2023-24 National Cohort: New England Foundation for the Arts

Atabey Sánchez-Haiman is a Puerto Rican artist, biologist, trainee mindfulness teacher and small business owner. Sánchez-Haiman owns Giraffes and Robots Pop Art Studio, which is located in artsy, quirky, small but mighty Rhode Island. She loves to explore different ways of making art, she combines different mediums and techniques (drawing on paper, painting on canvas, collage, photo illustrations) to create her pop art. Sánchez-Haiman intentionally uses a palette of red, yellow and orange because these colors make you smile and cultivate joy. She is currently training at Brown University and at the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation to teach mindfulness with a view of combining art and mindfulness to create safe spaces for marginalized communities to come together to create, heal, recharge, cultivate joy and effect change. Sánchez-Haiman believes that by becoming aware of social constructs and the hurdles that they unfairly impose on marginalized communities, possibilities and opportunities can arise and these obstacles can then be challenged creatively and peacefully from a place of centered, rooted awareness. The fact that communities of color value collectivity is an asset and Sánchez-Haiman wants to harness this skill that people of color share through their upbringing and experiences and start moving society away from its current individualistic, self centered focus towards a more compassionate, humane, community oriented direction. Art and mindfulness as activism and vehicles for personal and societal change.

Victoria Johnson is an artist originally from Michigan who moved to Vermont in late 2021. They have been involved in performing arts since their youth — ranging from dance, choir, band, theater and DJing. No matter where they are located, Johnson always strives to be a part of the community in some capacity through performing arts. They work as the music program manager at BarnArts in Barnard, Vermont, where they arrange a summer music series, music residencies, and school programs for rural schools. When not working, they enjoy attempting to teach themself instruments, crochet arts, and connecting with the land through gardening and communing with plants.

With a decade of experience in the design field, Ruiz holds a bachelors in design and digital arts from the School of Fine Arts & Design of Puerto Rico (Escuela de Artes Plásticas & Diseño de Puerto Rico), graduating as Summa Cum Laude. Ruiz has been recognized with grants from organizations such as the Luis A. Ferré Foundation (Fundación Luis A Ferré) and Seguros Múltiples of Puerto Rico. She has also earned several awards, including the People’s Choice Award from the Collective Exhibition “El Bizarro” during the Puerto Rico Horror Film Fest. One of her artworks is featured in the Contemporary Puerto Rican Art Collection (Colección de Arte Puertorriqueño Contemporáneo). Her work has been displayed in respected galleries like Exhibixiones del Plata, Lorenzo Homar Gallery (Galería Lorenzo Homar) at the School of Fine Arts & Design of Puerto Rico, and the Museum of the Americas at the Ballajá Barracks (Museo Las Américas, Cuartel de Ballajá). She received the Audience Choice Award at the 2021 Circus International Film Festival for her work in sound mixing and film editing on the short film “Isla Bonita Circus Tour” for the National Circus School of Puerto Rico. For a duration of two years, Ruiz served on the Faculty of the International School of Design & Architecture (Escuela Internacional de Diseño y Arquitectura) within the SUAGM (Sistema Universitario Ana. G. Méndez). Ruiz is also part of The Currier Collective board from the Currier Museum of Art, where she advocates for the recognition of diversity and culture in Manchester, New Hampshire. She currently works at BOLD as a product designer focusing on UI/UX and visual branding.