12 Arts Journalists Selected for 2023-2024 BIPOC Critics Lab Cohort at The Public Theater

The Public has selected 12 arts journalists for their 2023-2024 cohort of Jose Solís’ BIPOC Critics Lab.

The selected participants are Maria Paz Alegre (she/her), Zuhdi Boueri (he/him), Cynthia L. Dorsey (she/her), Jhaunay-Amanie Hernandez (they/them), Zoë Kim(she/her), Strella Leal (she/her), Francisco Morandi Zerpa (all pronouns), Noran Morsi (she/hers), Alex Paredes-Ruiz (he/him), Nina Slowinski (she/they), Eliseo Valerio (he/him), and Octavia Washington (she/her).

Selected from over 70 applicants from all over the world, these 12 creatives bring backgrounds and expertise in writing, performing, visual arts, design, directing, dramaturgy, and more. Over the course of next season at The Public, cohort members will train under the instruction of Jose Solís, as well as other guest speakers in the journalism field and assigned a commissioned piece.

The BIPOC Critics Lab was founded in 2020 by Jose Solís as a first-of-its-kind program designed to train and create work by emerging BIPOC theater journalists. Solís noticed a gap in training based on his own experience as a cultural critic in the field and created an educational space for BIPOC writers who had not been welcomed into cultural criticism, whether due to systemic oppression, lack of opportunity, or because they didn’t know they were allowed to see themselves as critics. Solís solicited applicants for the first cohort through Twitter where over 100 BIPOC participants expressed interest in participating. For the last two years, The Kennedy Center has hosted the BIPOC Critics Lab online as a part of the American College Theater Festival. Alumni of the program have gone on to write and work as editors for outlets such as The Los Angeles Times, Andscape, Elle, Glamour, American Theatre, Broadway News, 3Views, Brooklyn Rail, and Token Theatre Friends. 

Since its creation, The Public has been committed to the work of the BIPOC Critics Lab, commissioning all current and alumni writers to pen features for most productions. Past commissions from former BIPOC Critics Lab members can be read at publictheater.org.

Following the tenets of dialogue, compassion, and nurturing one’s unique voice, future critics who participate in the cohort will contribute to the creation of a custom program that fits their specific needs and encourages them to pursue the path of criticism that best serves them. Participating in the cohort is of no cost to members. Selected members will have the opportunity to learn all aspects of arts journalism through a variety of mediums beyond the written word. BIPOC experts in the field also serve as guest speakers for the Lab. All writers will be assigned a commissioned piece at the culmination of the program and will be compensated for their work.

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