Nicoletta Darita de la Brown is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist and curandero chamána (shamanic practitioner). Her artworks re-conceive the life of an artist as thriving, nourishing others during and through her art practice, while healing herself in public space as a Black-Latin woman.
She is artist-in-residence at Baltimore School for the Arts, 2022-24 Tabb Center Public Humanities Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, 2023 artist-in-residence at The National Aquarium, 2023 JJC-MICA-BMA artist-in-residence. She is a former sculpture professor at Towson University and former adjunct faculty in the M.F.A. in Community Arts Graduate Program at Maryland Institute College of Art.
Her performances have been presented at The National Aquarium; The Phillips Collection in Washington DC; The Hirshhorn Museum; The Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building; Walters Art Museum in Baltimore MD; and Eubie Blake in Baltimore, MD.
Exhibitions of her video artworks and installations have been presented at Bennington College Usdan Gallery, The Tribeca Film Festival, IA&A at Hillyer Gallery in Washington DC, and in Baltimore, MD, The National Aquarium, Baltimore Museum of Art, Cardinal Gallery, Pinkard Gallery, The Segal Gallery, Leidy Atrium, and MICA PLACE. Her work is included in private and public collections, such as The Sheridan Libraries at Johns Hopkins University, GLB Memorial Foundation Collection, The National Aquarium.
While at MacDowell, Brown activated garments honoring the women in “mi familia (my family).” She painted studies that will inform public installations, performance art, large-scale video projections, fibers-based sculptures, and other flat mixed-media artworks.
Luis Ozoria’s Candor Collective
Origin, tradition, and innovation are the foundations of award-winning artist Luis Ozoria.
The Baltimore-based trumpeter’s musical prowess is recognized across the Eastern
Shore as an artist who seamlessly navigates diverse styles and genres.
Ozoria’s jazz ensemble, The Candor Collective, serves as a platform for his original
compositions exploring themes of his Caribbean-American identity and philosophy on
the human experience. With a commitment to authenticity and introspection, the Candor
Collective delves deep into the essence of the music, forging connections that resonate
with audiences on an intimate level.
In addition to commercial music, Ozoria is a founding member of Cortina Brass, a
dynamic brass ensemble delivering engaging performances to all communities. With a
commitment to pushing the boundaries of brass performance, Cortina introduces
Classical, Contemporary, American, and World styles to the brass canon.
Aside from personal projects, Ozoria stays busy as a freelancer in the popular music
scene. In March 2025, he joined Singer Kim Deal on her Nobody Loves You More Tour.
Ozoria has also been fortunate to work with Latine artists Nikki Alva, Dominique Patrick
Noel, Edwin Perez, Max Rosado, and Frankie Ruiz Jr.
Beyond his performance pursuits, Ozoria is deeply passionate about education. Ozoria
has contributed his expertise as a staff member of the Rowan University Summer Jazz
Camp and is on faculty at the Peabody Institute. Through his work as an educator and
mentor, Ozoria seeks to inspire the next generation of artistic visionaries, guiding them
on a path of creativity, expression, and introspection.
