Events

Aki Sasamoto (born in Kanagawa, Japan; lives and works in New haven/Brooklyn, USA) works in sculpture, performance, video, and more. In her installation/performance works, Aki moves and talks inside the careful arrangements of sculpturally altered objects, activating bizarre emotions behind daily life. Her works appear in gallery spaces, theater spaces, and odd sites. Her works were shown at Queens Museum, SculptureCenter, The Kitchen, The Chocolate Factory Theater, Whitney Biennial 2010, MoMA PS1, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Aichi Triennale 2022, National Museum of Art-Osaka, Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art, Yokohama Triennale 2008, Japan; Busan Biennale 2022, Gwangju Biennial 2012, South Korea; Shanghai Biennale 2016, China; Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016, India; Kunsthal Rotterdam, Netherlands; Studio Voltaire, U.K.; Pirelli Hangar Bicocca, the 59th Venice Biennale, Italy. She is a professor at Yale School of Art, Sculpture Department.

Nelson Downend is an award-winning screenwriter and lighting designer based in New York City. Recently named one of ISA’s “Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2026”, he is currently staffed on a television series with Beach House Pictures, that is in development with Netflix. Nelson’s written work explores emotional and psychological trauma and the power of the human connection in the aftermath. Informed by his experience in lighting, Nelson’s feature and television scripts often employ a grounded surrealism to enhance the visual storytelling. His projects include dramas, psychological thrillers, political thrillers, crime dramas, and dark dramatic comedies, but are always character driven.

In addition to stage lighting, Nelson was an Associate at architectural lighting firm Domingo Gonzalez Associates (2000-2006), and a Senior Designer at Lumen Architecture (2007-2013). His architectural projects have included galleries, hotels, restaurants, transportation facilities, offices, monuments, schools, theatres and residences, and have the recipient of several G.E. Edison Awards & IIDA Awards. Nelson has decades of experience as a creative team leader and collaborator. Nelson is the proud father of Celestial and Galileo.

Nunally Kersh is a seasoned curator, producer, and arts advocate with a long track record of commissioning, developing and presenting both visual and performance-based work across a broad range of genres and settings throughout her career.

Currently, she serves as Senior Producer for Live Arts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where she oversees the artistic planning and production of site-specific performances that engage in dialogue with the Museum’s permanent collection and special exhibitions, including at The Cloisters. Recent projects have spanned music, dance, opera, and multimedia performance, and have featured such artists as Hamed Sinno (Westerly Breath), The Clarion Choir (Ockeghem Marathon), and Jacolby Satterwhite, whose work included a six-channel video installation and accompanying performance series.

Previously, Kersh served for over 15 years as Executive Producer and Director of Artistic Planning at Spoleto Festival USA, where she curated and produced a wide range of nationally and internationally recognized artists and productions across opera, dance, theater, experimental performance, and diverse musical genres. She also worked as producer at the renowned Bard SummerScape Festival, where she developed and produced large-scale productions of rarely seen operas as well as a series of staged concerts.

In addition to her institutional work, Kersh has worked independently as a producer and curator with a wide range of organizations in New York City and beyond. She frequently serves as a panelist and consultant for prominent philanthropic institutions, including the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, Rockefeller Foundation, and others.

Benjamin Stark is a Clinical Psychologist working in private practice in Brooklyn NY. He studied psychology at the CUNY Grad Center & City College of New York and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Pratt Institute Counseling Center where he was a therapist for undergrad and graduate students studying art. This was by design. Before pursuing his PhD, he worked for nearly a decade in the entertainment industry, first as a film editor and then as a development executive, creating scripted and unscripted series and films. While covering theater in NYC for his development job, Ben fell in love with downtown, avantgarde productions, discovering a world that challenged his understandings of what theater, dance and performance could be. His favorite moments in a theater tend to be when he feels terribly uncomfortable, confused, sad, annoyed and out of his depth. In his practice, Ben works with a number of artists of various stripe and age, from a psychoanalytic orientation. 

Nile Harris is a performer and director of live art. He has done a few things and hopes to do a few more, God willing.

Moe Yousuf is a Pakistani-American arts leader, creative consultant, and theatermaker. He’s currently the Director of Development at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and has 12 years of experience in non-profit arts management, including BRIC Arts Media, Abrons Arts Center / Henry Street Settlement, Target Margin Theater, SPACE on Ryder Farm, The Foundry Theatre, and The Billie Holiday Theatre. He has sat on panels / advisory groups for the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, HERE Arts Center, WP Theater, and Silk Road Rising Theater and is a former Board Member of The Alliance of Resident Theaters of New York (ART/NY). MFA, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, 2011. MBA, Columbia Business School, 2025.

Jimmy Van Bramer is a dedicated public servant and community advocate, known for his unwavering commitment to improving the lives of residents in New York City. Born and raised in Astoria, Queens, Jimmy’s passion for public service was ignited at a young age, driving him to pursue a career focused on serving others.

With a background in public policy and community organizing, Jimmy Van Bramer has dedicated his career to advocating for progressive change and amplifying the voices of underrepresented communities. As a former New York City Council Member representing the 26th District, Jimmy played a pivotal role in shaping legislation and initiatives aimed at promoting social justice, affordable housing, LGBTQ+ rights, and cultural diversity.

Throughout his tenure, Jimmy Van Bramer has been a fierce advocate for equity and inclusivity, championing causes that empower marginalized groups and promote equality for all New Yorkers. His leadership and vision have earned him widespread recognition as a tireless advocate for social change and a steadfast ally for those in need.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Jimmy Van Bramer is deeply passionate about the arts, culture, and education. As a strong supporter of the local arts community, including the Chocolate Factory, he has worked tirelessly to promote cultural initiatives and expand access to the arts for all residents. Jimmy believes in the transformative power of education and is committed to ensuring that every child has access to quality educational opportunities – including the arts – that unlock their full potential. During his 12 year stint as chair of the Cultural Affairs and Libraries Committee, the arts and libraries saw record increases in funding.

Jimmy Van Bramer is guided by a firm belief in the importance of empathy, compassion, and justice in creating a more equitable society. He believes in the power of community engagement and collaborative action to address the most pressing challenges facing our city and build a brighter future for generations to come.

Currently, Jimmy Van Bramer continues his advocacy work through various initiatives aimed at promoting social justice, youth and economic empowerment, and civic engagement. His ongoing public service includes his role as an executive with the Girl Scouts of Greater New York, serving as Vice President of the City’s Public Design Commission, as well his service on the boards of the Queens Public Library and the Chocolate Factory. 

Whether through grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, or community outreach, he remains dedicated to fighting for the rights and well-being of all New Yorkers.

Jimmy lives in Sunnyside Gardens with his husband Dan Hendrick. Legally married in 2012, the couple are together for over 25 years.

Entangled as a lighting designer, production manager, teacher and dance artist,  Shana Crawford’s work in all forms cultivates structures of support and celebration. She collaborates with Lime Rickey Intl, Jessie Young, Juliana May, Jaamil Olawale Kosoko, Laurie Berg,  Madeline Best,  marion spencer, Stephanie Acosta,, and Yanan Yu, among others. You can find her at the Chocolate Factory Theater, producer of three of LMCC’s River to River Festivals and frequent collaborator with AUNTS.  She has worked with Body Cartography, danceBARN and Hyp-ACCESS, and was a guest teaching artist at Young Dance, Headlong Institute, Sarah Lawrence and Bennington Colleges for performance and lighting. Her visual work has been presented with Slow Burn, at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, LINOKINO and with ANTE mag’s Home Room group shows. Shana has a degree in dance and mathematics from Bennington College, a certificate in Mathematics from BSME in Budapest, Hu., and a masters of science in education from the Bank Street Graduate school.  Shana orchestrates the Sometimes Together group and her work has been shared in NYC, MN, VT, HA, PA, MA, Italy and Spain. See more at sortofhere.com.

Hospitality industry veteran Diana Manalang brings more than a decade of experience to her two Long Island City businesses, Little Chef Little Kitchen and Little Chef Little Café. Building on expertise developed in marketing for brands like Swarovski and restaurant management, Diana brings a passion for food and customer care to everything she does. Prior to launching her own businesses, she helped develop restaurant and food hall concepts while also playing a pivotal role in the success of the Bareburger Group, where she rose to the position of Managing Partner. Ready to build something of her own, Diana started working as a private chef and caterer, launching Little Chef Little Kitchen in 2018. Working as her own boss allowed Diana to take a personalized approach to creating dishes and menus that are tailored to every type of event from intimate celebrations to large catered affairs. Launched in 2019, Little Chef Little Café brought a new breakfast and lunch option to fast growing Long Island City, where she also introduced dishes drawing on her Filipino-American heritage. Showing Diana’s resilience in the face of business challenges, she pivoted to selling prepared meals for adults and kids during the pandemic while the café became a to-go destination. Building on the success of the prepared meals, Diana now supplies healthy lunches to a number of neighborhood schools. Diana’s charity work includes sitting on the board of Sprouting Scholars, an organization dedicated to children’s education abroad, since 2015 and as a current member of the junior board of the Food Education Fund, a nonprofit supporting culinary-focused public high school students in New York City.

Jerry LaSpisa is a Vice President, Branch Manager for M&T Bank’s Business Banking Center located in the rapidly growing areas of Long Island City, Queens.  He has been an active community member since the office broke ground back in 2007.  He supports organizations such as the Long Island City Partnership, Queens Chamber of Commerce, Queens Economic Development Corporation, and the Sunnyside Chamber to name a few.  Currently responsible for Business Development, Commercial and Residential Lending, Consumer Banking, and the daily operations of the Long Island City branch.  He is very well respected and loved by his colleagues, clients, and by all the local communities he has helped and served.   For over the past 25 years in Banking, his successes are attributed to all the hard work and the wealth of knowledge he shares with others seeking his guidance.  Not to mention, a proud resident of Queens for 50 years – born and raised.  He earned a degree in Finance from Baruch College – Zicklin School of Business.

Neil Greenberg came to New York from Minnesota in 1976 and danced with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1979-1986.  He is known especially for his “Not-About-AIDS-Dance,” which employs his signature use of projected words as a layering strategy that provides doors into “meanings” in the dance, while also raising questions about the nature of meaning-making. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and two Bessie Awards, repeated fellowships from the NEA and NYFA, a fellowship from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, a NDP Production grant, a Doris Duke Creative Exploration Award, and repeated support from the MAP Fund and NYSCA.  He has created two works for Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project. Greenberg is currently Professor of Choreography at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, The New School, and has previously taught at Purchase College, Sarah Lawrence College, and UC Riverside.  He served as dance curator at The Kitchen from 1995-1999.  His most recent project, To the things themselves! (The Chocolate Factory, 2018) continues his interest in the move away from representation toward an experience of the performance moment in and of itself.  Most recently he created “The Disco Project” Installation, recontextualizing documentation of his1995 work for exhibition at Greene Naftali (NYC, 2021) and White Columns (NYC 2022).

Frank Wu has lived in NYC the last 9 years, being in LIC/Queens the last four years. Prior, he lived 2 years in Boston, 3 years in Chicago, and usually tells folks he’s from California/Bay Area where he went to college/high school, although he also grew up in the MidWest for part of his life. He strongly feels NYC is the best City having lived and traveled in a lot of places, and is a busy single parent raising a 6 year old while also involved in local community issues, learning muay thai, and working in a fast-paced software technology industry that is constantly changing. 

Originally from the Caribbean island of Curaçao, Regine Pieters is an arts administrator, producer, choreographer, dancer, and woodworker, currently serving as Director of Development at The Chocolate Factory Theater. With a background in both performing and organizing, Regine brings a holistic perspective to the arts—supporting artists not only through creative collaboration but also through meaningful infrastructure and development work. She holds a BFA in Dance from Belhaven University and has performed in works by Elizabeth Dishman, Vincent Hardy, Marc Wayne, Sung Yong Kim, and Faizah Grootens. Regine also studied contact improvisation with the late Nancy Stark Smith. She has served on panels for NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, DanceNYC, and Brooklyn Arts Exchange. Since relocating to NYC in 2018, Regine has discovered a deep passion for the logistical side of performance-making. She’s held roles in administration, producing, development, and management at Gibney Dance Center, Center for Performance Research, Dishman + Co. Choreography, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, The Bessies, and New Yorkers for Culture and Arts. In her current role, Regine longs to make nonprofit funding more equitable, with a focus on supporting underrepresented communities. With a deep appreciation for both the performing and visual arts, she is committed to fostering sustainability and expanding opportunities for artists within arts institutions.

Madeline Best grew up in Durham, North Carolina, and has lived in New York City for the last 17 years. She studied dance at Bennington College and has been a lighting designer for over 20 years. Her recent design projects include collaborations with Moriah Evans, Yve Laris Cohen, Heather Kravas, Ursula Eagly, Milka Djordjevich, Efrian Rozas, luciana achugar, Andrea Kleine, Anne-B Parson/Big Dance Theater, and many others. 

Madeline brings her many years of experience working collaboratively with dance, theater and interdisciplinary artists to her administrative practice – using project management, collective visioning, and creative problem-solving as the bases for her approach to organizational operations. 

In more than 15 years at The Chocolate Factory Theater, Madeline has held diverse roles ranging from Production Intern, to Production Manager, to her current role as Director of Operations. In addition, Madeline brings her experience as a working theater artist to The Chocolate Factory Theater’s current capital design and renovation project. Her unique perspective has helped to guide the project while simultaneously prioritizing ease of use and optimized functionality of the facility.