The Sandbox announces its inaugural cohort of artists residents in Joshua Tree (1945900)
Four artists — a playwright-poet, a painter, a playwright-journalist, and a photographer-director — will gather in the High Desert this summer for the first residency session of The Sandbox, a new artist residency founded by playwright Al Sierra.
Four artists will be the first cohort of The Sandbox, an artist residency located in the Mojave Desert. Karina Billini, Charles Chaisson, Gloria Oladipo” Ambe J. Williams Sandbox is a place where you can live, work and play together with other Sandbox members. From July 30 to August 9, 2026 A 11-day Summer Session at the Foot of Joshua Tree National Park
The cohort was selected from an extremely competitive pool of first-year students. It spans disciplines such as theater, literature and painting. The four artists will all be living together in the same residence, sharing studios and meals.
“I wanted to create the space I needed as a young person — a private room with four other co-conspirators at the edge if something huge.
“This cohort is the realization of a long-held dream.” Al Sierra is the founder
The Cohort — Summer of 2026
Karina Billini
Playwright & Poet Brooklyn, NY
Karina Billini, a Dominican American playwright and poet from Brooklyn, is also an educator. She is also a recent Juilliard Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights program graduate. She has had her plays workshopped at La Jolla Playhouse and performed them in Williamstown Theatre Festival and Teatro Vivo.
Her play Apple Bottom The EST/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation awarded her a commission. Her MFA is in playwriting and she has a BA at Marymount Manhattan College. Billini’s poetic imagery and NYC language captures the endless hope, tenacious perseverance and quiet loneliness that POC, first generation, working class communities experience.
Charles Chaisson
Painter & Abstract Visual Artist Arnaudville, LA
Charles Chaisson, a native New Orleanser who now lives in Arnaudville (Louisiana), is an American artist.
The abstract works of Charles Chaisson explore the psychosoma and language. Riverfront, St. Augustine High School, The Ringling College of Art & Design, and SVA in New York. After sixteen years as a freelance illustrator, he was appointed adjunct professor at RISD.
He then returned to Louisiana in order to be closer to his family. Now he serves as a board member of Common Ground Relief in New Orleans, an organization that focuses on community and coastal regeneration. He is also the founder and CEO of Levity.
Gloria Oladipo
New York Playwright and Journalist (from Chicago).
Gloria Oladipo, a Chicago-born playwright who lives in New York City, is an accomplished writer.
She is a playwright based in New York, proudly from Chicago. She has been a Public Theater Emerging Writers Group fellow, Velvetpark Writers Fellowship, and 2024 winner of the Dramatists Guild Foundation Thom Thomas Award. She has developed her work at New York Stage and Film Theatre, Lucille Lortel Theatre and Boston Court Pasadena.
Oladipo, a journalist and cultural critic is also the former race and equity reporter for the Guardian US. She was awarded the ATCA Edward Medina Prize in Cultural Criticism 2023. Her work has been published in The Washington Post and The New York Times. BA from Cornell University; MFA playwriting at Yale’s David Geffen School of Drama.
Ambe J. Williams
Brooklyn Photographer and Director
Ambe J. Williams, a Brooklyn-based self-taught commercial and portrait photographer, is an expert in her field.
Her BFA from the University of the Arts in Theatre Arts has influenced her photography. She directs her performances with the camera, capturing the moments of humanity and humor.
Her directorial debut was recently signed by Great Friends Agency as a commercial representative. Circle of Shame The film premiered at Chelsea Film Festival, and was awarded the Audience Favorite Award for the Best US Short.
UMG Verve clients include Audible, Lincoln Center ViiV Healthcare Novo Nordisk and Banana Republic. Her images are reminiscent of softness, joy, and depth.
Al Sierra, the founder
Al Sierra He is an American playwright and writer who was born and raised in New York City. The founder of The Sandbox, he also founded The Sandbox. He holds a BSc.
He received a BSc. He has written several plays.
Clean, The Peak” When the Sea Comes HomeHe is a Gatekeepers Collective Learning to Love Fellow for 2022 and a member of The Public Theater’s Emerging Writers Group from 2023-2025. He was a Learning to Love Fellow for The Gatekeepers Collective in 2022 and is part of The Public Theater’s Emerging Writers Group 2023-2025.
After years of creating and writing in the city Sierra took a trip west that changed his life. Somewhere between New York’s chaos and the openness of California’s desert, Sierra found Joshua Tree. The search for clarity turned into a love affair: with the desert’s eccentricities, its creative community, and the vast sky. The attraction of the high desert, the creative community and endless sky drew him back again and again. This return led to the creation of The Sandbox, a space where artists can experience the same transformative experiences, where their creativity can flourish within the timeless beauty of the desert, and where, for a brief time, a group is able to imagine, play and create.
The residency will be guided by the principle he wishes he had when he was a young author: The space is essential to allow you to play, experiment, create, fail, rebuild, destroy, and start again.
The Property
Sandboxes are placed on the ground. 10 Acres of Land On the west edge of Joshua Tree in California.
Purchased in fall 2023 Just where is it? Five minutes away from West Entrance to Joshua Tree National Park The Mojave High Desert is 800,000 acres. The campus’ main building was designed by Seth Brayton You can also find out more about the following: May Lee Birks The acclaimed architecture firm Brayton + Birks Both graduates of Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, they worked closely with Al Sierra, the founder, who is also a Cornellian.
They integrate the structures into the landscape seamlessly, blurring boundaries between desert wilderness and interior sanctuary.
Every resident is provided with a studio and a bedroom. The shared spaces — such as a large dining table and a kitchen — allow the group to gather for dinners, critiques and long nights. The property provides meals, accommodation, and studio access for each full session. Residents arrive on the first day to start working.
Sandbox was designed to facilitate focused, small-group work.
The first session of the Sandbox hosts four artists on purpose, and not as a result of compulsion.
Press Contact
Inquiries: Barbara Saint Aime
Email: barbara@aimedean.com
Sandbox
The Sandbox, an artist residence in Joshua Tree (California), is committed to creating an atmosphere of respect, generosity and caring. It was founded in 2023, with its first session beginning in the summer of 2026, under Al Sierra’s founding leadership. The residency offers multidisciplinary residences to writers, musicians and visual artists. The sessions are designed to be small, with shared meals and private studios. They also feature the quiet of the desert.
The Sandbox is currently raising development funds to support future cohorts and expand access; for more on the program and upcoming sessions, visit thesandboxcalifornia.com.
