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Who is MPWRD?
Founded on November 19, 2019 MPWRD Artists Collective Initially started off as a dance collective later rebranding in order to accommodate multidisciplinary artists. MPWRD Artists Collective fills a specific niche here in the East Bay Area that most arts organizations do not, which is, a space that prioritizes Black, Brown, and LGBTQI+ artists, creating a space in which these communities can create and incubate work. We not only function as a multidisciplinary arts incubation space but also a space for classes and workshops ranging from dance classes to herbal medicine workshops. Unlike other spaces we are inviting of modernity while also welcoming and centering Indigenous culture at the very heart of our work with many of our directors actively participating in indigenous/folk inspired art and healer/practitioner work.
Our Goal/Mission
MPWRD Collectives mission is to Preserve indigenous/folk culture while also using that knowledge to create innovation in artistic creation and to provide a safe, equitable container where artists can incubate and share their work without the concern of time constraints, or monetary limitations, as well as a space in which artists and practitioners can share with and educate the community.
Administrative Team
Agpalo "Ting" A.J. Alvarez-Maquinta
Artistic Director & Lead Research artist/Practitioner(Southeast Asia & African American Culture)
A Dance Practitioner, Healer, and Artist, Ting uses their art as a form of visual and oral story telling like ancestors before them have done, and instills a holistic and spiritual approach to all forms of dance. With an extensive background in root work, as well as being a mammadto and mangngagas, Ting is also deeply entrenched in historical work documenting family history and precolonial Ilokano culture, all while learning about living cultures. With a long history of involvement in the ancestral arts, as well as fine arts, Ting’s goal is to create a safe space for all artists and ancestral practitioners, hoping to continue pushing living cultures forward while also embracing innovation in the all art forms. Ting currently possesses a bachelors in dance an A.A. in music(voice training), as well as a bachelors in zoology which heavily influences their approach to research and performance.
Ancestral Lineage: Ilokano, Cebuano/Visayan, Mindanaoan, Nigerian, Congolese/Cameroonian, Southern Chinese
Contact:
Ting@mpwrdcollective.org
Jacob Walse-Dominguez
Lead Research Artist/Practitioner(Southeast Asia)
Jacob Walse-Dominguez is a Tagalog-Kapampangan, queer migrant and diasporic traditional Southeast Asian performing artist bridging transnational histories through cultural work. Their traditional learning spans both Philippine and Indonesian traditional arts, learning directly from culture bearers and lineages from the region. Through cultural immersion with teachers in Southeast Asia and community work among the diasporic Filipinx community in the US, they hope to weave past and present towards a pre-Philippine, post-colonial Asian identity. As an organizer, teaching artist, and performer, they have created sustainable programming in New York, New Jersey, Williamsburg, New Orleans, San Francisco, Oakland, Bangkok and Manila.
Ancestral Lineage: Tagalog-Kapampangan-Visayan/Suludnon, Hokkien Chinese, West Javanese, Dutch, Spanish/Iberian
Contact:
Genevie Dela Cruz
Administrative Associate
Genevie Dela Cruz (she/her) is a San Diego-born dance artist, choreographer, and arts administrator who has performed with MPWRD Collective, KulArts, and various Bay Area choreographers. She holds degrees in Dance Performance and Kinesiology from San Francisco State University, which influence her approach to movement and the body-mind connection. Drawing from her deep Filipino heritage, Genevie merges contemporary dance with traditional Filipino cultural dances, celebrating and sharing her rich cultural background. She is passionate about creating spaces and programs that foster inclusivity and community.
Ancestral Lineage: Ilokano, Pagasinense, Kankanaey Igorot
Contact: information@mpwrdcollective.org
Meet Our Board
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Lauren Benetua
Secretary
Lauren Benetua (she/they) is an arts advocate and cultural worker. They hold a Masters in Museum Studies from the International Institute of Lorenzo de’ Medici (Florence, Italy) and a Bachelors in History of Art and Visual Culture from UC Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA). Their professional background is rooted in community engagement and social justice and they’ve had the pleasure to work with mission-driven, justice-oriented organizations across the Bay, focusing on social and cultural responsibility and equity, including Emerging Arts Professionals (San Francisco), Betti Ono (Oakland), the American Arts Incubator (San Jose), the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (Santa Cruz). They currently serve as the Associate Director of Data & Memberships for the OF/BY/FOR ALL initiative, a global nonprofit leading civic and cultural institutions worldwide to build equitable and liberatory futures with their communities. Lauren is also a dedicated cultural steward with a traditional arts practice as an apprentice weaver with Kalingafornia Laga weaving circle and with the San Francisco Kulintang Friends Project. Their studies under master-weaver and Kalinga culture-bearer, Jenny Bawer Young, for weaving, and with Kulintang teacher, Titania Buchholdt, for kulintang ensemble music, have both been recognized by the Alliance for California Traditional Arts. They have also had the pleasure of being recognized by the Western Arts Federation both as an emerging arts Leader of Color Fellow and as a BIPOC Artist awardee. Lauren’s passion is their community, and is convinced that creative changemaking rests at the intersection of courage and compassion.
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Janesta Edmonds
Co-Chair
Janesta Edmonds is a writer, choreographer, performance artist and community collaborator dedicated to creating sustainable and thriving BIPOC communities through the arts. A Santa Clara University graduate with a major in Theater (Dance emphasis) and History (Education emphasis), Janesta specializes in inclusive and culturally relevant artistic expressions. Janesta has produced events celebrating cultural diversity, such as the Black Choreographers Festival, and co-managed production for San Francisco Trolley Dances with Epiphany Dance Theater. Their experience includes stage management and participation in Bay Area queer events like “Oaklash” and the “Tenderloin Arts Festival” at CounterPulse Theater. As Director of Programs at SAFEhouse Arts, Janesta ran dance residencies, bilingual children’s ballet workshops, and LGBTQIAA+ programming, partnering with organizations such as TAG, TNDC, and the Transgender District. Currently, as Studio Manager for The Sanctuary by PUSH, Janesta develops programs and residencies exploring themes of identity, social justice, and BIPOC stories and is currently building dance curriculum that gives voice, expert training for and by Artists of the Global Majority
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Angel Velez
Treasurer
Angel Velez (they/them) is a queer Pilipino and Taíno dance artist and educator who has performed with KulArts, Parangal, David Herrera Performance Company, eMotion Arts, and notable others in the Bay Area. They draw inspiration from ritual practices, nature, physical sensations, and storytelling forms to inform their work and performance. With over a decade of teaching practice across two states and dozens of diverse programs, schools, and communities, Angel brings a skilled and compassionate perspective forward-focused on collective liberation to the MPWRD Board as Treasurer.
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Agpalo "Ting" A.J. Alvarez-Maquinta
Board Chair
A multidisciplinary artist, dancer, Practitioner, Healer, and Artist, Ting uses their art as a form of visual and oral story telling like ancestors before them have done, and instills a holistic and spiritual approach to all forms of dance. With an extensive background in root work, as well as being a mammadto and mangngagas, Ting is also deeply entrenched in historical work documenting family history and precolonial Ilokano culture, all while learning about living cultures. Ting currently holds a Bachelors in Dance and a minor in music:voice training from San Francisco State and is currently in final stages of completely their B.S. in biology with a concentration in zoology. With a long history of involvement in the ancestral arts, as well as fine arts, Ting’s goal is to create a safe space for all artists and ancestral practitioners, hoping to continue pushing living cultures forward while also embracing innovation in the all art forms.