Meet James, After School Program Coordinator

Meet James "SoSoon" Gantt, Reel Works’ new After School Program Coordinator! James is no stranger to creative expression. When he's not at Reel Works, James is a New York City Hip-Hop artist, producer, scholar and educator. Before coming to Reel Works James worked as a Teaching Artist and Youth Engagement Specialist at The Door, a NYC based youth empowerment organization providing comprehensive youth development services under one roof. Notable accolades include opening for noteworthy artists Dead Prez, M.O.P, Saigon, Leaders of the New School, Smoothe da Hustler and Trigga Tha Gambla. As part of his senior project at Goddard College, James created SOONY (Sound Of Old New York) to bring attention to the history of New York and the positive contributions of blacks throughout its development. James was the 2015 winner of the Isaac Kwock Award for Social Justice. Funding went towards Mayor of My City, a competition that James co-facilitated and hosted. Learn more here.James takes his responsibility of working directly with our students seriously -- that's why he will be joining the Spring Lab as a student! "For half of my life, my artistic discipline has been Hip-Hop," says James, "I'm excited to learn about a new way to tell stories through film."