William Junior (Repeki) Adrillano is a cultural artisan from the village of Tanapag, Saipan. Taught by a wide circle of family and friends, he practices traditional weaving, carving, and other indigenous crafts.
Adrillano honors the many mentors who shaped his journey by sharing his work with others. While he finds joy in creating for loved ones, he now hopes to connect more deeply with his community through his art. Inspired by Acts 20:35, he believes “there is more happiness in giving than in receiving,” and seeks to pass on the beauty of Chamorro and Carolinian traditions.
Visual Artist, Curator, and Artistic Director, InterUrban ArtHouse
I am a mostly self – taught artist born and raised in Kansas City, MO. I come from a creative family on my father’s side. He, his mother, and all of his 4 siblings are / were visual artists or musicians. I attended the Kansas City Art Institute briefly, found that it wasn’t for me, and went on to create and participate in the arts on my own terms. Much of my early work was afrocentric, focusing on masks, adornment, and the diaspora, while still remaining largely abstract. I showed in mostly Black spaces or in spaces that centered people of color, as the more mainstream venues seemed so out of reach. I worked retail, went to culinary school, and became a chef, all while trying to keep up my art practice. I participated in, and eventually became Director of GLOW, a body painting company of painters and models. About 6 years ago, I received a call from the Founder of the Interurban ArtHouse. I’d produced a show for her in the past and she was looking for someone to help her run the organization. I am now the Artistic Director for the InterUrban ArtHouse and in charge of exhibitions, programming, and off site corporate curation.
A native of Bamberg, SC, Xavier Blake earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Newberry College and a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from the University of South Florida. He spent over two decades at South Carolina Educational Television, working with creatives and communities creating and amplifying representative content, leading to important community conversations.
Driven by his passion to infuse diversity into leadership and content creation spaces, he most recently held positions as the Community Programming & Engagement Coordinator at Nickelodeon Theater and the Content and Engagement Manager at WMHT. He also serves as a creative mentor for the South Carolina Arts Commission, The Art of Community: Rural SC, which helps advance creative placemaking initiatives in rural South Carolina.
Blake believes that centering historically marginalized voices is imperative to build the kind of society where everyone is able to thrive.
Currently, he serves as the Executive Director of One Columbia for Arts and Culture, the city’s local arts agency. Xavier is committed to collaborating with citizens, the cultural community, and city government, with the mission of enhancing the quality of life for all residents, attracting tourism, building sustainable and equitable pipelines for artists, and connecting our diverse cultural community.
Yasmin Ruvalcaba is a Portland-based director, writer, consultant, and arts advocate. She centers her work around advancing equity, honoring mentorship and education, and promoting community outreach and engagement. Yasmin is currently working at Centro Cultural as the Arts & Culture Manager. Previously, Yasmin has worked with Advance Gender Equity in the Arts as the Grants Program Director and Bag&Baggage as the Problem Play Project Manager. She is also honored to be a co-founding member of Moriviví Theatre.
Yasmin has also engaged with her community through directing. Through her time at Williams College she directed El Nogalar and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. In Portland, she has directed The Tempest (Bag&Baggage). She was also honored to be the assistant director of Wolf at the Door (Milagro), La Ruta (Artists Repertory Theatre) and La Isla En Inviero/The Island in Winter (Bag&Baggage).
Yasmin is also an active writer in the community. Two of her monologues, Carmelita and Ruega Por Mi, were featured in Theatre Diaspora’s Here on This Bridge: The -ism Project. Yasmin has also had the opportunity to workshop her work with the Northwest Theatre Workshop. Yasmin also premiered a Dia de los Muertos performance, EL JIMADAOR, in partnership with Bag&Baggage and Centro Cultural in 2020.
