Biography
We help artists and communities of color build relevance and resilience in a fast-changing world.
From civic engagement and audience development to strategic planning and community-centered programming plans, all of our services are rooted in equity, justice, and anti-racism.
About Bryan
My name is Bryan, I use he/him pronouns, and I am a creative producer, arts marketer, and civic organizer.
I believe that culture matters to everyone, but our institutions don’t serve everyone. We can change that, if we change who we center.
I find joy in connecting communities in bold, creative, and unexpected ways. I started CNTR ARTS to place Black folks, BIPOC folks, Queer folks, and Trans folks at the center of conversations in our world. Together, we can envision a world that is more just and more equitable, designed with all of us in mind.
Ask Big Questions
Who’s not in the room? And who should be? What conversations are already happening in our communities, and how can we lend our resources to support them?
CNTR ARTS begins every partnership by asking the biggest questions possible—of ourselves, our collaborators, and the ecosystems we serve. We lead by listening, centering the artists, organizers, and cultural workers to whom we hold ourselves accountable.
Connect the Dots
-
Our name is a promise: to create a new center in the arts. One that corrects for generations of erasure and exclusion by uplifting the voices of Black, Brown, Queer, Trans, Indigenous, and Disabled artists and audiences—and by reminding us that our stories are both deeply specific and universally human.
CNTR ARTS imagines a cultural ecosystem where every organization, regardless of scale or geography, has the tools and courage to build the abundant future our ancestors dreamed of.
-
CNTR ARTS stands on the shoulders of artists, organizers, and thinkers who have shown us what it means to create with purpose. We’re guided by people and movements that remind us that culture is a living system—shaped by relationships, not transactions; by process, not product.
We draw insight from organizers, cultural strategists, and systems thinkers whose work bridges art, equity, and social transformation. Writers like adrienne maree brown, Octavia Butler, and Toni Morrison remind us to lead with imagination. Cultural leaders like Carmen Morgan and The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond remind us to stay accountable. Visionaries like James Baldwin, Angela Davis, and toni cade bambara remind us that the arts are inseparable from the world we’re trying to build.
Our work is emergent, bespoke, and deeply human. Every engagement is shaped by active learning, reflection, and reciprocity—not a formula. Few consultants have had the privilege of working at the local, national, and international level across so many artistic disciplines. That perspective allows us to connect patterns, share lessons, and help our partners see themselves as part of something larger: a global creative movement rooted in possibility.
-
Activist and writer adrienne maree brown teaches us that everything is connected—and the small is all. Every story we tell, every policy we write, and every audience we invite reflects the systems we want to transform.
CNTR ARTS helps organizations bridge the gap between their internal mission and the external world, connecting artistic practice to civic purpose. We work alongside teams to design strategies that build relevance, belonging, and trust between cultural institutions and the communities they serve.