Urban Assembly School of Music and Art boasts a roster of highly accomplished teaching artists across a wide spectrum of disciplines.
Osunyoyin Alake-
Osunyoyin Alake Ifarike aka Betty Hamilton (Photography/Performance Poetry), is an African American anthro-photo-journalist, fine arts photographer, teaching artist, Osun priestess, Iyanifa, jewelry designer, sidereal astrologer, and poet. The “Educators Guide to MoCada (Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art in Brooklyn New York) is a representation of the range of her artistic work. It includes the front cover photograph, twelve photographs inside, a poem called “Eternally Among Us” and a feature article “Home Here: African Art in the Diaspora”
David Bartolomi-
David Bartolomi (Teen Battle Chef) brings over 20 years of professional youth advocacy, culinary and photography experience to his role as the Youth Development Director at FamilyCook Productions. As a Teen Battle Chef instructor at the Urban Assembly School of Music & Art in Brooklyn David infuses his classes with his personal experiences, stemming from a rich family line of Italian chefs and bakers. He brings a passion and knowledge of food that is ideally suited to the ‘can do’ and celebratory philosophy of the Teen Battle Chef program. In addition, he is a professional freelance photographer having his first photo published in Vogue Magazine. He believes all youth can succeed in any chosen field with the skills FamilyCook programs helps build: confidence, a strong imagination and self-sufficiency. David has a BA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and studied Social Work at Hunter College.
David Antonio Cruz-
David Antonio Cruz (Painting & Sculpture) is a multidisciplinary New York based artist. Cruz fuses video, costume construction, performance and painting to explore and redefine queerness, diasporic, psychological and ever shifting unnamed spaces. Cruz received his MFA from Yale University and his BFA from Pratt Institute. He attended Skowhegan School for Painting and Sculpture and the AIM program at the Bronx Museum. He is a recipient of a 2013 Franklin Furnace Fund and the Urban Artist Initiative Award in 2011. His work has been exhibited at El Museo del Barrio, Bronx Museum, Jersey City Museum, Museo de Puerto Rico and various galleries. Most recently at Lehmann Maupin, the Islip Museum of Art, Momenta Arts and Performa 13. His films have been shown at the Big Screen project, the Anthology Film Archives, Arte Americas, El Museum Del Barrio and various installations in Philadelphia, Chapel Hill and Miami. This summer his work will be part of the Portrait Now exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery. The artist works and lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Christian Peterson – Music Business & Music Journalism
Antoine “Doc” Judkins – Dance and Creative Movement