Jamaine T. Smith, Interim Executive Director
Hailing from pre-gentrified Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York Jamaine T. Smith is a visual artist, consummate daydreamer, and strategic designer of experiences and systems that champion and support the innate dignity, creative genius, and worth of every person. His work is guided by empathy, the practice of imagination, the poem “won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton and the community-focused tenacity of his late mother, Barbara A. Smith.
With over a two decades of deep work in Child Care, Higher Education, and Philadelphia’s Arts and Culture sector, Jamaine specializes in direct support for artists and arts organizations, executive-level arts/non-profit administration, and way-making (assisting others in finding a way, means, or solution despite difficulty or impossibility).
Jamaine has served as a grant review panelist for the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and Cuyahoga County Arts and core member of the Philadelphia Assembly.
Jamaine holds a BS in Social Work (Nyack College), MA in Urban Studies (Eastern University), and MBA (Philadelphia University – now Jefferson University).
Gena Mimozo, Deputy Director
Grants Administrator
Gena Mimozo is an arts advocate, warrior for cultural equity, and community organizer. Gena is also a filmmaker, poet, and event producer.
They started work with Staten Island Arts in 2010 as the organization’s Arts Education Program Officer, eventually moving to Grants Administration in 2012. In 2017, they were promoted to Deputy Director of the organization. Under their management, the Staten Island Arts Regrant program has grown to distribute more than $260,000 in funding for artists – the largest in the organization’s history. Through the arts council, they participate in many citywide community engagement opportunities such as the Art Advisory Committee for NYC Department of Transportation and the Percent for Art Committee for NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.
Gena as an artist has worked in the entertainment industry in multiple capacities (director, assistant director, stage manager, production coordinator, production assistant) and for many types of projects (theatre, concerts, festivals, television, commercials, film) throughout New York City.
Gena holds a B.A. in Design, Technology, and Management (DTM) from Wagner College where their concentration was Stage Management. They also hold a certification in Filmmaking from New York Film Academy.
photo: Katie Levine
Theresa Figueroa, Grants and Programs Coordinator
tfigueroa@statenislandarts.org
Theresa Figueroa is a SUNY New Paltz alumni with a dual degree in Digital Media Production and Public Relations (2020). A Staten Island native with a passion for people and the arts, Theresa enjoys adventures in nature, occasionally dabbling in photography and filmmaking.
Having recently worked at a prominent medical office during COVID-19 surges, Theresa was given a new appreciation for Staten Islanders’ unique humor and resilience. She is excited to apply that experience to her role with Staten Island Arts, valuing the art, community, and culture of the island she calls home. An artist with a curious mind, Theresa is eager to answer any and all questions you may have about our grant programs.
Staten Island Arts was founded in 1992 as a grassroots arts collective…
by working artists and arts administrators who regarded a local arts agency as an essential tool in community-based cultural development. Staten Island Arts’ mission is to foster art, community, and culture from shore to shore.
Our programs and services strive to make the arts accessible to every member of the community; support and build recognition for artistic achievement; and provide artists, organizations, and arts educators with the technical, financial, and social resources to encourage cultural production. We are proud to spotlight the unique character of our local cultural resources so that they can be appreciated by a wider audience.
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Our position of publicly representing Richmond County positions us as a nexxus point for a variety of sectors at the city and statewide levels. Staten Island Arts proudly shares its best practices and resources with larger networks and engages in activities that ensure our borough has a seat at the table. We seek to ensure that artists and cultural resources are considered priorities as the needs and services of our communities change.
Compelled by seeing ongoing silos of race, socio-economics, religious beliefs, political divisions, geography and cultural values, Staten Island Arts creates dialogues that address the inequities around us, heard in the voices of the artists and community members of Staten Island, and experienced ourselves as cultural workers at a small non-profit. We believe in the power of the arts to bring disparate people together and act as a catalyst for recognition of the full range of the spirit and mind. We are committed to building trust and engaging with people from the diverse communities across Staten Island so that all people share their voices, strengths, and needs to express a vision for the collective strength of our borough.
STAFF
Gena Mimozo
Deputy Director & Grants Administrator
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Kelly Yim
President
Christina Carannante
Vice President
Quanice Floyd
Treasurer
Charles Sullivan
Member-at-large
Ken Tirado
Secretary
STRATEGIC PLAN
Staten Island Arts Board and Staff utilize the organization’s Strategic Plan as a tool to set priorities, state ambitions, strengthen operations, and ensure that we are working towards common goals and values. It is a means to assess and adjust our organization’s direction. Staten Island Arts is very grateful to The Staten Island Foundation for providing the financial support for the Strategic Plan process.
WORK WITH US
Staten Island Arts is not currently hiring. Please follow us on social media for upcoming opportunities!
OUR FUNDERS
