NYFA 1-on-1 Consultations for Immigrant Artists | Build Your Arts Career in the U.S.

Looking for advice or feedback on how to start your career in the U.S.? Book a free consultation session with NYFA!

Leer en español | 用中文閱讀本文

For a limited time, access the free, online 1-on-1 Consultations for Immigrant Artists program, presented by the Immigrant Artist Resource Center, thanks to the generous support of the Tremaine Foundation.

What is the consultation program?

NYFA 1-on-1 Consultations for Immigrant Artists offers individualized career-centered conversations for creatives of all disciplines. During these free 40-minute online consultation sessions with arts industry experts, you can seek advice on specific topics or general resources and opportunities to help you navigate building your arts career in the U.S.

What topics can be covered in the consultation? 

Consultation session topics can include:

• arts career planning, such as creating and locating opportunities
• advice on application materials, making connections, and building community
• advice on working with curators, presenters, producers, and/or publishers
• marketing advice

How do I book a session?

Here’s what you need to know before making an appointment: 

• The consultation will take place online, in a Zoom meeting room
• The consultation will last for 40 minutes
• The consultation is free thanks to the generosity of the Tremaine Foundation. The consultation can be done in English, Mandarin, and Spanish. 
• We ask each person to book only 1 consultation session, so that more immigrant artists like you can benefit from the resource.

Appointments with our consultants are currently at capacity. We will release additional booking sessions on Tuesday, June 27. Please subscribe to The Immigrant Artist Newsletter for first access.

Who are the consultants?

Our consultants are arts industry experts from different disciplines who are affiliated with NYFA’s Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program.

• Martita Abril (Languages: English & Spanish) – Performing Artist, Curator, Organizer, and Teaching Artist

Martita Abril is from the border city of Tijuana, México. She has benefitted from both sides of the NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentorship Program—participating as both a mentee and a mentor—and teaches workshops for Spanish speaking families for the iLAND (Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Art Nature and Dance) in Bushwick Gardens, Brooklyn. She is a co-curator of In/Between, an annual immigrant artist group exhibition developed in partnership with New York Live Arts and NYFA’s Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program. Abril is currently the Coordinator of the Movement Research at the Judson Memorial Church series, and an artist in residence at The Kitchen in the Dance and Process Program. She resides at the border of Bushwick/Greenpoint in Brooklyn with her partner and 31 plants, most of which are alive. 

• Cecile Chong (Languages: English & Spanish)– Visual Artist, Curator, and Educator

Cecile Chong was born in Ecuador to Chinese parents and grew up in Quito and Macao. Her public art installation EL DORADO – The New Forty Niners was installed in the five boroughs of NYC (2017-2022). Solo exhibitions include Kates-Ferri Projects, Sugar Hill Children’s Museum, Selenas Mountain, ICFAC at Pinta Miami, Smack Mellon, Kenise Barnes Fine Art, and BRIC, among others. Chong’s work is in the collections of El Museo del Barrio, Museum of Chinese in America, The Rockefeller Foundation, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Citibank Art Advisory, and private collections internationally. Chong received an MFA degree from Parsons, an MA degree in education from Hunter College, and a BA degree in Studio Art from Queens College. Chong is currently part of the EFA Studio Program and an artist member of Tiger Strikes Asteroid NY. She is also part of the CAA Services to Artists Committee and is a board member at Artyard BK and Smack Mellon.

• Chemin Hsiao (Languages: English & Mandarin) – Visual Artist and Educator

Chemin Hsiao (Taiwan) is a visual artist based in Queens and Brooklyn at the Chashama Studio Space. His 2021 artist banner proposal “Dandelions Know” was selected as the winner of the Artist Banners Open Call at the Noguchi Museum to raise awareness of racism against those in the AAPI community. He is a recipient of the New Work Grant & ArtSite Public Art Commissioning program from Queens Arts Fund, and has taken part in artist residencies including the Kingsbrae International Residence for the Arts in Canada. Since 2019, he has completed several commissioned murals for the Queens community. He participated in NYFA’s Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program as a mentee in 2016, and as a mentor in 2022/2023.

Besides his studio practice, Hsiao has taught visual arts workshops to students from kindergarten to seniors for organizations such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Noguchi Museum, New York Botanical Garden, New York School of Interior Design, Queens Botanical Garden, ProjectArt, and senior centers in Queens and Brooklyn.

• Lulu Meng (Languages: English & Mandarin) – Multidisciplinary Artist and Cultural Worker

LuLu Meng is a multidisciplinary artist. Born in Taiwan and based in Brooklyn, their conceptual work embodies the interconnected humanity. 

Their work has been shown at SFA Projects, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Cuchifritos Gallery&Project Space, Flux Factory, 47 Canal Gallery, Spring/Break Art Show, New York Hall of Science, and QCC Art Gallery and Museum in New York, NY; William Harris Gallery, Rochester, NY; Anaba Project, Bethesda, MD; Brodsky Center, Philadelphia, PA; Power Plant Gallery, Durham, NC; Gallery MoMo, Tokyo, Japan; Museo El Castillo, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia; and Cloud Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan.

Their residencies and awards include TAAC, Governors Island; Sculpture Space, NY; Anaba Project; mh PROJECT nyc; Curatorial Program for Research (CPR); Artist in the Marketplace (AIM), Bronx Museum of the Arts; Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program, New York Foundation for the Arts; Experimental Film Virginia; Residency Unlimited, NY; Vermont Studio Center; Kala Art Institute, CA; DordtYart Residency, Netherlands; and WARP International Artist Village, Belgium.

Make an Appointment

Interested in scheduling a 1-on-1 session with one of the above consultants?

Click here for more information on the Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program. And don’t forget to sign up for the monthly Con Edison Immigrant Artist Program Newsletter to receive opportunities and events as well as artist features directly to your inbox.