âTESTIMONIALSâ
Here’s what some alumni have to say about EmergeNYC.










“My time at EmergeNYC was one of the most heart-stretching experiences of my life. Not only was I able to birth a performance piece that has led me to multiple artistic residencies, but I also met incredible artists and collaborators who are deeply connected and intentional in community building. One of my greatest friendships, performance artist Emily Waters, came from meeting them at Emerge. We are bonded by the sacred experience of EmergeNYC, in which our creative curiosities and desire to uplift our ancestral rituals were nourished and met with tenderness. I came into the fellowship not knowing how to name myself as an artist, and I left affirmed that I am a writer. a storyteller. a healer. Since then, my work has gone on to be featured in different theatres around New York and film festivals internationally. My short documentary, “the ritual to beauty” is currently Oscar qualified. All of this couldn’t have happened without the care and passion the team at Emerge has for their artists. I originally was not going to be able to participate because I couldn’t afford the program, even with the scholarship, but they were adamant that I have this experience and made it possible for me. This is very rare to find in an organization. I knew I was being witnessed and celebrated. As emerging artists, you are constantly trying to find “someone” or “someplace” that will affirm you in moments of doubt and uneasiness. EmergeNYC believed in me when I wasn’t quite ready to claim that for myself. For that, I will always be in gratitude for their genuine support and kindness. Never expecting anything of me other than to just come as I am. Thank you, MarlĂšne RamĂrez-Cancio and George Emilio Sanchez.”
âShenny De Los Angeles (EMERGE ’19)
Â
Â
âIâm so deeply grateful for your labor and imagination and vision of bringing EMERGENYC into the worldâwhat a beautiful and rigorous and critical community you’ve cultivated; I’m so honored and proud to be a part of it. EMERGENYC remains one of the most seminal and transformative experiences I’ve had as a young creative trying to figure out how to be an artist, with no real idea or blueprint, but just moving out of feeling and impulse. And to have found people who helped me nurture that intuitive knowledge into something more tangible is a GIFT.â
âKiyan Williams (EMERGE â14)
âYou have managed to successfully do what so many NY theatre companies talk about (but never come close to) and that is creating a thriving, robust and supportive community for artistsâin addition to quality work and programming. I will forever be grateful to you for the community that you’ve built and the opportunities you’ve provided. Over these years I think I may have recommended close to 10 of my own students to EMERGENYC (who are now alumni). You and George are truly special. The work we did 12 years ago in the first cohort has informed my entire practice over these years.â
âAshley Marinaccio (EMERGE â08)
“Emerge is the co-learning environment that I deserveâit undoes the elitism that school has infused in me to survive.”
âJason Wang (EMERGE ’21)
I loved my time learning and creating with EMERGENYC, it has shifted my cultural practice and the work I created there is even getting published in the near future! Grateful to MarlĂšne RamĂrez-Cancioâs leadership. I urge you, if you are an emerging artist looking for community centered in social engagement, apply!
âIrisdelia GarcĂa (EMERGE ’20)
“EMERGE is a development program focused on helping you tailored your own voice and its representation on the greater scope of social justice, to find the interpolation of art and activism across different disciplines, and to understand why artâno matter what typeâis connected and rooted in the necessity to procreate change or awareness. EMERGE is a transformative experience, an unveiling experience, a deepening experience into the self while exploring the community.”
âGabriel Torres (EMERGE ’20)
“There are few programs merging art and politics. EMERGENYC brings together early-career artists who are thoughtfully and actively engaged in a way that is accessible to the MFA holder and the self-taught. It is a special community of artists, scholars, and activists who are fighting against unjust political paradigms with collective and solo actions. It is a gift to be in conversation with these artists-activists. I can say without hyperbole that in every single Zoom session or one-on-one phone call with EMERGERS, I am awed by the wisdom, inquiries, and ideas explored. There is a shared urgency as well which also maximizes the depth of the conversations and the breadth of knowledge.”
âCourtney Frances Fallon (EMERGE ’20)
“I had an amazing experience with EmergeNYC. I feel empowered by the performance strategies I learned in workshops, as well as by the support of the faculty. I feel energized and inspired in connecting with new collaborators and building community with Emerge alumni. I really appreciate being introduced to and getting to work with amazing established artists in NYC. The activism/social justice focus is definitely unique – I think that’s part of what sets Emerge apart from comparable programs, and what attracts such amazing artists to participate.”
âSabina Ibarrola (EMERGE ’13)
“I would not be here if I had not gone through the Emerge experience. It changed my life.”
âDamariz Damken (EMERGE ’19)
I knew about EMERGENYC from the beginning, when it first emerged. Since I lived in Brazil, and the program was for people based in NYC, it wasn’t possible for me to participate. But when the program moved online, it was a unique opportunity to make my dream come true. I began to ask myself what kind of performance could emerge during the development of the online residency, after a year of uncertainties and changes. I think the freedom we had as an Emerge cohort, which made space for me as a person who doesn’t follow ‘the rules,’ enabled me to come out as a performance artist working on the concept of non-performance.
âPĂȘdra Costa (EMERGE ’21)