Our Team

Company History 

TheREDprojectNYC (TRPNYC)  is a network of artists dedicated to holding creative space for those who are othered, oppressed, and unheard. We as a company are invested in artistic work that encourages the development of new processes, and that uplifts the practice of documenting investigation. With a mission to cultivate freedom of thought, the company invests into collaborations that are community responsive and culturally reflective. We curate events, organize workshops, host labs, and produce concerts that center the progression of post-contemporary ideas. We believe in the power of change and that tradition is a map from the past that holds the key to our future. 

Originally founded in Richmond in 2015 by Johnnie Cruise Mercer, Torian Ugworji, and Shanice Mason, the company is celebrating ten years of service to its community. After relocating to New York City in 2016, the company has been in partnership with The Stephen Petronio Residency Center,  Appomattox Regional Governors School, The CUNY Dance Initiative, The 92NY Harkness Dance Center,  BAAD!, Ping Chong and Company, RestorationArts, First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, Movement Research's Dance Makers Program, The American Dance Festival, Center for Performance Research and  Brooklyn Arts Exchange's Practice Labs. 

At its root, TRPNYC is a company comprised of five branches of service; The Movement Ensemble (a rotating team of movement, theater, and performance artists), The TRPNYC Band (a tribe of sound makers, instrumentalists, and music producers), Community w/TRPNYC (a curated set of happenings/events centered around communional healing, resting, and joy), TRPNYC’s Visual Makers (a collaborative group of media, film, and visual artists), and the TRPNYC Think-Making Lab  (a series of process forward labs dedicated to learning, and collaboration in partnership with other like minded institutions/organizations). 

Company Mission 

TheREDprojectNYC is dedicated to creativity and collaboration among BIPOC & LGBTQ+ makers. The company’s mission is to cultivate and provide a space for artistic process that both provokes internal self-reflection, and evokes deep emotional feelings. We as a company hope to inspire the next-generation of thinkers, doers, and artists while creating intergenerational connections both in knowledge and in resources. We produce community orientated events, workshops, concerts, and labs that center history while uplifting the importance of innovation and philosophy. We aim to create space for those who are othered, to provide collaborative opportunities for us to make art (both as a practice and a form of entrepreneurship).  We celebrate transformation, we embrace difference, and encourage the tedious yet beautiful process of shedding. As a company we are driven by change and believe that tradition is a map from the past that enriches our future.