Shaun Leonardo

Shaun Leonardo's multidisciplinary work negotiates societal expectations of manhood, namely definitions surrounding black and brown masculinities, along with its notions of achievement, collective identity, and experience of failure. His performance practice, anchored by his work in Assembly – an arts-based diversion program for system-impacted youth at the Brooklyn-based, non-profit Recess – is participatory and invested in a process of embodiment. Since co-founding the Assembly program 7 years ago, Shaun has served as its lead artist, implementing research and partnerships for the program’s growth. In 2021, Shaun expanded his role to Co-Director, guiding the organization's continuous evolution as an engine of social change. Leonardo is a Brooklyn-based artist from Queens, New York City. His work has been featured at The Guggenheim Museum, the High Line, and New Museum, and profiled in the NewYork Times and CNN. He was recently honored as a Community Innovator for his work in diversion by the Center for Justice Innovation. His solo exhibition, The Breath of Empty Space, was presented at MICA, MASS MoCA and The Bronx Museum. And his first major public art commission, Between Four Freedoms, recently premiered at Four Freedoms Park Conservancy.