Culturbia is a cultural organizing project founded by Lisa Dahl.

Dahl is a Staten Island-based artist who has long had an interest in the icon of the home as a metaphor for our personal dreams, economic goals, environmental concerns, and urban planning. Most of the books in her “fun” reading pile are about urbanism. From 2016-18, she was the Participatory Art Fellow for Future Culture, a Design Trust for Public Space project in conjunction with community partner Staten Island Arts. It was that intensive Fellowship, and the people she met through it, that resulted in the idea for Culturbia.

Having lived on Staten Island for over a decade – a willing Manhattan expat with formative years spent in middle America – she knows there is depth and cultural activity to be found throughout Staten Island. Much of it is hidden away in the quiet streets of its residential neighborhoods. As the North Shore has grappled with the impact of enormous developments on its shores, the Culturbia project hopes to reveal Staten Island’s existing cultural community while creatively making use of the real estate its artists already have control over: our homes which often double as our creative spaces.

In addition to her visual art and social engagement practice, Dahl is a graphic designer specializing in the needs of visual artists, musicians, writers, galleries, and creative businesses. Her website design business is called Artsdötter. Her personal website is LisaDahlStudio.