Ella Josephine Julia Moore is a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice uses participatory art, music composition, instrument-making, bandleading, installation and fabric arts. Under the alias Cleo Reed, they complete musical projects that are rooted in their ancestral & cultural lineage. Recently, they developed software instruments for Jon Batiste’s “American Symphony” at Carnegie Hall. Their debut album project, “Root Cause" was released in 2023 and alongside the work they premiered a self-directed performance art piece titled “Black American Circus” at AFROPUNK Festival, Banlieues Bleues in Paris, and Brooklyn Museum. They work toward a future that enables them to realize intentional creative endeavors and encourage joy within collaborative spaces such as museums, theaters, and unseen spaces. In their practice, they are currently drawn to notions of tradition, dissolving the binary, making noise, and breaking the barrier between artist and audience.More recently, Cleo is a recipient of the 2024 Map Fund. Cleo is currently a resident at Abrons Arts Center’s AIRspace Performance Residency through 2026, a Lighthouse Works Artist-In-Residence, and a 2025 Session Resident for Recess Arts. They are a recipient of the 2022 NYC Women’s Fund for Media Music and Theatre, a fellow for the National Jazz Museum in Harlem’s Jazz is NOW: Curatorial Fellowship, a selected composer as a part of the International Contemporary Ensemble’s “Call For ____” Commission Program, as well as a fellow in OneBeat's 2023 global residency tour program. Cleo is an alumni of Harlem School of The Arts and a graduate of Berklee College of Music.
artist statement
“My name is Cleo Reed, and I am a student of Black underground sound and intention. Whether underground or academic, experimental or popular, I am drawn to notions of tradition, dissolving the binary, making noise, and breaking the barrier between artist and audience. In my creativity, I look closely at my own lineage and use it as a primary reference in my music-making, instrument building, and multi-disciplinary art projects. Primarily, I like to produce and design soundscapes, compositional and popular music works, in addition to mixing, mastering, and editing my own music and visuals. I have developed a more well-rounded practice through working with museums on sound art projects, installations, as well as performance art / theatre pieces.
I am currently in residence at Abrons Arts Center, where I will be premiering a full-scale theater production in 2025. I am also working on finishing my second album, which will be released in 2025. With my first installation project, I will be collaborating with Recess, an abolitionist arts organization based in Brooklyn, NY.
artist statement
“My name is Cleo Reed, and I am a student of Black underground sound and intention. Whether underground or academic, experimental or popular, I am drawn to notions of tradition, dissolving the binary, making noise, and breaking the barrier between artist and audience. In my creativity, I look closely at my own lineage and use it as a primary reference in my music-making, instrument building, and multi-disciplinary art projects. Primarily, I like to produce and design soundscapes, compositional and popular music works, in addition to mixing, mastering, and editing my own music and visuals. I have developed a more well-rounded practice through working with museums on sound art projects, installations, as well as performance art / theatre pieces.
I am currently in residence at Abrons Arts Center, where I will be premiering a full-scale theater production in 2025. I am also working on finishing my second album, which will be released in 2025. With my first installation project, I will be collaborating with Recess, an abolitionist arts organization based in Brooklyn, NY.
for more recent work samples, contact cleo reed via email: cleo4short@gmail.com
for booking, contact matthew schonfeld: matt@not97.com
for booking, contact matthew schonfeld: matt@not97.com