Exposed Brick Theatre (EBT) is dedicated to telling untold stories, centering omitted narratives, and creating art at the intersection of identities. EBT’s vision is to live in an empathetic world where people and their stories are valued. EBT envisions being an authentic space for artists to develop their own narratives and, in doing so, to change the canon of theater–one story at a time.

Exposed Brick Theatre was founded in 2004 and is led by Co-Artistic Directors Aamera Siddiqui and Suzy Messerole. EBT is a social justice theater with significant engagement with the social justice arts ecosystem in the Twin Cities. EBT centers the narratives and experiences of Black, Indigenous, and POC artists and communities and aims to shift the culture of theater to one that is culturally responsive, accessible, and safe for BIPOC and intersectional communities. For 20 years, EBT has been creating new work for the stage. They have produced 19 world premiere productions, tackling important topics in culturally specific and culturally responsive ways. EBT supports new work for the stage, fosters early-career playwrights, fuels amazing partnerships, and engages students through meaningful workshops and residencies in schools.

Jerome Foundation supports Exposed Brick Theatre’s Through Our Eyes Cohort program. Through Our Eyes is an 18-month development program for up to six early career Minnesota-based playwrights of the global majority focused on storytelling for the stage. Each artist is paid a stipend for their participation. In the first phase of the program, cohort members will participate in 12 playwrighting sessions, co-taught by Aamera Siddiqui and a guest instructor, to explore the elements of storytelling, playwrighting, and performance. The second phase focuses on developing a specific work or performance alongside monthly cohort sharing sessions. Each cohort member is also paired with a mentor who will provide feedback on the script or performance. Phase three is focused on sharing the work of all participants, the majority of which happens during the Through Our Eyes festival at Open Eye Theatre in Minneapolis.