Co-Founders

Nico Daswani, Co-Founder

Nico is a curator and arts manager dedicated to placing the arts at the heart of intercultural dialogue. Since 2008, he has been the Program Director of the Asian American Arts Alliance, the cultural council for New York's Asian American population, which now represents one million people, spanning heritages from the Middle East to the Pacific Islands. He is currently directing the organization's citywide, 25-event, Locating the Sacred Festival (September 2012). Prior to this, Nico coordinated, managed and produced exchange programs, tours and festivals with several organizations, including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the World Festival of Sacred Music-LA, the UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance and several others. He has spoken at conferences and universities on strategies for using the arts as a vehicle for intercultural dialogue and civic participation. He holds a BA in Management from Euromed Marseille (France) and University of Westminster (UK) and an MA in Cultural Heritage from New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

John Rouse, Co-Founder

John is a stay at home dad focused on enjoying his neighborhood, his family, and the journey that is Create Culture.  He loves to write and to make burping noises that make his baby boy laugh.  He grew up being dragged kicking and screaming on summer vacations to folk festivals in places like Johnstown, PA and Lowell, MA (birthplace of Jack Kerouac). At the time, He just wanted to play baseball.  But then he grew to love it all.

John holds a Bachelor's degree from Mary Washington University in Psychology and an M.A. in Economics from American University. He has proudly served as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) and as an Economic Development Director with California Rural Legal Assistance.  For seven years he was employed in the financial services industry in New York City.  

Contact
We are based in New York City, USA. Email us at info@createculture.org for any questions or suggestions.