Darien Lamen is a writer, educator, and community media professional who specializes in collaborative audio and video storytelling. In 2018, he founded Reclaiming the Narrative, a volunteer-powered local newscast that aired weekly on WXIR and WAYO. He is the producer of the 2020 documentary Clarissa Uprooted as well as the 2022 youth history podcast Black Radio Rochester. Darien holds a PhD in ethnomusicology, and is the US editor of Azougue Press, a publishing house focusing on Latin American music and culture. He is also a musician who can frequently be found performing Brazilian music in Rochester.
Cielo Ornelas MacFarlane (she/her) is the daughter of two dancers, who from an early age encouraged her to express herself in creative and artistic ways. She was raised all over the United States, spending time in New York, New Jersey, Texas, New Mexico, and Michigan. She is a graduate of the Visual Arts department at SUNY Fredonia and currently a member of The Yards Art Collective. She has experience organizing and jurying art shows and is interested in helping to create a space for dialogue and communication through art in the Rochester community.
Karla Slack
Born and raised in Mexico City, Karla started her education in Mexican folklore dance at 8 years old and received a High School Diploma in Arts from Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes de Mexico. She is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and physical and wellness activist who focuses on Mexican traditions. Karla has participated in various projects in Mexico, including Instituto Cultural Alam-Tani, Compañia Xochiquetzal, Mexico Magico, and Grupo Cultural Tonalli Ambar. She has also complemented her training with ballet, theater, and music classes, and performed in Mexico, Cuba, Belgium, Spain, the Basque country, and Guatemala, showcasing her dance and choreographic work. Karla is a percussionist in traditional Mexican music, holds a degree in physical education, and founded the Mexican Dance Group “Mexicatlalli,” demonstrating her passion and energy by developing over 30 different choreographies. With over 25 years of experience, Karla has presented choreographic works in various schools, festivals, and events, and her work has been recognized by the International Council of Dance UNESCO since 2020.
Mona Seghatoleslami
Mona Seghatoleslami is the host and producer on WXXI Classical 91.5 FM weekdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. She also hosts the lunchtime concert series Live From Hochstein, interviews musicians, produces special programs, and works on any project she can find that helps connect people and music. She books the bands for one of the coolest live music venues in Rochester – The Little Theatre Café and serves on the board of creative modern chamber music ensemble fivebyfive. When she’s not on the radio, you can find Mona attending concerts and movies, playing viola in community orchestras, occasionally strumming the ukulele, riding her bike everywhere, and reading as much as she can – especially The New Yorker and sci-fi novels.
Ya’qub Shabazz
Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, Ya’qub Shabazz is a visual artist, collector, and art educator on a mission to highlight the beauty and contribution of Black American artists, both contemporary and historical. His work explores the relationship between contemporary artistic expression and historical African aesthetics. His influences include Lois Mailou Jones, Charles White, and Aaron Douglas (to name a few) however a large part of his influences were birthed in the literary world and were made manifest through the visual arts. Primarily an oil painter, Ya’qub Shabazz explores wood carving, acrylic painting, woodblock printing, and many other mediums that express the range of his experiences. His works are not limited to one area similar to Mr. Shabazz himself, he is an artist, writer, father, husband, formerly incarcerated, veteran, and most importantly, a curator of Black culture.
Ever since he was a pre-adolescent he had been fascinated by the deeper meanings of things, words, historical figures, and most importantly cultural symbolism. What starts out as yearning “to know” becomes a tenacious self-study and research into the Black Aesthetic that you will see expressed in works in a wide variety of ways.