Cultural Worker & Strategist, Caracol Collective

Natalia Neira Retamal is a cultural worker and strategist, co-creating a more just and joyful world with communities, artists, activists and allies seeking liberation. Natalia is based in Huichin, Ohlone Territory (Oakland, CA), with roots in the Andes and Wallmapu (Mapuche territory). She is the former Executive Director of La Peña Cultural Center where she grew the organization from 3 to 6 staff, established living wages, health insurance, increased vacation time and other important benefits to offer better work-life balance for employees. She was the former co-chair of Berkeley Cultural Trust’s (BCT) Equity & Inclusion Committee. Natalia is now currently focusing on community-driven projects where she will continue to advocate for equity and justice for the community.

Originally from Philadelphia, PA; Nate Edwards IV is a creative artist that produces art using different mediums and crafts. After spending a few years in college and the workforce, he embarked on his comedy career. With performances at Helium Comedy Club – Philadelphia, Flappers Comedy Club – Burbank, The Laugh Factory – LA, Broadway Comedy Club – NYC, The Stand – NYC and others, he’s quickly making a name for himself. He uses his real life experiences, such as growing up in the streets of North Philadelphia and attending college to paint a picture of life in America as a young black man; dealing with issues of race, politics, religion and others to deliver a well-rounded, smart and engaging show, that’s full of laughs and social commentary. In addition, he shot a film with award-winning Armenian artist Melik Ohanian which was shown at the 14th annual Biennale De Lyon in France from Sept. 2017 – Jan. 2018, worked with Erin Ko, a Native-American VR artist at the 6th annual Spring/Break Art Show in NYC, shot a short film with director, Tim Offor; which was recently selected to be apart of The Yonkers Film Festival, Queens World FIlm Festival 2018 and Gasparilla Film Festival 2018. In conclusion, he also does theater, performing a James Baldwin play, “Blues for Mr. Charlie ” at the NYS Association of Black & Puerto Rican Legislators 46th Annual Conference with French-playwright Manu Vaintino.

Discipline: Multidisciplinary

Starting his musical journey in freshman year of high school was not exactly the earliest start for some, but it is just enough to change a life. Nathaniel Dafrad was a Tri-M Music alumnus who studied as a percussionist under Max Ronquillo Jr. for two years and then self-studied. He obtained knowledge from every performance he participated in, from the GATE Theatre Production’s Cinderella to the Guam Territorial Band’s anniversary concerts.

He took to the stage and rose to new heights well within his high school career, beginning with his first off-island tour to Saipan back in 2018 while representing Okkodo High School in multiple band exchanges, and extending to his first introduction to the Summa Cum Laude Music Festival in Vienna 2024 where he would represent the Tumon Bay Youth Orchestra and the Guam Territorial Band. Dafrad aims to share the joy and wondrous journey of music by aiding in any musical project on the island.

Discipline: Interdisciplinary

Art Education Coordinator, Kodiak Arts Council

Artist/Art Instructor Dept. Chair, Saint Croix Central High School

I am from the luscious Island of Dominica in the West Indies but have resided most of my time in St. Croix, USVI and I am a US Citizen.
I am a 29 year public school veteran art instructor. I teach design, painting and sculpture in diverse media. I am certified and have taught on all levels of public education from K-12 to University and adult classes. In 2006 I initiated in the Virgin Islands the Youth Art Month program on St. Croix which has now grown into territory wide student art exhibition.
I have also practiced my craft for the past 29 years. I am a multimedia multi-genre, Multi-form artist. I paint still-lifes, figurative and experimental works. My primary painting medium is oil paint but as an art instructor I have a good handle on most dry and wet media including encaustic medium. In sculpture I prefer to work with found and recycled objects.
As in my own work and so in my instruction I prefer to work sustainably by sometimes using found and discarded materials

Discipline: Folklife/Traditional Arts

Nicholas King is a product of the 1979 Am. Samoa Arts Council’s Summer Youth Program held at the Jean P. Haydon Museum in Fagatogo. “Nick” was 13-years old when the late Mary Pritchard introduced him to Samoan Siapo making. He was selected by Mary and the American Samoa Arts Council to tour with the Arts Council Choir as a Siapo demonstrator. He toured with the group for 5 years. His artwork has developed from using traditional U’a, natural dyes to using modern materials, items, inks, and paints.  King’s true belief is that “our only limit… is our imagination.”

Nicole Henao
Manager of Teen and Family Programs, Seattle Art Museum
Nicole is a Boricua (native Puerto Rican) born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico and currently living in Seattle, WA. Nicole studied Fine Arts at the School of Visual Arts in NYC and it was there she discovered her passion for arts education. She has worked as an elementary school visual arts teacher in Puerto Rico and later found her love for working in art museums at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, FL. At the Norton Museum Nicole worked in developing, producing, and managing public programs for all ages, ranging from Community Festivals, Art After Dark program offerings, Family and Teen Workshops, and Arts Performances, to name a few. She was also a member of the City of West Palm Beach Art Life Advisory Committee, the city’s cohort that selects the city’s public art projects. Nicole has been working at the Seattle Art Museum for the last year managing public programs for youth and families and her passion lies in providing arts access to those furthest away from educational justice.

Discipline: Media Arts

Waqaa, wiinga Quluuqaugua. Mamterrillermiungunga taugaam Soldotna-mi uitatuunga. Hello, my Yup’ik name is Quluqaaq. I was born and raised in Bethel, Alaska, but I now reside in Soldotna. My English name is Nikki, and I am the proud owner of Sew Yup’ik. I come from a long line of remarkable skin sewers and talented women who have been creating garments for generations. My grandmothers are my inspiration and my driving force, motivating me to continually learn and embrace my traditional Yup’ik ways of living.I have been teaching sewing workshops since the summer of 2015, but my sewing journey began much earlier, back in elementary school. My very first skin sewing project was a fur hat, crafted with the guidance of my Yup’ik teachers. Skin sewing and sewing are integral parts of my life and Yup’ik culture, and I am dedicated to continuing the legacies of my three grandmothers. Creating traditional Yup’ik regalia has been a lifelong dream of mine, and I am thrilled to embark on this path.

Nikki Kirk (she/her) is a leadership development and cultural equity practitioner, with diverse experience as a facilitator, curriculum developer, grant administrator, project manager, and advisor. She has lived and worked across the country with arts organizations in the nonprofit, government, and higher education sectors. She currently serves as the Director of Community Impact & Investment with the Indy Arts Council, where she leads a portfolio of grantmaking investments to artists and arts organizations. She centers her work on expanding equitable investments that strengthen the overall impact of thriving arts communities.

Nikki earned a Master’s degree in Arts, Festival, and Cultural Management from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she researched the impact of programming at the intersection of arts and social justice. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Linguistics from Pitzer College in southern California, where she affirmed her interests in and the significance of language and identity, human rights, and cross-cultural understanding.

Nikki’s previous work experiences include Americans for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Berklee College of Music, El Sistema USA, and the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, among others.

Discipline: Photography

Noelani Montas (she/her) is a proud Kanaka Maoli and Dominicana from Southern California. She is currently an MFA candidate in the Hawaiian Theatre Program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and received her BFA in Theatre Design & Technology from University of the Arts. Recent credits include: Glitter in the Paʻakai (ʻĀnela) – UHM, Haku Wale (Scenic, Lighting, and Projection Design; Hula) – UHM, Kaisara (Emma Nāwahī) – UHM, Primero Sueño (Scenic & Lighting Design) – Repertorio Español, and La Extinción de los Dinosaurios (Scenic & Lighting Design) – Repertorio Español. She is a recipient of the 2022 Brind School Award for Storytelling in Design, the 2021 Pat Mackay Diversity in Design Award, and was a lighting design mentee in the 2021-2022 Wingspace Mentorship Program Cohort. Upon her graduation from the Hawaiian Theatre Program in December 2024, she will be moving to Seattle, WA, to continue her work with Indigenous arts and performance. E holomua, sigue pa’ lante.

Discipline: Folklife/Traditional Arts

Nofo T. Alofagaimanu proudly from Vailoatai and Tula villages in American Samoa. A traditional weaver in Samoan handicrafts, participated in Pacific Arts Festival for 2 years as a student representing American Samoa as a siapo(tapa) maker, loves braiding hakus(pale) and leis(ulas) for traditional occasions if requested. Taught by her Late grandmother, ASCC instructor Regina Meredith, practices all these skills and knowledge through traditional and visual arts. Her art honors Samoan Culture, women duties in connection with family, church, village as well with her community as a whole. She also shares her gifts in schools, church, women committees and a vision to preserve these Indigenous arts in any form of activities through storytelling, exhibits, performs orator duties through family functions, creativity and cultural healing as well.

Her passion is to let all single artists in American Samoa work together so that we can make a difference to uplift our Pacific traditions with respect, especially speaking our own mother tongue languages. She dedicated her accomplishment for loving to write short children’s stories to her mother Sara Unasa-Teo, her daughters, grandchildren and her husband Aofagaimanu for never ending support.