José Mármol is one of the most reknowed poets from the Dominican Republic. He was born in Santo Domingo and recieved his Doctor in Philosophy from the University of the Basque Country. He has published books of poetry, literary and philosophical essays, and volumes of aphorisms. He has won numerous awards including the Casa de América Prize for American Poetry, Spain; National Prize for Literature, among others.

Nathalie Handal is described as a “contemporary Orpheus.” She has lived in four continents, is the author of 10 award winning books, translated into over 15 languages, including Life in a Country Album, winner of the Palestine Book Award; the flash collection The Republics, lauded as “one of the most inventive books by one of today’s most diverse writers,” and winner of the Virginia Faulkner Award for Excellence in Writing and the Arab American Book Award. Handal is the recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, PEN Foundation, Lannan Foundation, Fondazione di Venezia, Centro Andaluz de las Letras, Africa Institute, and is the winner of the Alejo Zuloaga Order in Literature, among others. She is Professor of Literature and Creative Writing at New York University-AD, and writes the literary travel column, “The City and the Writer” for Words without Borders.

Lucia Hierro (b. 1987) is a Dominican American conceptual artist born and raised in New York City, Washington Heights/Inwood, and currently based in the South Bronx. Lucia’s practice, which includes sculpture, digital media and installation, confronts twenty-first century capitalism through an intersectional lens. She received a BFA from SUNY Purchase (2010) and an MFA from Yale School of Art (2013). Lucia has exhibited across the world — from New York, Los Angeles, and Miami to Dallas, Lausanne, and the Dominican Republic — at institutions such as the Bronx Museum of the Arts, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, Fabienne Levy Gallery in Switzerland, and the Guggenheim Bilbao. Her works are held in the collections of major museums including the Guggenheim New York, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.