Todd Lester Brooklyn, NY United States: Share on Facebook Share Twitter

Todd Lester's Apps

Todd Lester's Friends

View All

Todd Lester's Groups

Friends of Mus'Art Galle…

3 members
MIGRATION

26 members

Video Volunteers - Brazil

13 members
Roma picture book

2 members

Santa Fe

22 members

View All

Todd Lester's Discussions

HomeBase Build in Berlin - Short-term Residency Opportunity focused on 'home' and the role of residency in society (open immediately)
4 Replies

Started this discussion. Last reply by Steven Paige Aug 30, 2011.

Freedom to Create monetary prize for Imprisoned Artist ... Do you know of anyone?
1 Reply

Started this discussion. Last reply by Belisa Rodrigues Jul 28, 2011.

dOCUMENTA (13) partners with Collección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros to offer a Curatorial Fellowship for curators and scholars from Latin America

Started Jul 26, 2011

View All

Gifts Received

Todd Lester has not received any gifts yet

Give a Gift

Todd Lester's Page

Profile Information

Biography: Todd Lester is the founder of freeDimensional (fD) and more recently the Creative Resistance Fund. Before launching freeDimensional he served as Information & Advocacy Manager for the International Rescue Committee in Sudan. Todd holds a Masters of Public Administration from Rutgers University and is a graduate of the Refugee Studies Centre’s Summer School in Forced Migration at Oxford University. Todd is adjunct faculty at several New York City universities including Media Studies at the New School for Social Research from which he received a Film Production Diploma. Todd is engaged (thinking/writing/convening) at the intersection of art for social change; horizontal network as institutional form; culture funding; cultural exchange & diplomacy; artist mobility & residency programs; and the role of the artist in policymaking. As such, Todd is an active advisor to several residencies, artist-led projects and networks – Res Artis, Gardarev, Sangam House, Pirogue Collective of Gorée Institute, Guapamacátaro Interdisciplinary Residency in Art and Ecology, HomeBase Project, Esthétique & Handicap, the Flux Factory’s diversity committee, and a planning committee for the Rockwood Leadership Institute’s Arts & Culture Fellowship – a regular contributor to The Art & Democracy Project, nominator to the Prince Claus Fund for Culture & Development, and serves as a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute. In 2006, Todd received the Peace Corps Fund Award for his work starting freeDimensional; was named ‘Architect of the Future’ by the Waldzell Institute in 2008; and selected as a delegate to The Opportunity Agenda's 2011 Creative Change summit.

Organization or Company: freeDimensional & the Creative Resistance Fund

Title / Profession: Founding Director

Blog or Website: http://www.freedimensional.org

Another Website: http://www.creativeresistancefund.org

ShapeShifters Profile Link (Complete web address please): http://www.shapeshifters.net/users/freedimensional/

How I heard about fD and why I'm here: I am one of the founding members.

Whereabouts:

New York City

Todd Lester's Photos

Loading…

Todd Lester's Blog

Come meet Belarus Free Theater Monday Night (in NYC)

Dear friends,

If you are in the NYC area, we invite you to come to a political salon discussion with the founders of Belarus Free Theater this Monday night (Sept 20) at the offices of the World Policy…

Continue

Posted on September 19, 2010 at 10:33am — 1 Comment

Belarus Free Theater need short-term accommodation in NYC

Dear All,

As you may know, freeDimensional is…

Continue

Posted on September 16, 2010 at 1:17pm

Creative Resistance meeting // Director's note #2

On Sunday nite of this week, I led a session to explain why freeDimensional convened the Creative Resistance meeting. Whereas it was early in the meeting, I mentioned (again) that the primary reason for the meeting was to inspire (or instigate) collaboration, AND that freeDimensional does not have an expectation of what will come from our four days together. So instead of setting an agenda, I opted to share a few principles that I personally hold important… Continue

Posted on July 13, 2010 at 8:00pm

Creative Resistance meeting // Director's note #1

We are so happy to be hosting a meeting of leaders from the human rights sector, art space and practice networks, and organizations focused on the mobility of culture workers next week on Wasan Island in the Muskoka Lakes of Ontario, Canada. If you would like to read more about the meeting, see my previous blog. Participants for the meeting come from the following networks and… Continue

Posted on July 6, 2010 at 11:30pm

Attacking a humanitarian flotilla .... what's next?

I've been meaning to write a blog post ever since I arrived to Brazil two weeks ago, but it was only this morning when I opened my email and read about the attack on a humanitarian flotilla headed to Gaza that my fingers were moved to type. There have been many reports about the attack in both the mainstream and… Continue

Posted on June 1, 2010 at 9:30am

Comment Wall (48 comments)

You need to be a member of Arts Rights Justice to add comments!

Join Arts Rights Justice

At 4:25am on February 27, 2011, Nathan Mpangala said…: Hi Todd,

Thanks for the compliment! Appreciated.

Me am doing great, 2009 I was in Kenya doing animation almost the all year under the company called Tiger Aspect Production from UK. You can see some video clips in utube..just write Tinga Tinga tales.

Currently am in Tanzania just continuing drawing for a newspaper and a tv station, also preparing environment drawings for the on line exhibition this year, I remember I told you days ago. I really really eager to start using webs effectively especially the free dimensional network.

Wish you good.

Nathan

At 6:34pm on February 26, 2011, Nathan Mpangala said…: Dear Todd, how are you? Hope you are doing great.

I got two news to tell you. First; I have updated my page by added some new cartoons, I will be happy if you will take a look and give me back your views. Second; I would like to thank the freedimensional web, through this web, I have won a 10 days scholarship to learn a video production course at the Authentic School of Journalism this May. I really appreciate this networking.

Wish you good.

Regards, Nathan Mpangala (cartoonist, illustrator& animator)

Tanzania

http://artsrightsjustice.net/profile/NathanMpangala
www.komicfirst.blogspot.com

At 3:31pm on October 29, 2010, Cristina Cortes said…: Hi my Dear todd,
Here I'm doing my homework.
I'm new in F.D I want to make friends and join groups haven't had that much time to do that. Wanted to invite you to an event next Friday the 5th and share about our project at Indigenous territories in Colombia

http://artsrightsjustice.net/events/fundraising-benefit-for-the

At 11:13pm on May 31, 2010, Isabela Prado said…: Hi Todd,

it was a pleasure to meet and have a nice conversation with you.
I called the hotel to invite you for dinner and to say goodbye this past thursday, but you weren't there... Chica told me you would leave quite early the next day, so i didn't insist.
Like I promised, I would like to send you the DVD with some info about my work. Are you still in Brazil? If you have an address, I can mail it to you.

keep in touch,
Isabela

At 1:45am on April 20, 2010, Arlene Goldbard said…: Thanks, Todd. No, and when I googled it, nothing came up. Can you send a link?

At 9:51pm on January 5, 2010, Cameron F. Wallace said…: Thanx for the invite. Glad to be apart of the fD community. :)

At 2:36pm on November 18, 2009, David Evan Harris said…: Thanks Todd! We're putting together info on the exhibit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts right now and once it's online, I'll post here for sure!

At 1:32am on August 18, 2009, Manohar.Chiluveru said…: H!

Glad to meet you, add me a friend.

Thanks

At 5:42am on August 16, 2009, farhad foroutanian said…: This is sunday noon i saw your comment, I love to be there and see you but I am not sure that I can make it, but i will try. Let me know if you stay longer in Holland or even koming to south, maybe even Rotterdam, then we can meet each other. good luck.

At 5:49am on July 2, 2009, Jenifer Evans said…: Hello Todd,
Thank you! fD seems a brilliant organisation to be a part of, and thank you also for suggesting people to get in touch with.
What I'd like is simply to meet people involved in arts in Cairo and to get an idea of what's happening so I can go and see and at some stage become involved, so the introductions you have given me are a great start. (Obtaining a source of income and a space to work in are also on my to-do list, but I figure I'll work out how to achieve these things once I'm there and get a picture of how things work.)
Thank you again! I hope we continue to keep in contact via this network.
Jenny