Y. E. Torres (ms. YET) is a professional movement artist, instructor, model & specialty entertainer: Fusion Bellydancer, Fire Performer & Flow Artist. She holds dual BFAs in Drawing & Painting and Fashion Design from the University of North Texas and multiple dance and yoga based certifications. Torres is an arts educator, movement instructor, and Public Programs Coordinator at Contemporary Art Museum Houston. She was named one of Houston’s Top “100 Creatives” by the Houston Press in 2011, inaugurated into the Houston Music and Arts Hall of Fame in 2016, and awarded 2nd place for the “Best of Sideshow Arts” at the 2019 ABurlQ! Burlesque & Sideshow Spectacular. Torres is also a Flame Effects Operator, licensed by the state of Texas and a Principal on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Special Effects (SPE-AAA) Committee.
https://linktr.ee/YETorres
Koomah is an intersex & genderfluid multidisciplinary artist, performer, and filmmaker currently residing in Houston, Texas. Koomah has facilitated several interactive public art projects including: “Chalked” around the outside of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, “Intersex Welcome Mat” at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, and the immersive multi-sensory interactive art experience “No Such Thing As A Free House” inside a home in South Park. Koomah has performed, showcased artwork, presented workshops & lectures, and screened films across the US & internationally.
Moe Penders is a Salvadoran artist, whose practice is mainly framed in traditional photography. They moved to Houston in 2009 to attend the University of Houston, they received a BFA in Photography and Digital Media. Their work explores the social construction of home, intersectionality of identity and gender expression. Moe predominantly focuses on themes regarding home and culture, as well as the systemic socio-economic inequality in El Salvador. They also work with themes regarding the LGBTQIA community, and their constant work to be respected within all societies.
https://moependers.com/
Carla Lyles is a multidisciplinary artist, activist, and entrepreneur who hails from Alief in Houston, Texas. Carla first shared her passion for community service by creating The Haven, a grassroots organization that empowered the youth through the arts. Providing free arts activities to the community and local shelters. Currently, Carla’s drive to support the community has manifested in Keep Houston Dope, a movement started during Hurricane Harvey to help bring the city together, and her business Carla Sue, a fun and bold greeting card company that encourages self-love and hopes to help destigmatize mental health, one greeting card at a time. She also created the Carla Sue Network, a home shopping network to highlight other small businesses which she hosted on Instagram during the first months of the pandemic. You can find Carla Sue products in stores nationwide. Carla’s work has been featured by Houstonia Magazine and Huffington Post among others. She has been honored with Pop Shop America’s Maker Awards in the Best Prints and Paper Goods category. Carla Lyles is a fellow of the esteemed arts program Artist Inc and in 2019 she was named one of the Top 10 Entrepreneurs Who Turned Their Hobbies into a Successful Career by Entrepreneur Magazine. When Carla isn’t working on her business, she enjoys hanging outside, listening to hip hop with her spending time with her husband and adorable 5-year-old son Kaleb.
Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton is an internationally known writer, educator, activist, and Poet Laureate Emeritus of Houston, Texas. Formerly ranked the #2 Best Female Poet in the World, Her work has appeared in Houston Noir by Akashic Press (2019), Black Girl Magic by Haymarket Books (2019), Fjords Journal, Crab Orchard Review, and on such platforms as NPR, BBC, ABC, Apple News, Blavity, Upworthy, and across the TedX circuit. She serves as a contributing writer to Texas Monthly and Glamour. Her most recent poetry collection, Newsworthy, won honorable mention for the Summerlee Book Prize. A German translation, under the title “Berichtenswert,” is set to be released in Fall 2021 by Elif Verlag.
https://www.livelifedeep.com/
Shayna Schlosberg is the Director of Operations + Strategy at Women of Color in the Arts. Before joining WOCA, Shayna was the managing director of The Catastrophic Theatre, a highly acclaimed experimental theatre companyvin Houston, TX. From 2017-2021, she led the organization’s administrative and producing operations. Prior to her work at The Catastrophic Theatre, Shayna was the Associate General Manager at the Alley Theatre, where she played an integral part in expanding the theatre’s international programming, with a focus on Latin American theatre. Ms. Schlosberg has a BFA in Drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and an MM in International Arts Management from Southern Methodist University and HEC Montreal. She has served on grant panels for organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts (2018) and Houston Arts Alliance (2017)(2019). She is a graduate of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture’s Advocacy Leadership Institute, Women of Color in the Arts’ Leadership Through Mentorship program, and a 2020 New Leaders Council Fellow. She is a member of Arts Accountability Houston and sits on the Advisory Committee for the Houston BIPOC Arts Network Fund. Ms. Schlosberg served in the Peace Corps in Armenia from 2010-2012.
Julia Barbosa Landois is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist whose sculpture, video, and performance works have been exhibited in galleries, festivals, and museums throughout the USA and abroad. She holds a BFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. Exhibition venues have included the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, McNay Museum (San Antonio), Mexic-Arte Museum (Austin), Artpace (San Antonio), and many more. She was a 2018-2019 Artist-in-Residence at the Lawndale Art Center and won a 2019 grant from the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures to create MantecaHTX, the nation’s first online directory of Latinx artists. In addition to her career as a professional artist, Barbosa Landois has worked as an exhibitions coordinator, preparator, arts educator, and grant writer.
www.julialandois.com
Yeiry Guevara is a creative with extensive nonprofit and arts management experience. Currently, Yeiry is the Interim Director of Grants for Houston Arts Alliance. HAA is the City of Houston’s designated local arts and culture agency which provides city-funded grants to local arts organizations and individual artists. Prior to this role, Yeiry was Manager of Consultants and Programs at National Executive Service Corps in New York, NY. NESC is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering other nonprofits through management consulting. A lady of many talents, Yeiry is a writer, translator and multimedia artist. She is an engaging public speaker as well as the author of bilingual zines. Her work can be found in bookstores and libraries across the country.
www.yeiry.com
From Houston’s Southeast side, Bassist/Songwriter Nick Gaitan grew up in a working class area of the city where to the sounds of Tejano, Country, Swamp Pop, Rock n’ Roll, and Soul all fed into his musical influence from a very young age. From his early days with Los Skarnales, times performing with The Octanes, or years touring with Billy Joe Shaver, Gaitan has played with some of the best in the state and region. With a musical resume like this, it’s hard to corner his playing or style into one genre. This “Gulf Coast gumbo — a mix of roots rock, swamp pop, blues and Tex-Mex Conjunto”, as described by Jim Beal Jr. of The San Antonio Express, is reflected in Gaitan’s original recordings. His Houston-based band “The Umbrella Man” recorded their self-titled album in 2009 and “Bridges and Bayous” in 2012. A mainstay on the Houston Music scene Since 1999, he has since performed on stages across the USA, Mexico, Canada, Europe, Australia, and South America. Still, as the road goes on forever, something in the song or the sound always brings it back to his hometown of Houston, TX. Nick Gaitan is currently on tour with Rock n’ Roll singer Nikki Hill.
Intersecting Arts,
Commerce, and
Community