Welcome to Our Newest Board Members

The A&BC is excited to welcome three new board members, all of whom are alumnae of the A&BC’s artist fellowship programs!

Bithyah Israel
Founder, City Strings United

Boston native Bithyah Israel is a community organizer, cellist, composer, vocalist and video editor whose work centers on social justice and equal access for communities of color. A woman of Dominican and European descent and child of the inner city, Bithyah’s lived experience has rendered a dedication to and belief in the power of community spirit. She is founder of City Strings United, a creative youth development organization providing free cello lessons and performance opportunities to youth in Roxbury since 2012 and is the current Social Justice Fellow for the Arts and Humanities at the UU Urban Ministry in Roxbury where she shepherds events featuring the arts through a social justice lens. She holds a BA in health administration, is a former Spanish medical interpreter, and holds a certificate in Nonprofit Practice from Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life. She is a recipient of the “Women of Courage and Conviction” award from the National Council of Negro Women Greater Boston Section for her work through City Strings United. Bithyah is a member of the Massachusetts Production Coalition, Celebrity Series Community Engagement Committee, and Array Crew. She enjoys producing original music and singing.

Learn more about Bithyah in this interview on our blog.

Arghavan Khosravi
Artist

Arghavan Khosravi (b. 1984, Shahr-e-kord, Iran) earned an MFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design after completing the studio art program at Brandeis University. Khosravi previously earned a BFA in Graphic Design from Tehran Azad University and an MFA in Illustration from the University of Tehran. Khosravi has participated in numerous group exhibitions, at venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Yinchuan, China; Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI; and Provincetown Art Association and Museum, MA; among others. Khosravi’s residencies include the Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA; the Studios at MassMoCA, North Adams, MA; Monson Arts, Monson, ME; and Residency Unlimited, Brooklyn, NY. Khosravi is a 2019 recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation’s Painters & Sculptors Grant and a 2017-8 recipient of the Walter Feldman Fellowship. The artist’s work belongs to the collections of the Newport Art Museum and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum.

Read more about Arghavan and her work in this recent blog post.

Ayana Mack
Founder, Ayana Mack Design

Ayana Mack is a Senior Graphic Designer and Visual Artist based in Boston, MA. For ten years, Ayana has worked with early-stage and established businesses/organizations. With a focus on brand development, social media strategy, user experience design, print marketing, merchandise & more. Some of the clients Ayana has worked with include Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, The Boston Arts & Music Soul Festival, Boston While Black, Boston Public Schools, HubSpot, and more. Over the last seven years, Ayana has been the Senior Graphic designer at the Greater Boston Real Estate Board. Where she manages marketing for six divisions within various sectors of real estate. When Ayana is not designing you can find her teaching, displaying artwork, and advocating for arts in communities of color.

Read more about Ayana and her work in this recent blog post.