THE NOoSPHERE TEAM
Sol Kjøk
Founding Artistic Director + ED
A NYC-based visual artist who has lived and learned in six countries, Sol is also an arts community organizer: Fresh out of art school, she founded Mothership NYC, a live/work/presentation arena for international artists. When offered access to a storefront in the vibrant arts district of the Lower East Side in early 2011, Sol spontaneously decided to turn this space into NOoSPHERE Arts’ first incarnation as a gallery for artist colleagues from elsewhere. After five years in Manhattan, the organization is now headquartered in a Brooklyn warehouse that is also home to Sol’s painting studio, aka Last Frontier NYC.
director@noosphere-arts.nyc
Daniela Holban
Deputy Director
Daniela Holban is a Romanian-born curator, cultural producer, and community builder with over 15 years of professional experience in art institutions, museums, and nonprofits. Her curatorial practice seeks to respond to and present systems of self-reflection, identity, multipolarity, and sustainability. She is dedicated to public engagement, artist development, environmentally-based art programming, and action-driven communities. Daniela has worked with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mana Contemporary, Artfare, {CTS} Creative Thriftshop, William Bennet Gallery, The Ear Classical, and The Fashion and Textile Museum. Part of our team since 2019, she has previously held positions as curator and director of programs.
daniela.holban@noosphere-arts.nyc
Daniela Kuntz
Sustainability & Strategy Advisor
Trained as a scientist, Daniela is a Brazilian environmental consultant and biologist with over ten years of experience in the sustainability field. Previously working mostly with technical solutions and public policies, her passion is to explore the potential for human behavior change through self-awareness as a key aspect to achieving sustainable systems. Dedicated to holistic theories, spiritual learnings and practices, Daniela came to New York in 2015 for a second MA in sustainability. Upon entering the vibrant art scene in this city, she fully realized the power of creative expression to transform self and society. Since then, her work has been focused on combining sustainability, spirituality, and creativity.
daniela.kuntz@noosphere-arts.nyc
Matteo Rini, PhD
Director of Music & Science
Matteo Rini is a scientist, writer, and musician based in NYC, who is working on building bridges between science and art. He holds two PhD’s (Electrical Engineering, University of Pavia, Italy; Physics, Humboldt University of Berlin and Max Born Institute), worked at the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and has published articles in all major scientific journals, from Science to Nature. Seeking to connect science to society, he has worked in politics (European Commission, Climate Action Department), before taking up his current position as the Editor of the American Physical Society’s Physics Magazine. His artistic endeavors include curating the music program of Planeta, an innovative sound and media enterprise that offered a live-music venue in Manhattan between 2014-2019, and playing as a guitarist with NYC Latin bands Tinto Frio and Matapena. Matteo contributed to the science-inspired dance “The Brain Piece” (see the NY Times feature) and co-wrote “Memory Bites,” a dance-theater show illustrating the power of food memories (presented at the 2018 NYC Latitude Dance Festival).
matteo.rini@noosphere-arts.nyc
Andreas Sjöstrand
Creative Digital Director
Andreas Sjöstrand is a Sweden born visual artist and designer with over a decade of experience in the creative industry. He holds an MFA from the School of Design and Crafts, where he received several design competition awards and attended multiple design residencies. He also has a BSc in Design Engineering from Chalmers School of Engineering.
Andreas currently works as designer for Läsklar Incorporated, a multi-sensory learning educational company, and has contributed to their scientifically validated reading and writing methodology. Alongside his design work, Andreas is an accomplished visual artist and performance artist. In 2020, he had his first solo exhibition in Gothenburg, Sweden. He exhibited his 2D work and performed live at NOoSPHERE Arts' WE ARE NATURE summer series, and created a public mural for the City of Gothenburg in 2021.
andreas.sjostrand@noosphere-arts.nyc
Caru Albuquerque, PhD
International Representative
Caru Albuquerque is a São Paulo-based curator, researcher, creative director and entrepreneur with an extensive 25-year background working with the main cultural institutions and companies in Brazil. She is focused on curatorial projects; art criticism; exhibitions; publishing books; coaching artists; and producing art festivals. Caru has an MA and a PhD in Semiotics & Arts, and as of 2005, she conducts academic research on the influence of urban phenomena in the arts. She is the author of two books, The City Speaks and Concrete Poetry on the Concrete, and also the founder of Concreto Art Space, Concreto Armado Festival, and the Subcentro Project, which achieved widespread recognition by the public and government alike.
caru.albuquerque@noosphere-arts.nyc