PROJECT ECOPOLIS: Film Premiere and Discussion with Artist Ezra Wube

Ezra Wube (b. 1980, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He has held recent solo exhibitions at notable institutions, including the Yeh Art Gallery, Queens, New York (2023); Time Square Midnight Moment, New York, New York (2021); the High Line, New York, NY; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia (2018); Museum of the Moving Image, Queens, New York (2017); Contemporary Art Centre, Riga, Latvia (2016); and University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa (2011). Notable group exhibitions include The Myth of Normal, MassArt Art Museum, Boston, Massachusetts (2023); This Place We Once Remembered, Wave Hill, Bronx, New York (2023); Entrelacs, La Cité internationale des arts, Paris, France (2022); Where Do We Stand?, The Drawing Center, New York, New York (2017); Video Studio: Meeting Points, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, New York (2016 – 2017); and Key Frames, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, New York (2014). He has participated in prestigious international art exhibitions, including the Biennale d’Architecture d’Orléans, Orléans, France (2019); the Gwangju Biennale in Gwangju, South Korea (2018); the 21st Contemporary Art Biennial. Sesc_Videobrasil, São Paulo, Brazil (2018); and Bronx Calling: The Third AIM Biennial, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, New York (2015). Wube has received numerous awards and residencies, including the Wassaic Project Residency, Wassaic, New York (2024); Michael Richards Visual Arts Award, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York (2022); and the Smack Mellon Residency Program, Brooklyn, New York (2020). Additional notable recognitions include residencies at Pioneer Works, Brooklyn, New York (2019), and the Vermont Studio Center Residency, Johnson, Vermont (2016). He was also the recipient of the Emerging Artist Grant Award from the Rema Hort Mann Foundation (2015) and the Van Lier Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts (2013).

Speaker Bios

Gabriella Malavé, Moderator | she/her
Programs Manager, Administration & Special Projects, High Line, New York

Gabriella (Gabby) Malavé is a strategist, facilitator, and weaver from “the worlds borough”—Queens, NY. She is passionate about working at the intersection of nature, community, culture, and health. Her focus has been on creating change to support equitable, culturally rooted, and just pathways for connecting with the outdoors, building healthy communities, and living sustainably on this earth. Currently she serves as the Programs Manager, Administration and Special Projects at the High Line and has experience in strategic planning, youth and program development, community engagement, program development, and project management. In her past roles, Gabby designed equity and access strategies and service learning programs at an independent school in Boston, was the Director of Teen Programs at the Fresh Air Fund; and is an alum of the Urban Design Forums: New Loops Fellowship and Coro Fellow in Public Affairs. She serves on the advisory board for the Urban Design Forum, the New York Transit Museum, and BK Rot, a youth-led food waste hauling and composting service. She holds a B.A. in Culture, Communication, and Education, and is earning a certificate in Data Analytics. As part of her passion and responsibility, Gabby is committed to a global future that is just, resilient, and joyous.

Karen Farber | she/her
Vice President of External Affairs,
Buffalo Bayou Partnership, Houston Texas

Karen Farber is Vice President of External Affairs at Buffalo Bayou Partnership where she oversees public art, programming, communications, marketing, visitor services, and community engagement for this non-profit with a mission to create and steward welcoming parks, trails, and unique spaces along 10 square miles of waterfront in the center of Houston, Texas. From 2005-2020, she served as Director of the University of Houston Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, which is dedicated to the performing, visual, and literary arts. There, she hosted residencies and programs with leading artists from around the globe. Karen was a 2002-3 arts management fellow at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and started her career in non-profit and arts organizations in New York City, where she was born and raised. She has been a consultant, panelist, and board member for many cultural organizations nationally. She is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with an M.A. in Performance Studies and a B.F.A. in Experimental Theater.

Jordan Remington | they/he
Programs Manager, Curator of Indigenous Programs Friends of Waterfront Park, Seattle Washington
Jordan Remington is a Public Programs Manager and Curator of Indigenous Programs for Friends of Waterfront Park in Seattle. They work primarily with Indigenous artists and organizations but bring art installations and community events to Seattle’s Waterfront. In partnership with the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board’s Pathways Remembered Project they put on the Indigiqueer Festival, a celebration of the Pacific Northwest’s Queer Indigenous/Two-Spirit community. They are also a drag performer, and textile and digital artist.

Gloria I. Rivera | she/her
Resident Artist | Grow Greater Englewood, Chicago Illinois

Gloria I. Rivera is a dynamic, self-taught visual artist, muralist, and community advocate from the Southside of Chicago. With over ten years of experience in the arts, she has spent the last three years working full-time on community-based art projects that aim to inspire self-love, growth, and healing. Her signature style blends vibrant colors and mixed-media techniques to create pieces that convey powerful messages of respect, inclusion, and pride. Gloria is the Founder and Executive Director of Projects of L.O.V.E., a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to healing communities through the transformative power of art. She launched The SUCCESSors’ Gallery Project, the organization’s first major initiative, which brought together a youth arts cohort to not only develop their artistic abilities but also hone essential soft skills like communication and leadership. This program culminated in an artist-led art exhibition, giving the participants the chance to showcase their work and gain confidence as emerging artists. Alongside her nonprofit work, Gloria owns Gloria I. Rivera Creative Studios LLC, a creative enterprise that undertakes various for-profit projects, including murals, exhibitions, and custom wearable art pieces. Her notable mural work includes Guardians of the Trail (2023, Chicago), a modular hydroponic farm wrap; Transmutation (2020, Honduras), a 70-foot mural in Central America; and Wall of Respect 2.0 (2019, Chicago), a collaborative 100-foot-long mural. Gloria has also participated in artist residencies and international projects that foster cross-cultural dialogue and creativity, including her most recent role as artist-in-residence for Grow Greater Englewood. Beyond her fine art and public art, Gloria has a passion for teaching and engaging youth in the creative process. She often collaborates with students on mural projects, encouraging them to take ownership of the art and the messages it conveys. Her work in both Chicago and internationally reflects her commitment to using art as a tool for personal and collective transformation. Gloria continues to live in the Southside of Chicago, where she draws inspiration from the rich history and vibrant communities around her. Her goal is to expand her practice into galleries across the U.S. while continuing to drive impactful, community-focused art projects in her hometown and beyond.

Tanya Ward | she/her | Cultural Steward
Grow Greater Englewood, Chicago Illinois

Tanya Ward is the Cultural Steward for Grow Greater Englewood (GGE), a 501(c)(3) organization that works with residents and developers to create sustainable local food economies, green businesses, and land sovereignty to empower residents to create wellness and wealth. In her role as Cultural Steward she manages cultural and artistic programming for the organization and the coming the Englewood Nature Trail. With a background in Marketing, she also supports GGE’s communications, marketing and social media infrastructure. She is proud to be a Chicago-born, Englewood community-raised individual who returned to the neighborhood to continue her life’s work.