Pop-Up Magazine

Alejandra Vasquez (“Varsity Oro”) is a documentary filmmaker from West Texas. She and her filmmaking partner, Sam Osborn, recently released Night Shift, a four-part series about New Yorkers who work the graveyard shift. The two are also working on a magical realism project that takes place on the US-Mexico border.

Alyssa Limperis (“What I Don’t Miss”) is an actress, comedian, and writer living in Los Angeles. You may know her as the insistent mom who helps you move, hosts BBQs, and needs your help with the printer. Alyssa has been featured on Conan and Last Week Tonight. She and May Wilkerson co-host the UCB podcast Crazy; in Bed about humor and mental health.

How should you water your houseplant? Should you be freaking out at the first sign of a yellow leaf? Darryl Cheng (“Our Plants, Our Lives”), author of The New Plant Parent and creator of House Plant Journal, has the advice you need. He’s helped thousands of people confidently bring greenery into their homes.

We dare you to watch Donté Colley (“On Distance”) and somehow not feel his infectious joy. Through his playful, sincere Instagram videos, the Toronto-based dancer and content creator makes hundreds of thousands of followers smile. We bet he’ll make you grin, too.

Emily Silverman (“The New Doctor”) is a doctor at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and the creator of The Nocturnists, a medical storytelling live show and podcast where health-care workers share stories of joy, sorrow, and self-discovery. Listen to the show’s ongoing miniseries, “Stories from a Pandemic,” for audio diaries from doctors, nurses, and administrators about their work in the time of COVID-19.

Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (“On Stillness”) is the founding artistic director of Urban Bush Women, a performance ensemble based in Brooklyn. She is currently the Nancy Smith Fichter Professor of Dance and Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor at Florida State University. Watch Jawole explain her choreography of “Walking with ‘Trane,” a UBW production inspired by the music of John Coltrane.

Liz Lerman (“On Stillness”) is a choreographer, performer, writer, speaker, and an institute professor at Arizona State University. In her 40 years of contributions to dance, she has received honors including a 2002 MacArthur Genius Grant and a 2017 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. She often addresses social-justice issues through her projects, including her latest dance-theater work in progress, Wicked Bodies.

Humor writer Mia Mercado (“Say It With a Card”) has written for places like The New Yorker, The New York Times, McSweeney’s, and a bottle she threw in the Milwaukee River when she was nine. Pick up her debut collection of nonfiction essays, Weird but Normal (May 19), for advice on coming to terms with your body hair and navigating dating apps where almost every guy includes a photo of himself holding a fish.

If you saw his Pop-Up Magazine story last year about the longest car ride of his life, you already know that Mohanad Elshieky (“A Long Ride Home”) has a special skill for making you laugh at the seemingly unlaughable. Mohanad has performed on Comedy Central and Conan, and currently works as a digital producer on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.

Rose Bear Don’t Walk (“On Hope”) has been powwow dancing all her life. A member of the Bitterroot Salish and Crow tribes of Montana, Rose lives on the Flathead Indian Reservation, where she currently works as an ethnobotanist. In 2019, she received a Fellowship for the Future from 500 Women Scientists to further her study of traditional Salish food plants.

Anuj Shrestha (“The New Doctor”) has illustrated for publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Wired, and Playboy. Treat yourself to some time with his online archive of comics. Anuj lives in Philadelphia and is fond of Italian horror cinema and chihuahuas.

Katie Benn (“What I Don’t Miss”) is a painter, muralist, illustrator, animator, and textile designer. Katie has shown her work in galleries across the world but always comes home to San Francisco —check out her murals throughout the Bay Area.

Canadian illustrator Lauren Tamaki (“Our Plants, Our Lives”) has created art for clients including The New York Times, Pentagram, Penguin, The New Yorker, and Disney. She has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators, the Society of News Design, AI-AP, and the National Magazine Awards. Take a look out her New York City window with her recent animation of the Eastern Bluebird and illustration of her street view.

Maddy Price (“Say It With a Card”) is a cartoonist, illustrator, and sometimes animator. Born and raised in Portland, she now lives in Brooklyn with a dog and cat that aren’t hers. Visit her website to watch an inflated and deflated man and to buy some comics and art stickers.

Magik*Magik Orchestra is a made-to-order orchestra, the size of which has ranged from a single violinist to an 80-piece symphony and choir. The M*MO has worked with more than 150 artists and institutions since its 2008 debut. This show’s iteration of Magik*Magik features Jason Slota on drums/percussion, Debbie Neigher on piano, Travis Andrews on guitar/bass, Daniel Roumain on violin, and Minna Choi, conductor, on piano.

Swedish illustrator Stina Persson is inspired by nature’s beauty and imperfections. Her style is a fusion of edgy and traditional, striving for the beautiful but never the slick and perfect. She has illustrated for clients including Nike, Microsoft, Louis Vuitton, Veuve Clicquot, L’Oreal, Target, Vogue Japan, O, the Oprah Magazine, and Penguin Books.

Tim Peacock (“A Long Ride Home”) is an illustrator and cartoonist living in Brooklyn. His work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post. Take a tip from Tim and look out your window.