OUR MISSION:
Inspired by American author, Toni Cade Bambara’s quote: “The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible”, IRRESISTIBLE was created with a commitment to accessibility at its heart. Our purpose is to not only make the revolution IRRESISTIBLE, but also accessible. Our commitment to accessibility is what cements our role as a bridge to connect grass roots social justice organizations and artists. We are a community that is reimagining the relationship for artists as active voices for social change.
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WHO ARE WE?
IRRESISTIBLE is an organization founded by artist, activist, and educator, Ameya Okamoto. We are a team of diverse, intersectional voices looking to cement art as an effective tool for social change. We are artists. We are writers, musicians, graphic designers, painters, and more. Most importantly, we are a community. We are a community of people tired of a lack in social progress, looking to drive the revolution the best way we know how: by creating.
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CALL TO ACTION.
Help us inspire social change because the role of the artist is to make the revolution IRRESISTIBLE. We urge you - artist or not - to wake up, make art, support art. In doing so, you will create your own revolutions every day.
MEET THE TEAM
Founder and Creative Director
Ameya Okamoto is an artist and educator from Portland, OR who deconstructs social injustice and biased behavior through art. Ameya is the artist in residence at Don't Shoot PDX and Black Lives Matter Greater NY. Her work has been profiled by Paper Magazine, The NY Post, OPB, and Adobe. Ameya is a 2019 Adobe Creativity Scholar and Laidlaw Fellow, researching the role of protest art in social movements and sustainable beautification. Ameya hopes that IRRESISTIBLE can help artistically support grassroots justice organizations, share anti-racist resources with educators, and most importantly, inspire creatives everywhere to consider art's role in inspiring social progress.
Ameya Okamoto
Operations Director
Arlyss Herzig
Arlyss Herzig is a student from upstate NY who is passionate about criminal justice. While balancing being IRRESISTIBLE's Operations Director, she is also researching the effects of COVID-19 in prisons and jails with the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, working with sustainable international development as a summer fellow with Engage Globally, and volunteering with justice organizations like the Petey Greene program and Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture. Arlyss is proud to be a part of IRRESISTIBLE's founding team and feels excited knowing that we are working to increase support for grassroots social justice organizations.
Community Engagement manager
Justice COnsultant
Graphic designeR
Why We're Great >
Corinne Salter
Corinne Salter is an artist from Chicago who was drawn to social justice work after realizing how creative expression can spark a conversation or share a new perspective. She specializes in creating bold graphic illustrations to inspire change and make progress IRRESISTIBLE. As Community Engagement Manager at IRRESISTIBLE, Corinne is excited to engage with artists everywhere and introduce them to how creativity and art can change the world.
Thandiwe Abdullah
Thandiwe Abdullah is a 16-yea-old organizer with Black Lives Matter and Co-Founder of the Black Lives Matter Youth Vanguard. She helped to conceptualize and launch the Black Lives Matter in Schools campaign, adopted by the National Education Association. Her work is to create safe spaces for black youth to organize around racism and anti blackness particularly in schools. Thandiwe has been active with March for Our Lives, emphasizing what gun control must look like for Black youth. Thandiwe is passionate about justice and excited to work with IRRESISTIBLE, calling on her experience as an artist and organizer to help inpsire other creatives to get involved with social change.
Cynthia Zhou
Cynthia Zhou is an artist and poet passionate about designing towards a more equitable and accessible world. Through IRRESISTIBLE, she hopes to empower young artists to understand that design is most powerful when it is rooted in kindness. Cynthia is also a big fan of frogs, cowboys, and swing dancing—hit her up to hear Cool Lobster Facts at cynthiazhouart.com!
Film: Discipline Coordinate
Writing:Discipline Coordinator
Darian O’Neil is a multifaceted writer and film director based out of Columbia, SC. He began by writing short stories as a kid and has maintained a passion for the arts ever since. Darian’s work is centered around the Black experience and he is dedicated to portraying Black people in an alternate light. Since diving into film at the age of 18, he has directed two short films independently, one mini-documentary, and one music video. He is excited to join the IRRESISTIBLE team because he believes storytellers have the power to shift narratives and to shift perspectives, two things that are more important than ever right now.
Darian O'neil
Naydeline Meija
Naydeline Mejia is a freelance writer and content creator based in The Bronx, NY. Her focus is in beauty, sustainability, social justice, and mental health. Her work has been published in Coveteur, REMEZCLA, Women’s Health and Refinery29. Her goal is to fight for the protection and wellness of women of color through thought-provoking journalism. Naydeline belives that art has the power to create social chang and she is excited to inspire and empower the next generation of artists - especially writers and words smiths!
Music:Discipline COordinator
MUA:Discipline Coordinator
Francisco Haye “Cisco Swank” is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and producer from Brooklyn, NY. He began playing the piano and drums at the age of 4 and since then had become a respected musician in the R&B, jazz, and hip-hop scenes. Francisco has opened for artists including Wynton Marsalis, Braxton Cook, Arturo O'Farrill, Rotem Sivan and is currently working on his first full length project while studying at Berklee College of Music under a full tuition scholarship. With IRRESISTIBLE, he wants to dig deeper than music itself and shift the narrative of an artists role in social justice.
Francisco Haye
Anya Tisdale is an artist from Boston, MA. Her practice is concentrated in editorial and creative makeup artistry, painting, and mixed media. She joined IRRESISTIBLE because as a Black artist in an industry that consistently pigeonholes and blocks talented Black artists, she knows it’s time to use the power of art to fight for social justice on ALL fronts. She is excited to make the revolution irresistible, unable to be ignored, glaring in everyone’s face. Anya believes art FUELS social change - and she’s ready to step on the gas.
Anya Tisdale
Community Outreach Coorinator
Jalen Little is a student studying Human Factors Engineering at Tufts University. He loves video games and pop music and hopes to one day combine these two passions in an effort to progress Black representation across social media, Hollywood and toy companies. Jalen beleives that in the current digital age in which we live, the revolution starts online and through viral image and information sharing between people's phones. As a Community Outreach Coordinator with IRRESISTIBLE, Jalen is excited to use his organizing talents to connect justice organizations in need with artists.
Jalen Little
Web Designer/Developer
Olivia Gillman
Olivia Gillman is a college student from outside of Boston, studying computer science and doing research at the intersection of machine learning and biology. She loves to discuss how interconnected all disciplines are, from technology to art to social justice, and everything in between. At its core, IRRESISTIBLE is connecting art and activism AND making it accessible, so she is thrilled to join the team as a web designer.
Web DESIGNER/DEVELOPER
Dameli Utembayeva
Dameli Utembayeva is a student at Tufts University from Almaty, Kazakhstan. In 9th grade, she moved to Seattle, WA where she was the only international student. Dameli speaks 3 languages: Russian, English and Kazakh and despite the fact that her previous schools used no technology, she fell in love with Computer Science. Dameli appreciated all art forms and considers self-expression one of the most important aspects of the art-making process. She is excited to join the team at IRRESISTIBLE because it allows her to use her technical web design skills to showcase other people's creativity and passion.