CCCADI LAUNCHES ENTREPRENEURIAL ASSISTANCE CENTER FOR ARTISTS OF COLOR (EACAC)
The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) is excited to announce the launch of its Entrepreneurial Assistance Center for Artists of Color (EACAC), an 8-week training program designed to empower emerging artrepreneurs (artist-entrepreneurs). EACAC offers a space for Artists of Color to refine their business ideas and develop new, sustainable business models while addressing the systemic barriers within creative industries.
This pilot cohort includes 11 talented artists and cultural workers from our own community of alumni and teaching artists
At CCCADI, we remain committed to advancing cultural equity, racial and social justice, and EACAC is an extension of our artist-centered approach to this work. This pilot cohort includes 11 talented artists and cultural workers from our own community of alumni and teaching artists, all of whom bring unique perspectives rooted in their personal and professional experiences.
EACAC was born out of conversations and feedback gathered from artists within our community. In early 2023, in response to a clear need for more artist-focused entrepreneurial development, CCCADI sought to create a citywide incubator. Out of the 11 charted Entrepreneurial Assistance Centers (EACs) in New York City, CCCADI’s program stands apart for its direct focus on the intersection of entrepreneurial growth and cultural equity for Artists of Color, filling a gap left by traditional workforce development programs which often overlook the specific challenges faced by Communities of Color who experience systemic inequities. It also incorporates wellness practices into its curriculum, addressing the importance of mental, emotional, and physical well-being in navigating any workplace setting.
EACAC’s curriculum and overall design were shaped with guidance from CCCADI’s Joy Collective—a group of alumni from our Institute for Racial and Social Justice in Arts and Culture fellowships, including the Innovative Cultural Advocacy Fellowship, Digital Evolution Artist Retention Program, and the Afro-Caribbean Art Curatorial Fellowship.
The program kicked off earlier this month and will culminate on November 21, 2024. A part of CCCADI’s Institute for Racial and Social Justice in Arts and Culture, EACAC has been funded by the generosity of Altman Foundation and NYS Empire State Development.
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MEET THE PARTICIPANTS
👥 MEET THE PARTICIPANTS
ANGEL KABA
Angel Kaba is an award-winning choreographer and artistic director based in Brooklyn, New York, with over 20 years in art production, youth development, and women's empowerment. She holds an Honor BA in Marketing Management from Brussels Business School and teaches at Broadway Dance Center, Alvin Ailey Extension, and Steps on Broadway. An NYFA alumni from the Immigrant Artist Program, she is a board member of Steps Support Black Artists and part of the DEAR community at the Caribbean Cultural Center and African Diaspora Institute. Angel founded Afro Dance New York in 2016, promoting diversity and global culture. As an African Caribbean woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Martinique, she is dedicated to uplifting Black experiences and stories worldwide.
CASIANO R. HAMER
Casiano R. Hamer (he/him) is an African American/Cuban American writer/director in NYC pursuing an MFA in Film/TV at NYU. He coordinates programs that empower Black and Latine students in the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Pace University. He supports aspiring filmmakers at the NYU Production Lab, fosters mentoring relationships as a Mentorship Coordinator, and aids underrepresented students as the IDBEA Coordinator for NYU Grad Film. His films explore cultural complexities through personal storytelling and uplift his community. His work is featured on NoBudge and Hulu, and has been showcased at festivals worldwide. He aims to continue as a filmmaker and community organizer, working to change the industry and empower marginalized artists.
HERUKHUTI WILLIAMS
H. “Herukhuti” Sharif Williams, PhD, a Brooklyn native, is a cultural organizer, social entrepreneur, and decolonial healer focused on revolutionizing African cultural and creative arts. They are developing a cultural center and school in Ghana to train and educate in the diverse arts of people of African descent. The center aims to unify and liberate African people, addressing the trauma of colonialism and slavery through cultural expression. Dr. Herukhuti holds a PhD in human and organizational systems, with a focus on transformative learning for social justice, and has degrees in education, psychology, and political science. A scholar-artist-practitioner, they have published works and presented globally, drawing on indigenous cultural knowledge and Western traditions to foster resistance and reclamation for a liberatory future.
JORDAN MARTINS
Jordan Martins is an artist, change agent, and entrepreneur exploring art, technology, and education. He grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, with mixed Cape Verdean and Trinidadian heritage. While he focuses on writing, his work includes poetry, photography, design, mural creation, filmmaking, radio, live-streaming, and podcasting. As Founder and Creative Director of Pop-Up Art Fair, he curates gallery shows and markets in the NYC area. Since 2008, he has created online content, launching Screens And Rhymes™ in 2013 and founding Screens Shift Culture LLC in 2019 for educational and artistic projects.
Jordan attended Northeastern University on the Torch Scholarship, earning a BFA in Journalism in 2012 and winning the school's First-Year Writing Award. He has received the Jersey City Arts Grant for Pop-Up Art Fair for two consecutive years and completed several fellowships, including The Change Agent Fellowship (2014) and The CreateNYC Leadership Accelerator Fellowship (2019). At 34, he has written for artists, nonprofits, and brands, and has taught workshops, Mind Right, Money Right (MR²)® and Ambitious Artrepreneurs®, along the East Coast.
PEGGY ROBLES-ALVARADO
Peggy Robles-Alvarado is a Jerome Hill Foundation Fellow in Literature, a 2023 Inaugural Fellow of the Candela Playwrights Summer Program, and a recipient of the Bronx Cultural Visions Grant. In 2023, she received a fellowship from The Dramatic Question Theater and participated in Faces of America #5 as part of The Playground Experiment, where her monologue “Recycle & Return” is published. A three-time Pushcart Prize nominee and BRIO award winner, she has received writing fellowships from CantoMundo, Desert Nights, The Frost Place, VONA, The Ashbery Home School, and NALAC. With advanced degrees in education and an MFA in Performance Studies, she is a three-time International Latino Book Award winner and author of Conversations With My Skin and Homage To The Warrior Women. As a performance poet, her work has been showcased at Solfest-A Latine Theater Festival, The Dodge Poetry Festival, HBO Habla Women, Lincoln Center, Pregones Theater, Harlem 9 Presents: 48 Hours En El Bronx, and The Smithsonian Institute. Her poetry is published in multiple anthologies, including The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNext and ¡Manteca! Afro-Latin@ Poets. Online, her work has appeared in Poets.org, Tribes.org, and other platforms. Through her 501(c)(3), Robleswrites Productions Inc., she created Lalibreta.online, The Abuela Stories Project, and community-centered events.
ZARIA POEM
Zaria Poem is the founder of Ripe Moon Healing Arts, a multifaceted wellness venture that encompasses plant medicine, doula, Reiki, and visual arts healing modalities. She is an arts and literacy educator, cultural curator, and researcher with a focus in ancestral and folk traditions.
Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, a central component of her many offerings are rooted in Southern and Indigenous Afrikan healing ways. Her journey to rediscover these traditions are powerful catalysts in (re)-membering — physically, mentally, and spiritually for both herself and her clients.
MICHAEL A. JONES
Michael Jones is an educator, artist, and producer with over fifteen years of experience teaching Language Arts, Drama, Social Studies, and Conflict Resolution. His plays have been produced in cities like New York, Portland, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey, and he has performed in several major cities across the U.S. He advocates for Emotional Intelligence to heal relationships and conducts workshops using theater arts, role-play, and creative expression to foster team building and skill development. These workshops aim to enhance self-awareness, self-management, social skills, and reduce stress during crises. Given the rising violence in communities, schools, and places of worship, Jones emphasizes using creative arts for self-empowerment.
TAMARA THOMAS
Tamara Thomas is a peaceful warrior who expresses this through birth-work, education, performing arts, and choreography. She holds a B.S. in Policy Analysis and Management from Cornell University and toured with Chuck Davis' African American Dance Ensemble. While earning her MFA in Dance from Temple University, she was part of Kariamu and Company Traditions and Kulu Mele African American Dance Ensemble. As a choreographer, her works have been featured at venues such as World Café Live, the Black Women's Arts Festival, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where she was the 2017 Chuck Davis Emerging Artist Fellowship recipient. Her artistic vision blends arts with nation building, shared with organizations like Dreams Wilmington and Upward Bound, and led to the creation of The Nkonsonkonson Afrikan Youth Ensemble in Jamaica. As an educator, she teaches at several universities and works as a Teaching Artist with the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Additionally, she is a Health and Nutrition Life Coach, Doula, and Yogi through her LLC, Sola’s Wellness Garden.
FATIMA LOGAN-ALSTON
Fatima Logan-Alston is an interdisciplinary artist and educator focused on engaging communities through artistic experiences linked to culture, history, and community. Her work blends contemporary and traditional dance, live music, and visual arts. She has performed at venues such as The Sheen Center (NY), Brooklyn Academy of Music, and conferences in Canada and Brazil. Collaborators include Ntozake Shange and Bobby Sanabria. Logan-Alston holds a BFA in Dance from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MA from SUNY Old Westbury. She has been in residence at Long Island University Post, Hunter College, and Hostos Community College. A former member of the African-American Dance Ensemble and Forces of Nature Dance Theater, she has received fellowships and awards, including from the Ford Foundation and the New York Council for the Arts. She is an Adjunct Professor at SUNY Old Westbury.
PORSHIA A. DERIVAL
Porshia A. Derival, a first-generation Caribbean American from Brooklyn, NYC, was selected to further her studies at the world’s only Hip-Hop dance conservatory after college. As a dance leader and advocate, she has built partnerships with brands like Coca-Cola and MAC Cosmetics. Porshia serves on the committee for the Arts & Education Roundtable Black Women’s Wellness Retreat, co-chairs the Ladies of Hip-Hop Board of Trustees, and has taught Hip-Hop dance in over 25 public schools, including as a guest instructor at Syracuse University. She co-produced the 2022 Bessie Awards and hosted the 2023 Bayonne Arts Festival. Her choreography includes work with Jadakiss and events like Step It Up 2023 and 2024, and Hip Hop 2023 at The Apollo Theater. Porshia has contributed to publications such as “Dance Perspectives” and “Own Your Vulnerability,” and is now a Moving Visions Editor for The DancEnthusiast. As a Haitian-Trinidadian woman, she aims to create a space for Black women in Hip-Hop dance to express themselves freely.
