Announcing NYFA’s 2026 Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program: Visual and Multidisciplinary Arts Participants
Program mentees’ home countries and regions include China, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Germany, India, and Iran.
New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is pleased to announce the participants in the 2026 NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program: Visual and Multidisciplinary Arts, presented in collaboration with New York cultural partners New York Live Arts, Asian American Arts Alliance, Bronx Council on the Arts, Flushing Town Hall, Haiti Cultural Exchange, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art at Snug Harbor, ProjectArt, and Staten Island Arts. The newest cohort of our Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program brings together 20 artists from 15 countries and regions.
With thanks to our partner New York Live Arts and curators Yanira Castro (Fellow in Choreography ‘16), Martita Abril (IAP Alumna), and Zahra Banyamerian, for the sixth year running, mentees will have the opportunity to exhibit their work in In/Between, on view from April 7-June 15, 2026 at the New York Live Arts’ Ford Foundation Live Gallery. The name In/Between reflects on the multiplicity of immigrant artists’ experiences, identities, practices, and politics, while also speaking to the liminal experience of home/residence/community. Come and celebrate the artists at the opening reception on April 14, 2026. Link to details and RSVP forthcoming.
NYFA’s Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program pairs immigrant artists with artist mentors who provide one-on-one support for their mentee, guiding them to achieve specific goals and providing them with broader access to the U.S. cultural world through an exchange of ideas, resources, and experiences. Most importantly, the mentoring program fosters a community, providing opportunities to connect with other immigrant artists through group meetings, peer learning, and informal gatherings that include alumni from 2007 to the present. Through access to other artists, arts professionals, and organizations, the program offers immigrant artists the opportunity to focus on their career goals while navigating the shared experiences and challenges of being an immigrant artist.
Meet this year’s participants!
2026 Participants and Disciplines:
Mentee Avani Patel, Visual (India), paired with Mentor Natalie Wood, Visual (United States).
Mentee Celine Mai Seehase, Visual (France), paired with Mentor Rosemarie Fiore, Visual (United States).
Mentee Edgardo Moza, Multidisciplinary (El Salvador), paired with Mentor Cynthia Tobar, Socially-Engaged Practices (United States/Ecuador).
Mentee Entung Liu, Multidisciplinary (Taiwan), paired with Mentor Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow, Multidisciplinary (United States).
Mentee Heriberto Sanchez, Visual (Mexico), paired with Mentor Marisol Diaz-Gordon, Visual (United States).
Mentee Hiroshi Masuda, Visual (Japan), paired with Mentor Hidemi Takagi, Multidisciplinary (Japan).
Mentee Jimena Vega, Multidisciplinary (Ecuador), paired with Mentor Sarah Walko, Multidisciplinary (United States).
Mentee Jing (Ellen) Xu, Visual (China), paired with Mentor Heejung Cho, Visual (South Korea).
Mentee Kilia LLano, Visual (Dominican Republic), paired with Mentor Layqa Nuna Yawar, Visual (Ecuador).
Mentee Luisa Mantelli, Folk/Traditional Arts (Brazil), paired with Mentor Cassandra Mayela Allen, Multidisciplinary (Venezuela).
Mentee Malte Sänger, Visual (Germany), paired with Mentor Claudia Sohrens, Visual (Germany).
Mentee Mona Karami, Multidisciplinary (Iran), paired with Mentor Dávy Náya Mayá, Visual (Colombia).
Mentee Patricia Colmenero, Multidisciplinary (Brazil), paired with Mentor Pilita Garcia Esquivel, Visual (Chile).
Mentee Sachigusa Yasuda, Visual (Japan), paired with Mentor Jennifer Wen Ma, Multidisciplinary (China).
Mentee Shay Salehi, Visual (Canada), paired with Mentor Katya Grokhovsky, Visual (Ukraine).
Mentee Sixing Xu, Multidisciplinary (China), paired with Mentor Furen Dai, Multidisciplinary (China).
Mentee Vasudev Vashisht, Visual (India), paired with Mentor Laura Lappi, Visual (Finland).
Mentee Veronica Mijelshon, Other (Argentina), paired with Mentor Armita Raafat, Visual (Iran).
Mentee Voyo Woo, Multidisciplinary (China), paired with Mentor Jemila MacEwan, Multidisciplinary (Scotland).
Mentee Yoo Jung Hong, Multidisciplinary (South Korea), paired with Mentor Ezra Wube, Multidisciplinary (Ethiopia).
Click here for more information on the Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program. And don’t forget to sign up for the monthly Immigrant Artist Program Newsletterto receive opportunities and events directly to your inbox.