Gen-erate student Lillian Leeson presents Race and Oppression as Seen Through Poetry, a free public poetry reading featuring poet Akyra Cordova, Santa Fe’s 2020 Youth Poet Laureate Artemisio Romero y Carver and Santa Fe’s 2021 Poet Laureate Darryl Lorenzo Wellington.

Akyra Cordova is a chica and a descendant of the Pe’ewi and Ohkay Owingeh pueblos. Cordova is originally from Pueblo Colorado and is currently studying at University of New Mexico to pursue a Bachelors in Interdisciplinary Arts. Cordova is a community organizer and a published author.

Artemisio Romero y Carver is a Chicana artist, poet, and grassroots organizer. She is a 30 Under 30 Changemakers Award recipient, a Brower Youth Award Winner, a Divest Ed Fellow, a Miller Scholar, and Santa Fe’s 2020 Youth Poet Laureate. She is currently pursuing a double major in Sociology and Studio Arts at Washington University in Saint Louis.

Darryl Lorenzo Wellington is a poet, playwright, performance artist, essayist and journalist who has lived in Santa Fe for 10 years. Wellington has over twenty years of experience as a freelance journalist and essayist publishing magazine feature articles, political commentary, poetry, and book reviews appearing in publications such as Dissent, The Nation, The Progressive, The Washington Post, The Crisis (The NAACP magazine,) The Christian Science Monitor, The Common Review, Boston Review, ABZ Magazine, Drum Voices, and The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education N+1, amongst others.

Lillian Leeson states “I think the ability to express one’s culture and identity through art is integral to being an artist. Art stems from one’s life experiences and emotions, so by expressing this, the art created is more meaningful. I think it is very interesting how deeper meaning and beauty can be created by showing one’s truest self.”

Increasing out-of-school opportunities for teens, the Gen-erate program engages Santa Fe youth in the process of curating public programs at SITE Santa Fe. Teens participate in Gen-erate plan, design, and execute public programs at SITE Santa Fe that focus on topical issues of local importance and generate constructive, intergenerational dialogue through the exploration of contemporary art. Under the mentorship of public programs staff, Gen-erate teens build significant connections to local communities and gain an introduction to career pathways in the arts.