Takeshi Fukunaga is a filmmaker based in New York City. His work has been featured in a wide variety of festivals and related outlets, including at Anthology Film Archives, Tokyo Fashion Week, on Gizmodo and in GQ Germany, amongst others. He is currently working in collaboration with Donari Braxton on the short film, Themes From a Rosary, and is additionally in preparation on his first feature project.  

Art Director + Artist based in New York

I’m Verena Michelitsch, an independent designer and art director from Austria by way of New York City. I specialize in conceptualizing and creating unique visual expressions, spanning graphic design, art direction, illustration, pattern, editorial, and digital design. I’ve had the pleasure to work with an array of international studios and clients, including Apple, Nasa/JPL, Facebook, Red Bull, The Smithsonian and Opening Ceremony. I work from my studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

YuJune Park is a Partner at Synoptic Office, an award-winning design consultancy that works globally with leading cultural, civic, and business organizations to communicate ideas, build experiences, and cultivate new audiences. With over a decade of experience in creative direction, graphic design, and digital strategy, she leads the studio's vision and practice, transforming data into knowledge for diverse clients and contexts. She is a tenured Associate Professor of Communication Design at Parsons School of Design, where she teaches and researches global scripts, archives, and the manifold ways design can unlock human stories and reveal connections through language and information. Park's work has been recognized by Fast Company Innovation by Design, the Webbys, Design Week, the Art Director's Club, and the American Institute of Graphic Arts. She speaks and exhibits internationally, most recently at the Biennial of Design in Ljubljana, the Ningbo Museum of Art in China, and at Palazzo Mora in collaboration with the European Cultural Centre and the Venice Biennale. In 2022, Park was selected for Creative Review's Creative Leaders list, which celebrates global leaders advancing their field.

Lotta Nieminen is a multidisciplinary designer and illustrator from Helsinki, Finland. She has studied graphic design and illustration at the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Rhode Island School of Design, and has worked as a freelancer in both fields since 2006. After working for fashion magazine Trendi in Finland andPentagram Design in New York, Lotta is now based in NYC, working for design studio RoAndCo. In 2010, Lotta received the Art Directors ClubYoung Guns 8 award and was selected by Print magazine for its annual New Visual Artists review, highlighting 20 international rising designers under the age of 30. Her work has also won honorable mentions at Vuoden Huiput (Best of Finnish advertising and graphic design) as well as in various logo competitions. She has illustrated for the likes of clients such as United Airlines,International Herald Tribune Magazine,Monocle and Bloomberg Businessweek. As an illustrator, Lotta is represented by illustration agency Agent Pekka.