Are you interested in being a part of the next generation of BIPOC arts journalists? Join our next BIPOC Critics Lab Cohort, in partnership with founder & cultural critic, Jose Solís! Applicants who were not accepted to any past cohorts are encouraged to apply again; previously accepted Lab participants are ineligible to re-apply. Applications are now open until Wednesday, May 15. Learn more here.

The Public Theater is hosting cultural critic Jose Solís’ BIPOC Critics Lab in the 2024-25 season. After successfully hosting the 2023-2024 cohort, The Public is honored to continue Solís’ commitment to creating an educational space for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) writers in the realm of cultural criticism.

Sessions for the Lab will span the course of The Public’s 2024-25 season. Those chosen to participate will receive offers to join the cohort in late June, with the cohort officially beginning in mid-September. This iteration of the cohort will be a hybrid model of online sessions and option in-person activities.

The program begins with ten 90-minute weekly sessions on Zoom for cohort members to define “What My Criticism Will Be”, to take place in Fall 2024. Additional learning opportunities will take place in the spring on a semi-regular basis. Participants who meet the attendance requirements will be assigned a future commissioned piece with compensation.

Following the tenets of dialogue, compassion, and nurturing one’s unique voice, future critics who participate in the cohort will contribute to the creation of a custom program that fits their specific needs and encourages them to pursue the path of criticism that best serves them. Participating in the cohort is at no cost to members. Selected members will have the opportunity to learn all aspects of arts journalism through a variety of mediums beyond the written word. BIPOC experts in the field also serve as guest speakers for the Lab. Writers who meet the attendance requirements at the culmination of the program will be assigned a future commissioned piece with compensation.
About the BIPOC Critics Lab
The BIPOC Critics Lab was founded in 2020 by Jose Solís as a first-of-its-kind program designed to train and create work by emerging BIPOC theater journalists. Solís noticed a gap in training based on his own experience as a cultural critic in the field and created an educational space for BIPOC writers who had not been welcomed into cultural criticism, whether due to systemic oppression, lack of opportunity, or because they didn’t know they were allowed to see themselves as critics. Solís solicited applicants for the first cohort through Twitter where over 100 BIPOC participants expressed interest in participating. From 2021-2023, The Kennedy Center hosted the BIPOC Critics Lab online as a part of the American College Theater Festival. In the summer of 2023, a cohort was also co-hosted by the Stratford Festival and Intermission Magazine. During its 2023-2024 season, The Public Theater hosted its first BIPOC Critics Lab cohort. Alumni of the program have gone on to write and work as editors for outlets such as The Los Angeles Times, Andscape, Elle, Glamour, American Theatre, Broadway News, 3Views, Brooklyn Rail, and Token Theatre Friends.