ROYA was founded in Boston during the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid widespread reevaluation of living conditions and injustices, ROYA emerged to center arts and culture in the struggle for liberation. We recognize that arts and culture have historically advanced social justice through healing, solidarity, and political action. ROYA continues this tradition, guided by the questions:
1. What role do artists and culture workers play in advancing social justice?
2. How do we create spaces that propel these movements forward?
As a growing community-based arts and culture organization, we are a fully remote team of multidisciplinary cultural workers, artists, organizers, and practitioners from the global diaspora. We are committed to creating spaces for us, by us.
ROYA is dedicated to building a creative community for liberation. We use arts and culture to advance social justice, focusing on events and programs that incorporate a public health framework for liberation.