FAB’s Lower East Side Young Artists of Color Fellowship supports early career artists interested in building a peer network of mutual support, meeting with experienced artists and producers of color to help shape strategies for furthering their work in the field, and participating in a culminating public showcase of original work.
We developed the Fellowship particularly to support artists from traditionally marginalized communities living in the Lower East Side, although we accept applications for any young artist who is a NYC resident. Applications for the 2025 cohort are now closed. Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive an update for the next cycle!
2025 Fellows
Alexander Peña
Alexander Peña (he/they), is a Queens based director and actor with a background in non-hierarchical and collaborative theatre. He strongly believe in the generative potential of these truly collaborative spaces and know that a special sense of play is fostered within them. Above all, Alex loves coming together with people to make a dream reality.
Alex recently graduated from Vassar College in May of 2024 with a BA in Philosophy, but was deeply involved in the community of independent student theatre makers. He is currently working for the Egg & Spoon Theatre Collective as a Producing Associate and Administrative Assistant.
Alicia Qian
Alicia Qian (she/they) is an award-winning sound recordist/designer, director, and illustrator. Her work spans across multiple genres and has been featured on Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, National Public Radio (NPR), SXSW and more. Aside from making films about their mom, Alicia loves bouldering, people watching and drawing those people she’s watching. Originally from the Bay Area, Alicia now lives and works in the East Village where you can find them pulling espresso shots and eating bagels.
Carolina Jimenez
Carolina Jimenez (she/her) is a Dominican-American photographer and writer from NYC. Interested in personal and collective narrative, her practice utilizes photography as as a tool for connection and permanency. She is most inspired by the stories, hopes, dreams and fears of her neighbors, elders, friends, and family.
Eka Savajol
Eka Savajol (they/he) is a brown, transmasc playwright, lighting designer, and multidisciplinary artist interested in spirals, based in New York City. They often focus trans community, medicine, and the boundaries between the physical and the digital through their collaborative, mixed-media writings and performances. Eka’s work has appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe, East to Edinburgh at 59E59, La Mama as part of Poetry Electric, the Tank, the Chain, Colorado College, and in print and online journals. Eka is also one of the co-founders of the publishing collective Active Chapter, through which they have tabled at numerous art markets and put out multiple publications including the collective’s journal.
Elijah Chavez
Elijah Angelo Chavez (they/them) (b. 2001, Albuquerque, New Mexico) is a Queer, Latinx artist and curator based in Brooklyn. They hold a BFA in Studio Art from New York University. Their interdisciplinary practice spans across painting, sculpture, ceramics, glass, photography, printmaking, performance, and installation. They have exhibited at the Latinx Project, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York University, the Institute of Fine Arts, 80WSE Gallery, Bobst Library, Commons Gallery, Rosenberg Gallery, Gallatin Galleries, and the Oxbow School. Their work is published in the Gallatin Review, Art & Type, and Fever Dream Magazine. They have worked on public art projects through Working Classroom and Harwood Art Center. My work seeks to represent and advocate for my Latinx familia and queer communities as a form of resistance and liberation.
Kaitlin Williams
Kaitlin Williams (she/her) is a Caribbean-American visual artist currently living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Her work reflects on childhood memories and the impact of changing environments on the present self. Her work is multi-disciplinary but tends to feature repeating patterns, mysterious characters, vibrant landscapes, and eerie (and sometimes cozy!) lighting.
Synphoni (Syn) Gladden
Synphoni (Syn) Gladden (she/they) is a Black photographer born and raised in Brooklyn. As a recent graduate from SUNY Purchase they are excited to continue their artistic journey. Syn’s work focuses on self discovery, exploration, and their turbulent relationship with religion.
Unitus Bright
Unitus Bright (he/him) is a multidisciplinary artist based in the Lower East Side, deeply rooted in personal expression, and the exploration identity. His name literally means “to unite us,” which reflects the core of his artistic vision—unification through shared experiences, perspectives, and connections. With a diverse range of creative pursuits, including music, photography, and visual arts, Unitus’ work highlights the beauty and pain of human life, and represents a relentless pursuit of freedom for our collective minds and spirits.
2025 Fellowship Co-Facilitators
Antígona González
Antígona González (she/her) is a Mexican theater maker as performer, director, producer and deviser. For over twenty years she has both developed theater pieces based on already written texts as well as co-created and devised documentary theater pieces for which the research materials are brought to explore in a laboratory work environment. She has been a member of Teatro Linea Sombra for over 15 years and co-founder of Aguaardiente Colectiva in 2012. Both experiences have helped her delve into the oral history and field research to create theatrical pieces.
Ari-Duong Nguyen
Originally from Hanoi (Vietnam), Ari-Duong Nguyen (they/she) is a recent graduate with an MA in Media Studies from The New School. They write art & film criticism and curate experimental film screenings. They have published in Screen Slate, BOMB Magazine, Metrograph Journal, FAR-NEAR & Crater Magazine.
All Previous Fellowship Cohorts
This project is supported in part through funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and City Council Member Carlina Rivera.