“Leimay’s Incubator Program gave me the gift of patient time. This program truly honors process over production, and this value enabled me to dive deeper into what really makes me curious as an artist. I feel like I have a much stronger and clearer idea of my own creative voice after this residency.” Nikki Theroux, 2025
Studio Birdhaus
Brandon Perdomo is an artist from Great Kills, Staten Island. His work in archives, public & oral history, performance, and curation as a social practice instigates a reclamation of narrative power. Through his creative studio, Studio Birdhaus, he advances the Persistence Archive, a community‑centered public history intervention to document artists, organizers, and cultural workers through interviews and multimedia storytelling. Visit studiobirdhaus.org
Merhnam Rastegari
Mehrnam Rastegari is a prominent Persian musician, award-winning film score composer, singer, violinist, and master Kamancheh player, who brings Persian music in new directions by combining it with rock and modern fusion styles. Her performances have taken her to international stages, including some of the most prestigious festivals.
Kanami Kusajima
Kanami Kusajima is a dancer, performing artist, and choreographer originally from Japan. She received a BFA degree in Dance from SUNY Purchase College in 2020. She has performed in dance works by various choreographers, including Francesca Harper, Yoshiko Chuma and Ana Maria Lucaciu. Since November 2020, she’s been performing at Washington Square Park and known as “Let Hair Down,” a performer who combines live painting and improvisational dance. Her unique style of performing art drew the attention of different media, such as Voice of America, New York Magazine, The Guardian, AM New York, and PIX11 News, among many others.