2022-23 National Cohort: Mid Atlantic Arts

Asari Beale is an Afro-Latina writer, educator, and leader deeply committed to children’s literacy. She is a member of the board of directors of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable and a steering committee member of LitNet, a network serving America’s literary community. She has taught literature and creative writing at Hunter College, Brooklyn College, and Fordham University. Prior to joining Teachers & Writers, she served as the director of communications and community relations at LSA Family Health Service and as communications manager at Reach Out and Read of Greater New York. Beale holds a bachelor’s degree from New York University and a master’s degree from Brooklyn College. She lives, loves, and writes out of Harlem, New York.

Fabiola R. Delgado is a Venezuelan curator and creative consultant based in Washington, DC. Formerly a human rights lawyer and activist in her home country, she was forced to flee to the United States, where she seeks political asylum and dedicates herself to finding justice through artistic and cultural expressions. Recognizing storytelling as the essence of her practice, Delgado strives for thought-provoking and imaginative projects that highlight different perspectives, ignored, and forgotten stories. Since 2017, she has worked with multiple museums of the Smithsonian Institution, including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, National Museum of American History, National Museum of Asian Art, and Anacostia Community Museum. Past collaborations include Washington Project for the Arts, DC. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Times Square Arts, The Brooklyn Museum, The Embassy of Venezuela, Spain Arts & Culture, S.O.U.R.C.E. Studio, and The FUNDRED Project with MacArthur Fellow Mel Chin.

Bekezela Mguni is a queer Trinidadian artist, librarian, and educator. She is a community organizer with over 15 years of experience in the reproductive justice movement and holds an MLIS from the University of Pittsburgh. Mguni participated in the first librarians and archivists with Palestine delegation in June of 2013. She completed her first micro-residency at the Pittsburgh creative hub Boom Concepts and was featured in the 2015 Open Engagement Conference. She was a 2015-2016 member of the Penn Ave Creative Accelerator Program with the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater and launched the Black Unicorn Library and Archive Project, a Black feminist community library and archive. Mguni also served as the 2016 Sophia Smith Archive activist-in-residence at Smith College. She was selected as an emerging artist in the 2016 Three Rivers Arts Festival and won the juror’s choice award for her visual artwork. She was a featured artist of the 2017 Activist Print Project, a partnership between Artist Image Resource, BOOM concepts, and the Andy Warhol Museum. Mguni also serves as the education program director at Dreams of Hope, which affirms the voices and leadership of LGBTQ youth through the arts.

Jasir Qiydaar is a writer, youth advocate, and arts administrator, all roles that fulfill his desire to connect with people in a meaningful, authentic way. Qiydaar graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) with a bachelor’s degree in media & communication studies and a minor in writing. During his time at UMBC, he co-founded a student organization called The Charm City Connection, which focuses on connecting people from UMBC’s campus to the people of Baltimore City through service and community engagement activities. Qiydaar’s writing mainly focuses on equity and community organizations; he has several published pieces, including features in Baltimore City Paper and BmoreArt. Outside of feature writing, Qiydaar has written grant applications for local nonprofits to raise funds for essential arts programs, including ones that directly benefit youth. He has worked with youth in Baltimore in multiple ways, including as a recruiter, mentor, and writing coach for the Bloomberg Arts Internship, as well as a member of the planning team for the YouthWorks summer jobs program at the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development. Qiydaar currently serves as the communications manager at Baltimore Center Stage, which allows him to use his writing and community engagement skills to build relationships with community members.

Niarus Walker is a female Caribbean artist of the African Diaspora. She has a continuing practice as a fine artist and art teacher that spans 29 years. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Walker is an avid advocate for arts in education. One of her ongoing projects is the annual Youth Art Month program, which she introduced in the U.S. Virgin Islands 15 years ago. Walker is also an active volunteer in the arts community, having served in various capacities for the Fort Frederik Historical Museum and the Caribbean Museum Center in St. Croix, where she served as the executive director of the board of directors and curator of exhibitions. Her most recent volunteer expedition was a sculptural project for a local children’s park. Walker is a wife and mother of two girls.