Pia Kishore Agrawal, Executive Director
Pia Kishore Agrawal joined Staten Island Arts Executive Director in October 2021. Previously, Agrawal served as the inaugural Curator of Performing Arts at the Momentary, a multidisciplinary contemporary art space satellite to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR. From 2014-18, Pia was the Program Director at the University of Houston Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts where she produced the Center’s public programming including the annual Mitchell Artist Lecture and CounterCurrent festival. Prior to her work at the Mitchell Center, Pia served as the Programming Director of FringeArts (Philadelphia, PA).
Agrawal is an advisor with the New England Foundation for the Arts National Theater Project, and has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Capital, PEW Center for Arts & Heritage, and the MAP Fund, amongst others. Agrawal is on the board of Fernland Studios, an Oregon-based organization reimagining environmentalism through art and education.
Agrawal is a graduate of Haverford College with a BA in sociology and is a native Staten Islander.
photo: dabfoto creative
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
Alexandra Shoneyin, Community Programs Manager
alexandra@statenislandarts.org
Alexandra Shoneyin is a visual storyteller, community organizer, grower, and above all, vessel of God through Jesus. With a dual degree in Critical Theory and Visual Studies at CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies and Macaulay Honors College, she remains passionate about creating unique and sovereign spaces with the Afro-Indigenous global community that uncovers their lived experiences and seeks to transcend them. Her time spent living and working in semi-urban and rural communities in both South Africa and Rwanda have remained paramount to her, showing her the ways in which communities build, learn, and achieve collective liberation. She has managed three community art programs in New York City and worked as a youth educator. Alexandra’s path in this lifetime continues to be guided by artistic expression, unity and a spiral way of healing beginning with the self, family, neighborhood, and finally, the world.
Chante Dyson, Communications and Marketing Manager
Chante Dyson is an experienced and forward-thinking Marketing Manager with a proven track record of driving success through a dynamic fusion of visionary product strategy, strategic marketing, and customer-centric product management. She specializes in bridging the gap between innovative product design and effective marketing, crafting compelling narratives that resonate with customers while ensuring lasting success for products.
Throughout her career, Chante has leveraged market insights to inform product development, dedicated to maximizing customer value and market impact. Today, Chante is embarking on an exciting journey at the crossroads of UX Design, Product Management, and Product Marketing Management. As an active participant in Tech Fleet’s apprenticeship program, she is fully immersing herself in the realm of UX Design and Product Management. She is diving deep into user-centered methodologies, refining her problem-solving skills, and fostering innovative design solutions.
In parallel, Chante is enhancing her skill set through Google’s UX Design course, equipping herself with a comprehensive grasp of design principles and strategies. Her aspiration is to wield this multifaceted expertise to bridge the gap between creative vision and technological implementation. With a discerning eye for design aesthetics, a strategic marketing mindset, and an unwavering commitment to user success, Chante is poised to excel in roles that seamlessly intertwine Product Design, Product Management, and Product Marketing Management.
Her ultimate goal is to play a pivotal role in crafting impactful user experiences, steering product engagement, and ensuring triumph for both users and businesses. With a passion for the arts and a dedication to achieving tangible results, Chante is excited to contribute her skills and experience to the Marketing Manager position at Staten Island Arts.
In her free time, Chante enjoys spending time with her beautiful family, attending and curating creative events, and chasing her entrepreneurial dreams at The Godyssey.
Theresa Figueroa, Grants Assistant
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
Pia Kishore Agrawal
Executive Director
Gena Mimozo
Deputy Director & Grants Administrator
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Kelly Yim
President
Christina Carannante
Secretary
Quanice Floyd
Member-at-large
Charles Sullivan
Treasurer
Ken Tirado
Vice President
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!