Resident Artists

Darla Himeles

Darla Himeles (they/she) is a Philadelphia-based poet and writer for young people. She is the author of the chapbook Flesh Enough and the full-length poetry collection Cleave, both published by Get Fresh Books. Their poems and essays have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net and can be read in recent issues of Lesbians are Miracles, The Gay & Lesbian Review, The Massachusetts Review, The Night Heron Barks, Honey Literary, and NAILED. She holds an AB in English from Bryn Mawr College, an MFA in poetry and poetry in translation from Drew University, and a PhD in American literature from Temple University, where she works as the assistant director of the Writing Center and teaches undergraduate creative writing workshops. Find them on Instagram @darlahimelespoetry, or follow their Wordle achievements on Twitter at @darlaida. Read more at darlahimelespoetry.com.

Tamar Jacobs

Tamar Jacobs is a writer, editor and teacher based near Philadelphia. She is a Katherine Anne Porter Fiction Prize winner, with work appearing in Gulf Coast, Glimmer Train, New Ohio Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, The Louisville Review, Grist and elsewhere. Her unpublished novel A Book of Rules was a finalist for the 2020 George Garrett Fiction Prize awarded by Texas Review Press and a finalist for the 2021 Nilsen Prize awarded by Southeast Missouri State University Press. An excerpt from the manuscript was shortlisted for the 2021 Janus Prize awarded by the Chautauqua Institution, and other excerpts from the novel appear in L'Esprit Literary Review and Platform Review. Tamar sits on the board of the Sean King Fund for Inclusive Practices, a foundation formed to promote inclusion for children and young adults across levels of ability, and she serves as Interview Editor for Iron City Magazine, an online and print magazine devoted to art and writing from the prison world. She is passionate about writing as a tool toward truth and empowerment, and works privately as a developmental editor and writing coach at tamarjacobs.com

Kathy Kremins

Kathy Kremins (she/her) is a retired New Jersey public school teacher, coach, and adjunct professor. Born and raised in Newark, NJ, she has a BA from St. Elizabeth University (College of St. Elizabeth), an MFA from Goddard College, and a D. Litt. from Drew University. She is the author of the chapbook, Undressing the World (Finishing Line Press, 2022), An Ethics of Reading: The Broken Beauties of Toni Morrison, Arundhati Roy, and Nawal el Sadaawi (Lambert Academic Publishing, 2010), and essay contributor to Too Smart to be Sentimental: Contemporary Irish American Women Writers (Notre Dame University Press, 2008). Kathy’s recent work appears in Paterson Literary Review, Limp Wrist Magazine, Digging Through the Fat, Platform Review, Soup Can Magazine, The Night Heron Barks, Stay Salty; Life in the Garden State Anthology, The Stillwater Review, Lavender Review, and Divine Feminist: An Anthology of Poetry & Art By Womxn and Non-Binary Folx. She is an editor for NJ Audubon Magazine and assistant prose editor for The Platform Review.

Shanta Lee

Shanta Lee is a writer of poetry, creative nonfiction, journalism, a visual artist and public intellectual actively participating in the cultural discourse with work that has been widely featured. She is the author of  GHETTOCLAUSTROPHOBIA: Dreamin of Mama While Trying to Speak Woman in Woke Tongues, named 2021 Vermont Book Award and winner of the 2020 Diode Editions full-length book prize. Shanta Lee's forthcoming collection, Black Metamorphoses (Etruscan Press, 2023) is an illustrated poetry collection that has been long listed for the 2021 Idaho poetry prize, shortlisted for the 2021 Cowles Poetry Book Prize, and named a finalist in the 2021 Hudson prize.  Her multimedia exhibition, Dark Goddess: An Exploration of the Sacred Feminine is currently on view  at University of Vermont’s Fleming Museum of Art from now until Spring 2023. Among many creative endeavors, she teaches poetry at Wilkes University. Shanta Lee has an MFA in Creative Non-Fiction and Poetry at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has an MBA from the University of Hartford and an undergraduate degree in Women, Gender and Sexuality from Trinity College. To explore more of her work, click here.

Melissa Libbey

Melissa Libbey was born and raised in Rahway, New Jersey. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from Rider University and an M.A. in English and Writing Studies from Kean University. She curates the SPOKEN! Podcast with her students and serves as the Managing Editor of the SPOKEN! Magazine which works with students to share their voices and perspectives. Currently, she is working on a memoir and her MFA in creative writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University and she is a full time lecturer at Kean University.

 Rachelle Parker

Rachelle Parker is a Nassawadox born, Brooklyn bred writer. She is the author of forthcoming Together We Remember The Gazelle, poetry winner of the 2022 Digging Press Chapbook Series. She is a resident of Storyknife Writers Retreat and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her work appears in About Place Journal, Rhino Poetry, The Adirondack Review, The Paterson Literary Review, New Jersey English Journal and Lips. She is published in the anthology The BreakBeat Poets Volume 2: Black Girl Magic. Her photography appears in Orion Magazine. Please find more about Rachelle at her website: https://rachelleparkerwriter.com.

Yamini Pathak

Yamini Pathak is the author of the chapbooks, Atlas of Lost Places (Milk and Cake Press, 2020) and Breath Fire Water Song (Ghost City Press, 2021). Her words are forthcoming or have appeared in Poetry Northwest, About Place Journal, Tupelo Quarterly, Vida Review, Waxwing, and elsewhere. She is a Poet in Schools for the Geraldine Dodge Foundation, serves as poetry editor for Inch micro-chapbooks (Bull City Press), and is a production assistant for Tupelo Quarterly journal. Yamini received her MFA in poetry from Antioch University, Los Angeles and is an alumnus of VONA/Voices and Community of Writers. It brings her much joy to belong to the Duniya Collective, an inter-disciplinary group of BIPOC artists. Born in India, she lives with her family in New Jersey.  

Dimitri Reyes

Dimitri Reyes is a Boricua multidisciplinary artist, YouTuber, and educator from Newark, New Jersey. Dimitri's book, Every First and Fifteenth (2021) is the winner of the Digging Press 2020 Chapbook Award and his poetry journal, Shadow Work for Poets, is now available on Amazon. His forthcoming book, Papi Pichón, will be published in 2023 by Get Fresh Books. Some of his work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net and you can find more of his writing in Poem-a-Day, Vinyl, Kweli, & Acentos. He is the Marketing & Communications Director at CavanKerry Press. Learn more about Dimitri by visiting his website at https://www.dimitrireyespoet.com/

Karen Tighe

Karen Tighe PSA /MC is a New Jersey artist painting primarily in pastels. She has a BA in Early Childhood Education from Catholic University of America as well as a BFA in Design from William Paterson University. Karen achieved Master Circle status with IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies) as well as Signature Artist stature in the Pastel Society of America. She is also an Inaugural Distinguished member of the Pastel Society of New Jersey. Now a full-time artist, Karen previously had a career as a graphic designer in the toy industry. Karen is a board member for the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club and a member of the IAPS Education Committee. She currently works out of her studio at Artspace Studio and Gallery in Morristown, NJ. For more information and to view her work please visit www.karentighestudio.com

Dana DeBarros

Dana DeBarros received her BA in Studio Arts from Drew University, double minored in Art Administration and Archaeology. Her passion for the arts started at the age of seven while photographing her mother’s garden. Her attention to detail, color, and composition has developed over the years as she continues to photograph and paint. She has traveled to six of the seven continents and finds inspiration from the places she travels. Dana is a custom framer and also works as a teaching artist with ABTP. Dana was the organizations first intern in 2012 and has helped pave the way for the numerous interns that the organization has had since then. Dana has run fine art classes, writing classes, and jewelry classes for senior citizens at several locations for ABTP. To see her work, please visit her website at www.danadebarros.com or follow her on Instagram @danadebarros.

Maura Garnett

Maura serves as film coordinator for Moving Words. Maura is a graduate at the School of Visual Arts, where she specialized in Directing and Casting. She was previously an intern for Arts By The People and a judge for Moving Words 2022, thus she is grateful to be involved with Moving Words again. She is honored to be the film coordinator, as she enjoys being able to work closely and hands-on with many wonderful animators and filmmakers who inspire her greatly. She finds Moving Words to be a great opportunity for students to bring poems to life visually, creating a beautiful connection between artists of various mediums. 

Caia Diepenbrock

Caia Diepenbrock is an interdisciplinary artist and designer based in Brooklyn, NY. She has Art Directed several award-winning films that have shown at Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals and her art and designs have been featured on productions including Netflix’s Emmy-Winning Queer Eye, all across the branding and album art for Grammy-winning musician Madison Cunningham’s latest album “Revealer,” and others. Her murals and floral design work can also be seen throughout Rooftop Cinema Club’s locations nationwide. She currently works out of her studio in Gowanus, Brooklyn at the Trestle Arts Space and is working on her clothing brand of embroidered vintage jackets. https://www.caiadiepenbrock.com/

Oksana Horban

Oksana Horban, originally from Ukraine, graduated Kyiv Academy of Circus and Variety Arts with honors, where she majored in pantomime (artist of mimicry and gesture) and worked with Bingo Circus-Theatre, directors Nikolaj Baranov, Iryna Herman, and Natalya Uzhvenko. In 2017 she was part of the NCA cheerleading team at Palomar College. She graduated Montclair State University in May 2022 with Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, where she performed works by Alexander Anderson, Ohad Naharin, Paul Taylor, Bradley Shelver, Larry Keigwin, Maxine Steinman, Fredrick Earl Mosley and others. Her work premiered at the United Solo Theater Festival in New York, where she won Best Choreography award.

Marsha Guirlande Pierre

Marsha Guirlande Pierre (Bronx, New York) is a Haitian-American freelance artist who received her BFA  in Dance Performance at Montclair State University. Ms. Pierre has performed works by Camille A. Brown, Bill T. Jones, Daniel Shapiro and Joanie Smith, Frederick Earl Mosley, Christian Von Howard, and Alwin Nikolais. and has performed professional works with Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance, The Nathaniel Hunt Project, VOID, Padierna Dance Project and The Lab by S. Galberth. She has also worked with Gaspard & Dancers, Maxine Steinmein & Dancers and joined the apprenticeship program with Limon Dance Company. She is a Resident Artist with Arts by the People and has participated in Jump the Turnstile, Stories in Motion, Bridging Gaps, Intonation and leads music and dance workshops at The Neighborhood Community Center in Morristown.Visit Marsha on Instagram

Jenny Campbell

Jenny is a Brooklyn based yoga teacher and modern dancer. She has been teaching yoga and meditation for 15 year. She completed her initial teacher training after receiving her BFA in dance performance from the Ohio State University. She completed her second training at The Shala in New York City. Jenny teaches a wide variety of movement practices including vinyasa, Ashtanga-based vinyasa, restorative yoga, chair yoga, prenatal yoga, mediation, and Pilates. She specializes in custom designing classes, pulling from all of these practices to find the blend that works best for each student.

Crystal Lynn Rodriguez

Crystal is a Puerto-Rican/American performance artist, choreographer, and teacher. She studied at Rosa L. Parks Fine and Performing Arts High School (Paterson, NJ) and graduated Montclair State University with a BFA in Dance Performance. Ms. Rodriguez was the recipient of the 2014 Linda Roberts Outstanding Senior Dance Award. She has performed repertoire by Sidra Bell, Chase Brock, Douglas Dunn, Martha Graham, Bill T. Jones, Larry Keigwin, José Limón, Andrea Miller, Earl Mosley, Paul Taylor, Doug Varone, among others. She has also danced for Life Dance Company/Diversity of Dance, JENNIFERCHINdance, DiMauro Dance, Maxine Steinmein & Dancers, Robert Mark Dance, Zest Collective, and marked dance project. She serves as teacher/choreographer for Effusion Dance Collective, Sukha Arts Center, and Be.You.Dance.Center in New Jersey. With ABTP Crystal is part of the Bridging Gaps workshops and works with senior citizens on Stories in Motion.

Elaina Stewart

Elaina is a creator and mover from Northeast FL. She has a passion for movement and believes it is one way in which all humans communicate. She’s a BFA Dance graduate from Rutgers University, where she studied contemporary and compositional forms. Stewart has trained in Israel and Berlin, both of which she has also performed. Stewart has work with choreographers Darrell Grand Moultrie, BennyRoyce Rayon, Fluer Darkin, Greg Dolbashian, Roni Chadash and Noa Zuk. During these creative processes she was given opportunities to perform at the Joyce Theatre NYC, dock11 Berlin, and the Suzanne Dellal Center Tel Aviv. Stewart’s passion for movement is what transcends her to move in a performative way, she enjoys these creative processes and the learning that comes with it. Much of her movement is heavily influenced by improvisational techniques, she loves to play around in the studio and see what new energies she can render up. Aside from her dancing she also is a pilates instructor, traveler, plant and pet lover. She always looking to keep life interesting.

Sierra Christine Sanders

Sierra Christine Sanders was born & raised in Montclair, NJ. She has trained in many styles of dance at programs including New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Young Artist Institute and Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts. Sierra graduated with a B.F.A in Dance from Montclair State University in 2017. She went on to dance in Philadanco 2 and later Graham 2. At the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, Sierra received a scholarship as a choreography major and set two works on the Martha Graham School. As a certified Graham teacher, Sierra continues to teach around the state of NJ as well as at the Martha Graham Teens program. Passionate about Modern Dance, she believes in instilling self worth & high self esteem through movement. She currently dances for RudduR Dance in New York and has expanded her work into Dance Filmography.

Maxine Steinman

Maxine Steinman a performer, choreographer, and teacher, has presented work in numerous festivals and venues such as Joyce Soho, The 92ndStreet Y Harkness Dance Festival, the Westfest Dance Festival, American Dance Guild Festival, DUMBO, the Battery Dance Festival, and others, and traveled to Taiwan, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, France, Japan, Italy, Germany and Cyprus to teach, choreograph, and perform her work. Maxine has choreographed and taught at Hofstra University, Marymount Manhattan College, the Ailey School, Institut del Teatre, Centro Andaluz de Danza, University of Colima. She is an Associate Professor of Dance and Program Coordinator of the BFA and the BA Dance Division at Montclair State University. Maxine choreographic work is focused on communication and expressiveness with a motivation to impart compelling images, thoughts, and impressions through a physicality fused with subtleties and nuances.  With ARTS By The People she is the dance coordinator for Intonation and Jump the Turnstile. She has collaborated with composers, musicians, poets, visual artists and video artists, and have delved into site-specific work, all of which have been a great source of inspiration.

Photo by Klaus Lucka

Alyssa Tiren

Alyssa Tiren was raised in Paramus, NJ, where she started her dance career at Mariann's School of Dance. She is currently an undergraduate student at Skidmore College in Saratoga Spring NY, majoring in dance and psychology. While dancing at Skidmore, she has performed in the works of Paul Taylor, Erika Pujič, Brian Reeder, Debra Fernandez, Mary Harney, and Denise Limoli, among others. She is excited to be a teaching artist with ABTP where she teaches Stories in Motion, a program which pairs the art of storytelling with expressive dance and choreography.

Bisco Smith

Brad “Bisco” Smith is a creative professional based out of New York City and Los Angeles who focuses on music, design, art, and mentorship. In addition, he operates a boutique design studio, IV.Creative, founded in 2002, which develops branding, print, web, and mural design for clients around the globe. With ARTS By The People, Bisco brings “Arts By the Street,” a workshop that intends to acquaint its participants with modern day visual street arts through history and the use of mediums commonly found in urban landscapes around the world. He has also done Art Installation and Live Art at the Morristown High School Art and Design show. He led a street art workshop in Jerusalem in July 2012. To learn more about Bisco, please visit his website at www.biscosmith.com.

Mïrändä

Mïrändä’s music is a synthesis of playful commentary and catchy pop melodies. Her vibrant compositions and lush lyrical worlds, rich with metaphor and subtext, are contagious by their very construction. She explores a wide spectrum of styles and sounds, and leaves the listener guessing what’s next. Born and raised in NYC, the young music producer and singer-songwriter has a background in theatre. Her eclectic spirit and style can be traced back to years of training in classical violin, as well as the wide range of music she grew up listening to, including The Chieftans, Queen and Led Zeppelin. Mïrändä’s songs are emboldened with abstract themes, glowing with the pulse of neon electronic melodies.

iLLspokinn

With a focus on staying true to Hip Hop’s roots while also propelling it toward the future, iLLspokinn has garnered a worldwide following, both through the two albums he released as the lead vocalist of the band Spokinn Movement, who was named one of the “Rawkus 50 (next important Hip Hop artists)”, and maintaining an extensive international touring schedule. Closer to home, iLLspokinn wears many hats. He is an educator/mentor holding Hip Hop workshops, a Vinyl DJ Instructor, and CEO/Host/Producer of New York’s longest running live band Hip Hop open mic, Freestyle Mondays.

Dr. Amit Weiner

Israeli composer Dr. Amit Weiner has an international career as a composer, a concert pianist, and a presenter. His music has been performed in festivals and concerts, including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Europe and Asia. His music has won many international competitions and awards, among them recently the 2nd Prize at the 2016 Alfred Schnittke Competition, in Lviv, Ukraine, The Asian Composers League “15- Minutes-of-Fame” competition, The America Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarships, and more. In addition to his position as professor of composition and Head of The Cross- Disciplinary Composition Division, at the at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Dr. Weiner serves frequently as a guest composer in universities and conferences. Dr Weiner is a visiting professor at Northeastern University in the Exchange Visitor Program. Amit has worked on ABTP’s Intonation project as well as Bridging Gaps.

Megan Fainsinger 

Megan Fainsinger is a graduate of the New York Botanical Gardens, where she studied Horticultural Therapy. Born and raised on the Indian Ocean, a native to the bounty of botanical diversity in South Africa, Megan grew up in a subtropical world of flowers and temperate African landscapes. With a background in Special Education, Megan draws on her teaching experience, passion for gardening and professional skills in floral design, to create educational, creative and enriching indoor and outdoor horticultural programs for seniors.

“The touch, taste, smell, sound and sight of plant materials serves as a trigger to stimulate our inherent human instinct and attraction to what is beautiful and awe inspiring.” Megan’s goal is to reconnect individuals to our collective sense of wonder in the outdoor world as a vehicle of engagement, connection and purpose, thereby enhancing the participants day to day quality of life.

Gerry Sherman

Gerry Sherman graduated with a B.A. from Skidmore College where she studied International Affairs, Studio Art, and Environmental Studies. She received her Horticultural Therapy Certificate from The New York Botanical Gardens, which included an intensive clinical internship at NYU Langone Health. Through her business endeavors and “backyard farm” she encourages everyone to get their hands dirty and be creative utilizing the amazing medium of plants.