EmergeNYC is a Latinx-led incubator and affinity network for socially engaged artists to develop their creative voice, explore the intersections of art and activism, and connect to a thriving community of mostly BIPOC, migrant, and LGBTQIA+ practitioners who challenge dominant narratives through cultural resistance.

​The 2025 Cohort includes Alexis Aceves Garcia, Ama Acquah,​ Ayeraye Akosua, Emily Reyes, Hassan Akua, Irene Villaseñor​, Isa Rivera,​ Jai Mohan,​ Kari Ostensen,​ Katherine Toukhy,​ Linnea Scott,​ Lydia 黎珈璐 [Lí Jiā-Lù],​ LySaundra Janeé,​ Miriam Parker,​ Noah Ortega,​ ProgettoFATUO,​ and Tray Tsui​. 

First launched in 2008 at NYU’s Hemispheric Institute—and now housed at BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, EmergeNYC offers varied entry points into art and activism, prioritizing process, discovery and reflection, and fostering a brave space for experimentation, risk-taking and community-building. Through in-person and virtual annual programs, EmergeNYC encourages participants to take interdisciplinary leaps, mix styles and traditions, and develop incisive new work at the intersection of performance and politics. Over the years, EmergeNYC has activated a strong network of artivists—in NYC and beyond—who have built solidarity across differences and engaged in artistic world-making together.

Since its founding, our cohorts of emerging practitioners have learned from artist, scholar, and activist george emilio sánchez, as well as other leading practitioners, including Carmelita Tropicana, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Karen Finley, Tim Miller, Theydy Bedbug, Favianna Rodríguez, Daniel Alexander Jones, Avram Finkelstein, Ebony Noelle Golden, nia love, and Ayana Evans, to name a few.