The Artist Pipeline Program is a program to cultivate Allston-Brighton artists learning to build a sustainable arts future. Through workshops, resources, an artist presentation, and short-term projects, a small cohort of artists gain boots-on-the-ground skills, get individualized support for their self-identified goal or challenge, work towards an engagement opportunity at Harvard, and earn a certificate of completion. This free program is a self-directed artist development opportunity that includes access to Harvard Ed Portal and Harvard University resources and culminates in a capstone project or short-term paid gig.
Artist Pipeline Program
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Program Overview
The Harvard Ed Portal's Artist Pipeline Program is for early to mid-career artists across diverse backgrounds and mediums who live and/or work in the Allston-Brighton neighborhood. Participants spend approximately 12 hours per month (January–June 2024) learning independently, with industry experts, and in a small cohort of peers mentored by Ed Portal staff and outside co-facilitators. Upon completion, they have up to a year to complete a project or paid engagement opportunity of their choosing at Harvard with support from the Ed Portal (by June 2025).
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2024-25 Artist Cohort
payal kumar
(They/Them)
payal kumar is a multidisciplinary cultural worker, sexual and reproductive health justice advocate, doula, and organizer whose work—illustrations, zines, spoken word pieces, and workshops—is rooted in the in-betweens.
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Photo Credit: Mel Taing
Prema Bangera
(She/Her)
Prema Bangera, who is ethnically South Indian (from Tulu Nadu) of lower caste, born in Mumbai, and partially raised on the unceded land of the Wampanoag and Massachusett people (so-called Boston), is a multidisciplinary artist, a community organizer, a cultural worker, and an educator.
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Photo Credit: Prema Bangera
Dyllan Nguyen
(He/Him)
Dyllan Nguyen is a queer, Vietnamese-American, artist and educator based in Boston, Massachusetts whose work exists at the intersection of art, design, education, and advocacy.
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Photo Credit: Mary Nguyen (Artists for Humanity)
Brooke Scibelli
(She/Her)
Brooke Scibelli is an artist, designer, and educator who works to create more access to the arts and build community along the way. Her artistic practice has explored various media ranging from illustration to performance, to designing her own clothing.
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Photo Credit: Brooke Scibelli
DeShaun Gordon-King
(He/Him)
Known for his soulful tone and mesmerizing phrasing, Trevor James Alto Flute Artist, DeShaun Gordon-King (aka Díjí Kay) invites audiences into carefully curated spaces of musical healing, restoration, and wholeness.
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Photo Credit: Taylor Rossi
Fiona Scarborough
(They/Her)
Fiona Scarborough is an independent shoemaker and designer with a dream to make size and gender inclusive footwear. They are interested reclaiming the craft of shoe-making from large industry, and becoming a local craftswoman proudly serving the queer community.
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Photo Credit: Fiona Scarborough
Eden Attar
(She/Her)
Eden Attar is an artist, educator, and researcher who is focused on creating tiny utopian moments. Eden's past work includes the "St. Louis smolnet," a publicly accessible digital installation that challenges the centralization and commercialization of the web. She works as a welding instructor and mutual aid organizer at Artisans Asylum, a makerspace in Allston.
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Photo Credit: Eden Attar
Madison Simpson
(She/Her)
Madison Simpson manages and performs in folk duo Sweet Petunia and indie rock band Winkler, runs sound and books free community shows at historic folk venue Club Passim, and proudly identifies as a member of Boston’s thriving DIY scene.
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Photo Credit: JJ Gonson
Past Participants
Learn more about the 2022-23 Artist Pipeline Program cohort and their capstone projects, plus view past guest presenters and co-facilitators!
View past participants
Co-Facilitators 2024-25
In partnership with Arts Connect International, a Boston-based organization that builds equity and inclusion in and through the arts. Their ultimate goal is creative justice.
Zakiyyah Sutton
Mentor
She/Her/Hers
Zakiyyah is an artist-activist who utilizes music and visual media to explore themes that centralize marginalized communities. She also serves as a racial equity consultant with Arts Connect International, supporting arts organizations in reassessing their practices through the lens of equity and creative justice.
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Headshot by Sara Espinosa
Mel Taing
Mentor
She/Her/Hers
Mel Taing is a Boston-based Cambodian American photographer, community artist, and educator. Specializing in creative portraiture, exhibition documentation, and community engagement, Mel seeks to celebrate the vibrance, radiance, and joy of the intersecting communities in her life.
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Headshot by Mel Taing
Newsletter Signup
Get notified about our creative initiatives, artist opportunities, and the next round of the Artist Pipeline by signing up for the Harvard Ed Portal's Artist Newsletter!
Sign Up for Artist Newsletter
Are you considering applying for the next Artist Pipeline cohort in Fall 2025? Learn more about program eligibility, commitment, and benefits—plus answers to frequently asked questions—by clicking below.