Dez'Mon Omega Fair is an interdisciplinary artist and poet living in Long Beach, California. Their work explores storytelling and self-reflection, through several different processes, including: painting with water, brushless watercolor, ink on washi, collaborative documentary film projects, and experimental forms of poetry.http://www.dezmonomegafa…

Colin Asare-Appiah is a world-renowned bartender and brand ambassador in the world of spirits and cocktails. One of the founders of the London Academy of Bartending, he even starred in his own show on the Discovery Channel, "The Cocktail Kings." Born in Ghana, and raised in the U.K., Colin currently resides in Brooklyn with his wife and sons.…

Louisa Brown is a screenwriter, content producer, and a mentor for youth and film. Born and raised in London, Louisa has lived and worked in New York City for over 20 years, and has been screenwriting for over 10 years. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two sons.https://www.louisabrownfilm.com/ https://www.katcroft.com/native-sis…

Toyin Ojih Odutola is a visual artist, currently living and working in Brooklyn, and known for her multifarious, detailed drawings that play with storytelling. Her works are included in the public collections of MoMA, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art and Studio Museum Harlem to name a few.http://toyinojihodutola.com/ht…

Nick Groepler is a screen printer by trade, sometimes artist, and the guy who does all of the web-related stuff for us here on Mister Welfare. He forgot to mention that this took place a day or two before Hurricane Sandy hit New York. When he's not screen printing, he's in a band called DORKS (@dddorks) along with the two friends mentioned in his s…

Patricia A. Patton, a.k.a. the CannaBoomer, is a Market Consultant for wellness companies looking to reach out to baby boomers, who may be uncertain about what cannabis & hemp legalization means for them.https://cannaboomer.net/Oleh Mister Welfare

Rahsaan Gandy is the founder of Gandyland LLC, and our illustrious host here on Mister Welfare and New York Minute.http://www.gandyland.co/https://www.misterwelfare.com/Oleh Mister Welfare

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Here's another minute from Mr. Welfare's time at SPACE on Ryder Farm, with Dylan Pickus, Operations and Programs Associate.Oleh Mister Welfare

Chiara Ibrah is a multimedia artist based in Brooklyn New York. She likes going to the park and is skeptical of the world.Oleh Mister Welfare

Jahna Ferron-Smith is a graduate of Boston University College of Fine Arts with a Bachelor's in Fine Arts and Performance. She is currently a Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Fellow at the Juilliard School, as well as a member of the Obie Award-winning playwrights collective, Youngblood. She shared this minute with Mister Welfare during their time …

Jennifer Petrisko has been working as a professional in the Magazine industry for more than two decades. This is her story of a taxi ride turned rotten.Oleh Mister Welfare

Jen Jamula is an actor, comedian, and host of 2 Girls 1 Podcast, along with her cohort Alli Goldberg. The creative duo are also the founders of GoldJam Creative, a group that uses comedy to facilitate workplace training and workshops, covering topics of effective communication, public speaking, inclusion, sexual harassment, and much more.https://po…

Keisha Dutes, a.k.a. "TastyKeish," is a radio personality, and one of the founders of Bondfire Radio, where she hosts 'TK in the AM' on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10 am (EST). Throughout her college career, she found her niche in college radio stations and began honing her personality as an energetic, opinionated, funny programmer and thor…

In 2009, Emily Simoness, a 7th generation Ryder, became involved with Ryder Farm upon recognizing that her own artistic community could both benefit from, and contribute to, the long-standing but aging family farm. In 2011, she co-founded SPACE on Ryder Farm with the two-fold mission of providing time and space for artists and innovators to develop…

https://isaacgillespie.com/Instagram: @badisaacdotcomOleh Mister Welfare

Alex Chowaniec is an artist based in Brooklyn, NY and Co-Founder of Chowaniec Projects, visualizing climate action through art.http://alexchowaniec.com/Oleh Mister Welfare

Michael Chernus is an actor in films and television. He is also on the Advisory Board of SPACE at Ryder Farm, where this story was recorded.Find him on Twitter: @MichaelChernus, as Edward Tavner in the Amazon Prime Original Series Patriot, and as Cal Chapman in Netflix's Orange Is The New Black.Oleh Mister Welfare

A kind gesture that doesn't go as planned, as told by the anonymous giver.Oleh Mister Welfare

Ely Battalen is a Sustainability Consultant, Educator, and founder of EWB Consulting, specializing in organic textiles. He has a decade of experience creating standards, consulting and performing audits of sustainable programs around the world. Working with textiles, biofuels, seafood and recycled commodities in a wide spectrum, he has been engaged…

At the tail end of Mr. Welfare’s residency at SPACE on Ryder Farm, he gets to sit down with Farm Director Julie Noble. They discuss her role on Ryder Farm, her journey through various types of farms over the past 8 years, seed varieties, goats and much more!https://www.spaceonryderfarm.org/Oleh Mister Welfare

LaTonia Allen is a Painter and Graphic Designer. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, she attended Texas Southern University, in Houston, and graduated with her BA in 2015. After working for various small businesses as a graphic designer, she decided to become independent, and created her own design business, called Allen Illustrations. LaTonia was re…

Pena Verde is from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. He started playing Capoeira when he was 15 years old with Mestre Sabia, the coordinator of The Association of Ginga Mundo Capoeira. Pena has been teaching Capoeira to adults and children for over a decade. Pena believes that Capoeira has been responsible for transforming the lives of people all over the w…

Kathy Thornton-Bias is the recently appointed President & CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee. Thornton-Bias is a highly respected executive in the business and retail space with a career that spans almost three decades. During that time, she has held senior leadership roles for more than 15 years in large organizations and possesses a w…

Nestor Leon Fortanel is the owner of El Kallejon, a Mexican fusion restaurant in East Harlem. El Kallejon is exactly what you would expect of its name, except this is New York City and the experience of El Kallejon is anything but traditional. Here, you will enjoy the rich flavors of fresh Mexican ingredients with twists that are reflective of this…

This week, Mister Welfare sits down with Drea Cofield and Gaby Collins-Fernandez, the Co-Directors of BombPop!Up, an artist-run initiative that seeks to bring together artists of all walks in the creation of dynamic art events and spaces. They chat with Mr. Gandy about the beginnings of the collective, its DIY ethics/attitude, and its accomplishmen…

Alice is the Chief Curator and Museum Director for 21c Museum Hotels. She curates exhibitions and oversees commissions, cultural programming, and museum operations for 21c’s multiple venues, in addition to collaborating with Steve and Laura Lee on art sourcing and acquisitions. Prior to this role with 21c, Alice was Director of artwithoutwalls, Adj…

Christophe Roberts is a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist working in sculpture, painting, design and installation work. Coming of age in the bloom in hip-hop, Roberts’ early practice was influenced by music and salon culture. His designs and figures acknowledge his own fraught relationship to capitalism, while his practice explores complex ma…

This week, Mister Welfare sits down with Chef Selassie Atadika, ahead of her participation at the James Beard House's Iconoclast Dinner, which serves to honor a global group of trailblazing chefs of color. The conversation ranges from her food enterprise Midunu, her passion for sustainable eating, and her menu for the Iconoclast Dinner, which will …

David Anthone is an artist whose practice focuses on painting, conceptual work and readymades. He and his partner, Ron Norsworthy, make art as DARNstudio, exploring themes of institutional racism, as well as the many facets of their life together. His work has been exhibited in solo and group shows. He received a B.A. in Architecture and Art Histor…

Mr. Gandy met Tommy Mintz exiting his former professor, Maureen Connor's, talk on Race and Revolution: The Speculum Project. While looking for the B/Q/A/C train, they walked and talked together. Tommy is an artist, professor of photograpy, husband, and father. When Mr. Gandy mentioned "A New York Minute," Mintz was excited, and asked if he could te…

Renee Cox is one of the most controversial African-American artists working today using her own body, both nude and clothed to celebrate black womanhood and criticize a society she often views as racist and sexist. No stranger to controversy, her 2001 piece "Yo Mama's Last Supper," which featured Cox herself in the seat of Jesus, and a cast of Blac…