Leia Squillace was raised in Charlottesville, Virginia with nine siblings and four parents who instilled in her the values of community, responsibility, and caring for others. These are still the values that drive her personally and creatively today.
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Leia’s work as a director, producer, organizer, and artivist (artist + activist) focuses on building and strengthening community and fostering radical humanization. She takes on projects that challenge her and her audience to find commonality and humanity where it is least expected or thought possible.
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Artistically, Leia is attracted to the lyrical and fantastic, whether it is found in a classical text or a performance on the street. She delights in making the quotidian magical and the seemingly-unachievable a reality.
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Leia is the Co-Director of Programming for the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, and a Lecturer at Columbia Law School. In her spare time, Leia delights in bringing people together over handmade pasta and baked treats and filling her spare moments reading as many books as the library will let her check out.
Her definition of justice includes mercy and restoration.
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Her longing for community is rooted in embracing the strength in diversity.
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Her love for the arts relies on the belief that creative and cultural expression are human rights.
Her commitment to being a "professional artist" embraces the responsibility of recognizing the practical implications and influence of art to construct reality.
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