MISSION

TRIBE’s mission is to cultivate a space of discovery and a platform for artists – most specifically artists of color – with huge inspiration from the Afrofuturism movement. This movement states that we have a responsibility through our work to tell new stories and create a brighter future that is different, and shines more luminously, from our past.

Understanding that performance art and live art are practices of human connection, TRIBE acts nationally and internationally by developing art exchanges in collaboration with other artists and institutions, with a focus on the African diaspora.

Ultimately, TRIBE aims to bring audiences and communities into experiences that humanize Black and Brown bodies and share the colorfulness within Blackness that allows us to be multiplicitous.

ABOUT THE COLLECTIVE

TRIBE (TRI314 Multidisciplinary Visual Performances, d.b.a. TRIBE), is a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary arts collective founded by MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow Shamel Pitts in December 2019. The collective, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is composed of international and local artists working across mediums such as movement, choreography, lighting design, video mapping projection, poetry, spoken word, cinematography, scenography, dramaturgy, costume styling, and music composition.

TRIBE art projects include, but are not restricted to: movement-based work, live multidisciplinary performance, video art, video documentary, photography, exhibitions, commissioned dance choreography, art residencies, and workshops.

Members & Collaborators

FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Shamel Pitts

Artist, Choreographer, Performer, Teacher
2026 United States Artists Fellow
2025 Strokes of Genius Fellow
2025 MOVE|NYC Artistic Trailblazer Honoree
2024 Bessie Award - Outstanding Choreographer/Creator
2024 MacArthur Fellow
2024 Doris Duke Artist Award
2024 Knight Choreography Prize
2024–25 CBA at NYU Artist Fellow
2023 Bessie Award Nominee
2021 Bessie Award Winner
2020 Guggenheim Fellow
2019 NYFA/NYSCA Fellow
2018 Princess Grace Award

Mirelle Martins

Creative Director, Founding Artist

Brittany Wilson

Managing Director

Eric Umble

Development Director

E Katrina Lewis

Artistic Administrator

Sarai Frazier

Artistic Production Manager, Lighting Designer

Lucca Del Carlo

Transmedia Artist, Video Light & Mapping Designer

Pam PAnozzo

Digital Creative & Development Associate

Tushrik Fredericks

Performer, Stylist

Ashley Pierre-Louis​

Performer, Dramaturge

Marcella Lewis

Performer

Imani Gaudin

Performer

Dominica Greene

Performer

Ke’ron J. Wilson

Performer

Kris Lee

Performer

Itai Zwecker

Photographer, Cinematographer

Taylor Antisdel

Photographer, Cinematographer

The Adeboyé Brothers
Matthew Adeboyé & David Adeboyé

Photographers & Cinematographers

Alex Apt

Photographer

Sivan Jacobovitz

Musician, Composer

Mimi Lien

Scenic Design

Kaz Russell

Stage & Tour Manager

Chanel Pinnock

Stage Manager

Naomi Rapaport

Costume Designer

Sophie Myrtil-McCourty
Lotus Arts Management

Worldwide Booking

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MARCEL PRZYMUSINSKIPresident
ALEXANDER KIPKAVice President
LOREN BAILEYTreasurer
GLENN ALAN STISKAL Secretary
CLAUDIA RANKINE Board Member
SHAMEL PITTS Board Member, Founding Artistic Director

For the past several years since leaving Batsheva Dance Company in 2016, I’ve been asked whether or not I would start a dance company. And I’ve always felt the answer to be no way! However, after the creation of my trilogy of works known as the “BLACK SERIES”, which engaged 11 artists from all over the globe, I realized that I had an immense passion towards creating space and giving platform for diverse artists to cultivate and share ideas through performance art. Each creation process became a revelation on my artistic directional path. It allowed me to focus my passion on what I already had, and that was a multidisciplinary performance arts TRIBE!

Art by: Synthia Saint James

GRANTS, PRIZES & AWARDS

American Dance Abroad

Arison Arts Foundation *

Artis Discretionary Grant

Audience Choice Award – Stockholm Fringe Festival

Best Out of Town Production – ArtsATL

CROSS International Performance Award

Dance/NYC Dance Advancement Fund

Foundation for Contemporary Arts

Harkness Foundation for Dance *

Howard Gilman Foundation*

Mellon Foundation *

Mid Atlantic Arts

National Performance Network

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs *

New York Community Trust *

New York State Council on the Arts *

Princess Grace Foundation-USA

Rockefeller Brothers Fund

SHS Foundation *

Trust for Mutual Understanding *

YoungArts *

* Current Funder

ART FESTIVALS

Adelaide Festival – Adelaide, Australia (2020)

Belgrade Dance Festival – Belgrade, Serbia (2023)

BOFFO Performance Festival Fire Island (2023)

Cena Brasil Internacional – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2019)

Colours Festival – Stuttgart, Germany (2019)

CROSS Festival – Verbania, Italy (2019)

Hancher | Infinite Dream Festival – Iowa City, IA (2024)

Let’s Dance International Frontiers – Leicester, UK (2023, 2026)

New York Live Arts – Live Artery (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026)

Times Square Live Arts (2021)

ART RESIDENCIES

92 Street Y/Harkness Dance Center (2020, 2021)

Baryshnikov Arts Center (2023)

Bridgestreet Theatre (2021)

Catskills Mountain Foundation (2021)

CROSS Residence (2018)

Derida Dance Center (2018)

DOCK 11/EDEN**** (2017, 2018, 2019, 2025)

GIBNEY (2021)

gloATL (2018, 2019)

JACK (2022)

Jacob’s Pillow (2020)

Kaatsbaan Cultural Park (2025)

MASS MoCA (2026)

Miami Light Project (2021)

New York Live Arts (2020, 2022, 2023)

Orsolina28 (2019, 2025)

PS21: Center for Contemporary Performance (2026)

The Flea (2025, 2026, 2027)

The Pocantico Center | Rockefeller Brothers Fund (2023)

UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance (2022)

YoungArts (2020)

funding

Funding for specific works: Touch of RED, BLACK HOLE, Solace of RED, Marks of RED

Additional TRIBE commissioning, development and core operating support is provided by the TRIBE Board of Directors; Mellon Foundation; Arison Arts Foundation; the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project with funding from the Doris Duke Foundation; Howard Gilman Foundation; Dance/NYC’s Dance Advancement Fund, made possible by the Howard Gilman Foundation and Ford Foundation; 92Y Harkness Dance Center; The Harkness Foundation for Dance; Trust for Mutual Understanding; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.