Jaspa Ureña (they/them) is many people, places and things, but a multi-hyphenate abolitionist lover, collaborator and artivist at heart who is originally from Lawrence, Massachusetts, Indigenous land of the Pennacook and Pentucket people. They have a passion for nurturing love and spiritual fortitude in themselves and others through their grounding respect for the healing power of accountability, loving communication and authentic collective self-expression. They believe we all emerged into this world courageously and they work to celebrate and ignite that courage and fearlessness that exists in others.
They share a peculiar joy for co-creating with and learning from others who come from all walks of life, and their innate curiosity has led them to fulfilling work across various fields and industries over the past 15 years. They’ve worked with thermophilic composting and organic farming, youth and community program management, and they’ve also worked as a food industry chef, bartender and DJ. They dropped out of Pitzer College in 2017 and returned in 2023 to complete their Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies and Art. During their time back, they developed a new passion for the art of metal casting and they wish to deepen their learning when they create the capacity to return to it. When Jaspa is not working as an administrative assistant at Lumos Transforms, they are producing events alongside various artists across Los Angeles, making art via Instagram’s Story function, DJing or hyper-focusing on research about pretty much anything, but right now they’ve had a positive obsession with learning about speakers and sound systems.
A long-term goal of theirs is to consistently play a role in the active dismantling of the racism, classism, and ableism that is deeply embedded in the capitalist concept of professionalism and careerism. Jaspa wishes to work alongside others to organize the world into abundant opportunities for all through the development of new systems of care and labor that resemble the loving support and guidance we receive from the earth and our mighty multiverse. You can find them on instagram @DJAACHUUU to check out their art and DJing journey.