance, film, television, and immersive installations. Her work has been presented by New York City Center, Kennedy Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Williamstown Theater Festival, and the Guggenheim Museum’s Works and Process Series, among others. In 2019, she made her debut with the highly acclaimed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at New York City Center featuring new choreography by Jamar Roberts. Stadstad’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and she has recently served as an adjust professor of Scenic Design at Ramapo College. Also, she is also a recipient of the Inwood Film Festival Filmmaker Fund grant from Inwood Art Works, and we are thrilled to have her featured on our Artist Spotlight. Learn more about Libby's work at www.libbystadstad.com

  Originally from the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Jerome Kitzke has thought himself to be as much a storyteller as he is a composer. Some of his stories are about life's personal roads, like The Redness of Blood and Sunflower Sutra which both express his love for his blood family. Many, however, like Haunted America and The Paha Sapa Give-Back are about the roads that go looking for what it means to be an American from the late 20th to the early 21st Century, especially as it relates to the connection between how we live on this land and the way we came to live on it. Kitzke's music celebrates American Vitality in its purest forms. It thrives on the spirit of driving jazz, Plains Indian song, and Beat Generation poetry, where freedom and ritual converge. It is direct, dramatic, and visceral — always with an ear to the sacred ground.    

Alan Sidransky is an award-winning writer of novels and short stories who focuses on the personal experience of everyday people faced with extraordinary circumstances. As a member of a family ravaged by the Holocaust, he is determined to tell the stories of refugees and survivors he’s known who have triumphed over oppression. His stories range from Hitler’s Germany to Soviet Russia, from Trujillo’s Dominican Republic to Castro’s Cuba, to the struggles of two peoples in the Holy Land and beyond. Alan's debut novel Forgiving Maximo Rothman was selected as a finalist for Outstanding Debut Fiction by the National Jewish Book Awards in 2013. His novel, The Interpreter is the first installment in a new “Justice” series, with a second installment due in 2022. Find out more at: www.ajsidransky.com

Rich Shemaria is a long-time Inwood resident and currently the Jazz Composer in Residence within the NYU Steinhardt Jazz Studies Program, where he teaches composition and arranging and directs the NYU Jazz Orchestra. Along with Dave Schroeder, he formed the band Combo Nuvo; which recorded his One World Suite, a composition he wrote as a positive statement on climate change, and the band toured it internationally.  He has written music for Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Tom Scott, and and was director of the UMO Jazz Orchestra, the National Radio Big Band of Finland based in Helsinki.  His album 3:AM (Amosaya Records), features his New York City ensemble, the Rich Shemaria Big Band; which you can see and hear performing live on YouTube.

Kevin Berry is a self-described “narcoleptic comedian” living in New York City . He has done stand-up all over the world. Locally, in Inwood, he is the creator and curator of the weekly Dope Comedy Show, where you can “Catch the DOPEST comedians in the Galaxy” every Saturday at 10pm. He is also the writer and creator of a new podcast called the “Hellgate City Companion” which is described as a Dystopian cyberpunk fantasy version of A Prairie Home Companion.  Keep up with it at www.hellgatecity.com