THE 26-27 BIPOC CRITICS LAB COHORT WILL BE CO-HOSTED BY
THE PUBLIC THEATER AND THE OLD GLOBE!
The Public Theater is thrilled to announce that cultural critic Jose Solís’ BIPOC Critics Lab will be going bi-coastal! After successful cohorts for the past three years, 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--this time with our friends at The Old Globe in San Diego.
Partnering with the renowned Old Globe across the country will allow the opportunity for even more individuals to be impacted by this program’s ability to jumpstart their careers in arts journalism. Applications are now open for the upcoming cohort and applicants who reside within a commutable distance to each theater will be eligible for consideration.
Are you a current resident in the New York Metro Area or within commuting distance of San Diego? It's your time!
Apply today: 26-27 OLD GLOBE X PUBLIC BIPOC CRITICS LAB APPLICATION
Sessions for the Lab will span the course of The Public’s 2026-2027 season, with 10 weekly sessions in the Fall, followed by monthly sessions in the Spring. Those chosen to participate will receive offers to join the cohort in August, with the cohort officially beginning after Labor Day. This iteration of the cohort will be a hybrid model of online sessions and optional in-person activities at your designated home theater. Participants who meet the attendance requirements will be assigned a future commissioned piece with compensation.
East-Coast based? Please reach out to us at [email protected] for any inquiries.
West-Coast based? Our friends at The Old Globe can help! Please reach out to [email protected] for any inquiries.
THE LAB AS A MOVEMENT
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, The New York Times, Elle, Glamour, American Theatre, Broadway News, 3Views, The Hat, TDF Stages, and Brooklyn Rail.
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.
Photo by Rebecca J. Michelson
Host the Lab at Your Theater Company
The BIPOC Critics Lab is a movement.
Since the Lab was founded in 2020, The Public committed to commission all past and present cohort members. As we host the next iteration, we invite theater organizations from all around the world to commission a critic. If you are interested in being added to our list of interested organizations, please email us at [email protected] with your organization name and preferred main contact. We are gathering a database of interested contacts as opportunities come up. Additionally, if you are writing to us from a press office, we hope you can add our future cohort members to invite lists during their tenure at The Public.
While The Public is hosting a Lab next season, there are opportunities for more than one cohort to exist simultaneously, particularly in other parts of the country or world. If you’re interested in hosting a cohort at your organization, we encourage you to reach out to Jose Solís by filling out this form.
About the Founder
Jose Solís is a cultural critic, educator, editor, and founder of the BIPOC Critics Lab, a program he created in 2020 to train and mentor the cultural critics of the future. His work has appeared in Common Sense Media, The National Catholic Reporter, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Toronto Star, American Theatre, TDF Stages, Backstage, Salon, and America Magazine. He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and a member of the Online Film Critics Society, GALECA, LEJA, and FIPRESCI, where he is the first and only member from Honduras.
In 2020, he was selected as the Floria Lasky Visiting Artist at Hunter College, where he hosted the Wed@One series. In 2021, he was named one of the Kennedy Center’s Next 50 and served as cohort director for DidTheyLikeIt.com. He also restructured and co-edited 3Views.
Solís is co-facilitator of Page Turn, a Canadian professional development program for emerging critics, and producer of The Page Turn Podcast. He co-created YouAreACritic.com, a free online course designed to make criticism more democratic.
In 2024, he completed an MA at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, studying the lack of cultural diversity in Spain’s cultural journalism. He is currently pursuing PhD work researching the pedagogy of care he created for the BIPOC Critics Lab.
