United States
New York
New York shaped me before I ever lived there. The music, the photography, the energy of people making things under real pressure — it was always present. What I understand now is that the city's creative scene isn't powerful because of its size. It's powerful because everything here has to be specific enough to cut through.
Photography, music, theatre, collage, design — it all overlaps in ways that push people to keep reinventing what they do. I've seen artists here completely remake their practice because the city asked them to. That kind of pressure, when it works, produces something that travels.
The artists on this page are not New York as a brand. They're New York as a place where people arrive with something to say — and find a way to say it that reaches beyond the city.
- Joshua BurtonPhotography · Constructed photographic image-makingJoshua Burton is a photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. He makes images of people and places in the middle of something: transition, reinvention, recovery, and return. His work is rooted in presence and truth, in seeing people and the world for what they are so he can imagine what they might become.From WillBuilt to Last was one of the pieces I loved immediately.View profile →
- Nina BoeschMetroCard collage · Used and expired NYC subway ticketsNina's collages are made from used and expired NYC subway tickets. Her mosaic-like collages depict the city's landmarks, architecture, portraits and animals. Each handmade artwork is one-of-a-kind, yet all retain the iconic color palette and texture of the NYC MetroCard.From WillI first learned of Nina's work over a decade ago when Lin-Manuel Miranda was gifted a custom work of hers by his wife, Vanessa.View profile →
- Consuelo KanagaPhotography · Gelatin silver prints and modernist portraitureConsuelo Kanaga was an American photographer whose career spanned more than six decades. She began as a pioneering photojournalist at a time when that role was rare for women, then became known for portraits, still lifes, and socially engaged images that confronted urban poverty, labor struggles, racial terror, and inequality.From WillSeeing Consuelo Kanaga's work at the Brooklyn Museum changed the way I think about photography.View profile →
- EdonMusic · Singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalistEdon Molla is a New York-based singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Born in Kosovo and raised in New York City, he built an early audience through YouTube before releasing his debut album For Merita in 2020, which surpassed one million streams in its first week.From WillEdon is a good friend and classmate, and one of the most genuinely talented people I know.View profile →
- Reid A.Painting · PaintingReid A. is likely a Columbia 2017 graduate but no other information is known.From WillOne summer after my junior year, I volunteered with EcoReps who did a summer program of collecting donations and left behind items from dorms to clea…View profile →
- Mimi LienScenic Design · Immersive theatrical scenic designMimi Lien is a Brooklyn-based scenic designer whose practice — informed by an architectural background — explores what happens to an audience when the space they inhabit becomes part of the story. In 2015, she became the first set designer ever named a MacArthur Fellow. Two years later, she won the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Musical for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.From WillThe Great Comet was the show that changed how I think about theatre.View profile →
