Marc Bamuthi Joseph

Marc Bamuthi Joseph
Marc Bamuthi Joseph is a curator of words, ideas, and protagonists. His bold, poetically-driven work investigates social issues and cultural identity. He is a steadfast believer in empathy as the most valuable currency in building community, and he seeks to spark curiosity and dialogue about freedom, compassion, and fearlessness through pioneering arts stewardship and education. A 2017 TEDGlobal Fellow, Bamuthi graced the cover of Smithsonian Magazine as one of America’s Top Young Innovators in the Arts and Sciences; artistically directed HBO’s Russell Simmons Presents Brave New Voices; and is an inaugural recipient of the United States Artists Rockefeller Fellowship, which annually recognizes fifty of the country’s greatest living artists. Dance Magazine named him a Top Influencer in 2017.

Bamuthi is the founding Program Director of the exemplary non-profit Youth Speaks and a co-founder of Life is Living, a national series of one-day festivals which activate under-resourced parks and affirm peaceful urban life. Bamuthi’s essays have been published in Harvard Education Press. He has lectured at more than two hundred colleges and carried adjunct professorships at Stanford University and Lehigh University, among others. He was recently appointed as Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.