Arts Activism Entrepreneurship Masterclass with Marjuan Canady
Hosted by Arts Politics alumna Marjuan Canady ‘10
Creative artists need to be both master of their chosen craft and experts equipped with professional and business skills demanded by a rapidly evolving global arts economy.
Award-winning creative entrepreneur and activist Marjuan Canady will lead a masterclass that will allow students to understand the important of creative innovation, social entrepreneurship, grassroots community organizing and building a creative business from scratch.
In this hands on masterclass, students will take a project they are currently working on and building their business strategy including both creative and social components, culminating in a final 2-minute pitch.
RSVP to ksk281@nyu.edu
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Marjuan Canady, a native Washingtonian with Trinidadian/African-American roots, is an award winning entrepeneur, writer, performer, director, educator and producer for both film and the stage. Canady’s work has been highlighted in international publications, such as The Washington Post, The Trinidad Guardian, Blavity, LA Times, Black Enterprise, Huffington Post, Madame Noire and Vice-ID. She has worked with notable institutions such as Sesame Street, The Smithsonian Institute, The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, Georgetown University, The Moscow Art Theater School and the Negro Ensemble Company, to name a few. Canady is the founder and CEO of her multimedia production company, Sepia Works. She is the CEO / Author / Co-Creator of the children’s media brand, Callaloo. Originally conceived as a theatrical play, Marjuan has led her team in building Callaloo into a global brand consisting of books, puppet shows, digital content, animation, arts education programming and merchandise. Canady’s first children’s book, “Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale” was self-published in 2013 in which she received the First Time Author’s Award from the National Library of Trinidad and Tobago. Canady’s other children’s books include, “The Legend of the Golden Coqui”, “Did You Know Coloring Book”, “La Leyenda del Coqui Dorado” and “The Trickster and the Magic Quilt.“
An accomplished playwright and stage performer, her one-woman play, ”Girls! Girls? Girls.” has been featured Off-Broadway and at international festivals and theaters. Her play, “Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale “ was a selected play at the 2013 Lincoln Center for Performing Arts Director’s Lab. Ms. Canady has held fellowships at the Matteo Ricci Society, The Schomburg Center for Black Research and Culture and the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute. Past grants and awards include, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Harlem Stage, Eileen Fisher Community Grant, Beacon DC Women’s Grant, Caribbeana Diversity Media Award and the DC TIVAA Award. Her diverse acting work includes plays, films, television, commercials and voice overs. Canady recently starred and co-produced the short film “The Resort “ shot in Trinidad and Tobago which had a successful international film festival run and currently streams on Issa Rae’s Youtube Channel. Currently she is directing her first short-documentary, “Girls! Girls? Girls. ” set to release in 2018. In 2015, Canady established her non-profit organization, Canady Foundation for the Arts , whose mission is to educate, empower and implement innovative arts and media programs for young people of color. In three years, Canady’s non-profit has served over 3,000 young people worldwide.
Marjuan is a graduate of Duke Ellington School of the Arts and holds a B.A. in Theater/African Studies from Fordham University and her M.A. in Arts Politics from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She currently resides in Washington, DC.