Anastasiya Tarasenko, born in Ukraine in 1989 and raised in the United States from the mid-1990s, explores the complexities of identity in her work as an American, a Ukrainian immigrant, a Jew, and a queer woman storyteller. Her recent paintings center on the concept of intricate world-building, where multiple small narratives unfold within a single panel to create a god’s-eye view of interconnected lives. Using richly textured oil paint on copper—a medium echoing medieval and Renaissance traditions—she achieves an enameled, luminous surface that both honors historical motifs and reimagines them through a contemporary lens.

Her process is deliberate and theatrical, beginning with sweeping landscapes that evolve into densely populated scenes where characters laugh, kill, eat, and die. With no clear protagonist, her compositions reflect the moral and emotional ambiguity of real life. Tarasenko’s work is a critical, often whimsical reflection on culture, history, and the primal instincts that persist beneath modern existence. She invites viewers to examine the push and pull of progress and instinct, encouraging reflection on what it means to be human in a world where the ancient and the present constantly intertwine.

Bobby Abate’s recent paintings intertwine personal narratives reflecting his experience as a queer individual coming of age in the 1980s, shaped by the pervasive homophobia and the silencing effects of the AIDS crisis. Drawing inspiration from the flamboyant, gender-defying characters and supervillains of his Saturday morning cartoons, Abate uses these figures as recurring symbols of resistance and self-expression. He also explores the fragmented history of the Queer Underground preceding the 1969 Stonewall riots, aiming to illuminate the lives of his queer ancestors who lived in constant fear of persecution. His work, often created with indelible ink on paper, connects to the discarded materials and documents he uncovers through his research, reflecting memory’s lasting imprint.

A defining influence on Abate’s approach was the Prinzhorn Collection exhibition at the Drawing Center in New York City in 2000, which showcased emotionally charged art created by individuals with mental illness at the turn of the 19th century. This exhibition reinforced his belief in art as a deeply personal form of self-expression, even under the most challenging circumstances. This insight now guides his artistic practice, where he constructs a visual reality that allows his past, present, and queer history to converge, inviting conversation between them.

Carolyn Elaine, , an artist and educator, has become a prominent figure in the Chicago art community, known for her culturally significant mosaic murals and public art installations. Elaine began her journey as a Teaching Artist, using art to foster self-representation and critical thinking in urban students. Her mission has always been to highlight and celebrate Black Excellence through her work, helping thousands of youth and adults understand civic engagement through art. She has led residencies with organizations like the Illinois Arts Council and Chicago Public Art Group, creating over 60 mosaic installations in more than 50 schools in Chicago and its suburbs.

Elaine’s leadership extends beyond her studio work. In 2005, she founded Off The Wall, a youth summer program focused on teaching high school students the entire mosaic process, from concept to installation. Many of her former students continue their artistic journeys through paid apprenticeships with Studio Elaine. Her commissioned works can be seen at prominent locations like Brookfield Zoo, The Community Builders headquarters in Boston, and the Historic Rosenwald Courts Apartments. Elaine’s art has also been featured in the Black Creativity exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry. She holds degrees in Communications and Interior Design from Western Illinois University and the International Academy of Design in Chicago.

Dylan Mortimer’s work blends anatomical, biological, and medical imagery with spiritual and religious themes. He uses shiny materials to evoke the Baroque, which serves as a way of navigating his experience with a deadly diagnosis. Throughout his life, Mortimer has sought to spread glitter over what might otherwise seem like a hopeless situation. His art is a reflection of his personal journey through despair, transformation, and joy—essentially, it is his own leap of faith.

Mortimer’s creations employ shiny, glowing, and vibrant materials to symbolize the transformation he has experienced after being diagnosed with a life-threatening disease at birth. His work offers a glimmer of hope in what may seem like hopelessness. By using a variety of materials—such as glitter suspended in resin, lights, and colored glass—Mortimer seeks to merge diverse discoveries into a contemporary manifestation of the Baroque. His art acknowledges pain and challenge, while simultaneously recognizing the hope that drives him to overcome them.

Jessica Segall is an artist whose work engages with hostile and threatened landscapes, exploring both the risks of interacting with the environment and the vulnerability of the environment itself through a queer ecological lens. Her practice is grounded in research and often involves collaboration with scientists, activists, plants, and animals. Segall’s work has been exhibited internationally at venues such as COP 26, The Fries Museum, The Havana Bienal, The Queens Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Vojvodina, among many others. She is a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow and has received numerous grants, including from The Pollock Krasner Foundation, The New York Foundation for the Arts, and The Harpo Foundation.

Segall has attended prestigious residencies, including at Van Eyck Academie, Skowhegan, and MacDowell, and her work has been featured in major publications like Frieze, The New York Times, and Sculpture Magazine. Her art is part of collections at the Museum de Domijnen and the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and a BA from Bard College. Segall teaches workshops and classes on Ecofeminism and Interspecies Design, further sharing her interdisciplinary approach to art and ecology.

Kameron Walker, an active artist in the DFW area, describes his work as refined, critical, and explosive. Known for creating concepts never before seen in acrylic, Kameron approaches his art with a unique expressionism that tells stories through composition. Though his work has often gone unnoticed in his immediate neighborhood, he has showcased his pieces in group shows, earned awards, and received local recognition through news articles. Kameron’s dedication to his craft is also reflected in his community engagement, where he volunteers his time to teach workshops for non-profit organizations focused on the arts.

Kameron’s artwork centers on figurative portraits that convey deep emotional exploration, pushing the boundaries of self-identity, particularly in relation to Black culture and awareness. As a storyteller through his work, he employs a limitless color palette to craft vivid and powerful narratives. Whether his subject matter is simple or complex, Kameron’s innovative approach captures moments of true expressionism, showcasing his mastery of capturing both the emotion and the intricacies of each composition. His ability to narrate through his art positions him as a distinctive voice in the art community, continually pushing boundaries with his bold and inventive creations.

Karen Lisondra is a respected theater maker based in Kansas City, Missouri, known for blending contemporary and ancestral elements in her work. In 2020, she wrote and directed Kansas City Public Theatre’s first Spanish-language production, inspired by the friendship between surrealists Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo. Her Spanish adaptation of The Storytelling Project, renamed Pachakutec, toured five cities in Bolivia in 2019. Karen has also co-directed and performed in We Are the Landscape, a contemporary indigenous performance in Kansas City. Her diverse career includes collaborations with renowned theater companies in South America, such as Fuerza Bruta and Teatro de los Andes, and training with prestigious theater directors across Argentina, Bolivia, and France.

In addition to her theater work, Karen has contributed to social initiatives, including teaching physical theater to at-risk youth in Bolivia and serving as a directorial consultant with Atempo Dance Company. She has taught theater in Kansas City schools and co-directed Camp Anytown, a youth empowerment camp. Since 2015, she has also taught Ashtanga Yoga, Pranayama, and meditation, including guest instructor roles at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Karen practices Chen-style Tai Chi under Master Chen Huixian and holds a degree in radio/television/film from Northwestern University.

Liselot Cobelens, a Dutch maker, is known for her ability to capture complex stories through tangible objects. Her work explores the relationship between people, products, and the landscape, focusing on themes such as desiccation, climate change, landscape transition, and the loss of traditional crafts. Cobelens’ research approach is multifaceted, combining fieldwork with experimental, multidisciplinary research. Her creations often address pressing issues like heat stress and the concept of Genius loci—the unique spirit of a location. By intertwining landscape, product design, art, and urgency, Cobelens transforms her research into an accessible language, believing that the language of imagination and objects is often more relatable than scientific jargon.

Operating at the intersection of art and design, Liselot Cobelens seeks to make complex, difficult stories accessible through her work. Many of her projects come to life through close collaborations with society, experts, and producers, strengthening the creative field and fostering meaningful impact. With a keen interest in both natural processes and industrial development, Cobelens is constantly searching for new partners to collaborate with on projects that push boundaries and create positive change. Through her studio, she continues to explore how products and their creation relate to the land and how these relationships shape our world.

Morgan Ford Willingham’s upbringing in the South profoundly shaped her perceptions of personal identity, particularly in relation to societal expectations of womanhood. Raised in an environment where beauty standards were deeply ingrained, she rejected these norms at a young age. Her art practice explores the cultural pressures of conformity, beauty ideals, and their influence on female identity. A central theme in her work is the commodification of beauty, particularly through advertising, and how marketing impacts women's self-perception. Using self-portraiture, Willingham investigates how advertising language shapes the psyche, reflecting on the personal tension between individuality and societal expectations. Her work is informed by both contemporary and historical representations of women in art and pop culture.

Willingham also delves into themes of motherhood, examining the influence of nature versus nurture, as well as the evolving roles of mother and daughter. Her work features intimate, daily life depictions that explore personal and cultural influences on identity. The narratives explore the complex relationships between mother and daughter, highlighting selfhood, uncertainty, and transformation as the child matures. Through self-portraiture and the use of non-traditional materials, Willingham empowers herself while maintaining vulnerability and control over the gaze. Her process, which blends photography with symbolic materials, connects her work to the history of women’s craft, allowing her to meditate on the bond between artist and artwork and how each piece reflects aspects of her identity.

The Olorgesailie Maasai Women Artisans of Kenya (OMWA), founded in 2012, is a collective of 35 artisans, aged 18 to 80, preserving and showcasing Maasai textile arts and heritage in the South Rift Valley of Kenya. The group gathers at the Olorgesailie Museum of Natural and Human History, a National Museums of Kenya site, where they sell their beadwork to museum visitors as a means to support their families. This location, rich in historical significance, displays the beginnings of stone tools and other innovations, linking the artisans directly to their ancestors' legacy of creativity and innovation. Despite their historical connection to innovation, the artisans face modern challenges, including limited access to basic resources like running water and electricity, even though they are surrounded by abundant sunlight.

To address these challenges, OMWA partnered with long-time collaborator Tereneh Idia to launch Atasa Solar, a project designed to empower the community. "Atasa," meaning "We Made/Make It" in Kiswahili, focuses on solving issues related to energy access, gender equity, race, and cultural preservation. Drawing on Kenya's "Jua Kali" tradition of resourcefulness, the project has successfully installed over 30 solar lights across 11 locations in the village, ensuring that each artisan home now has solar charging capabilities. Through this initiative, the artisans also learned to assemble their own solar components and designed culturally relevant wearable solar charging attire, which not only provides practical solutions but also celebrates their Maasai heritage.

Princess Mhoon is a highly recognized choreographer, producer, educator, and scholar. Honored by HUFFINGTON POSTin 2015 as one of the "26 Female Choreographers You Should Know" and named by Dance Magazine in 2006 as one of the "Top 25 to Watch," Mhoon has significantly impacted the dance world. She was invited by First Lady Michelle Obama in 2016 as a leading dance figure for the Celebration of Black Women in Dance and has served on panels for The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. Mhoon is also a Helen Hayes Award nominee and winner, with work commissioned by prestigious institutions like the Kennedy Center and the DC Jazz Festival. As the founder and director of the Princess Mhoon Dance Institute, she is dedicated to enhancing the artistic landscape in Washington, D.C., and Maryland.

Mhoon’s career began in Chicago, where she trained with notable dance institutions such as the Alyo Children's Dance Theatre and Muntu Dance Theatre. She has performed with renowned companies like Ronald K. Brown/Evidence Dance Company and Rennie Harris Puremovement. Mhoon holds both a BFA in Dance and an MA in Public History from Howard University, where she also received the Owen Dodson Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015. A faculty member at American University, she continues to influence the dance world through teaching, choreographing, and directing national productions. Mhoon’s extensive contributions to dance, including founding the integrated arts program Dancing Feet, demonstrate her lifelong commitment to the field.