Janett (Billie) Houston is a native Washingtonian, I attended public school and also attended  Lemuel Penn Center for Graffiti design and Advertising Art.

Ayannie Peake was born and raised in Washington, DC. As a child, she drew
many portraits of family members and friends. After graduating from Duke
Ellington School of the Arts, Ayannie received a bachelor’s degree in Art
Education at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. She currently
educates children in DC Public Schools and is pursuing a master’s degree.
Ayannie works in a variety of genres and styles, but is best known for her
medium-scale portraits of family, friends, and celebrities that focus on human
emotions. Wood is her preferred three-dimensional medium. She loves to carve
elongated figures that overcome some type of obstacle. Ayannie’s artworks have
been in exhibitions throughout the metropolitan region.

Born to Nigerian immigrant parents, Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu spent his early years between his birthplace DC and Nigeria. He has been greatly influenced by his children and both his Nigerian- American culture. Osuchukwu graduated from Duke Ellington School of the Arts and received his BFA from Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, DC. While at the Corcoran, he began to develop a painting style of his own, which he describes as “abstract impressionism”. He also developed a love for his chosen medium, oil paint. During his senior year Chinedu found his life’s purpose, which has become the theme of his life and his personal motto, “I live to create.” Chinedu uses his God-given gift of creating art, whether oil on canvas, board, paper or even in sculpture to bring awareness to social injustice globally.

Chinedu has been featured in museums, galleries, esteemed personal collections and periodicals worldwide such as the:, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine, and Peggy Cooper Cafritz Collection just to name a few. In 2016 he was selected to be a part of DC Commission of the Arts “Washingtoniana Collection” putting a stamp on his contributions to the DC Art community. Additionally Osuchukwu has been teaching art in Washington DC area schools for the past twenty years and he has inspired thousands of students. Chinedu is also the founder and CEO an arts education and portfolio development program. He finds his strength being active in the community. Currently he is working on his MFA degree at MICA (Maryland Institute of the Arts) in Baltimore, Maryland.

Lawrence Green, filmmaker, photographer, and DJ is a native of Washington D.C. He graduated from Temple University’s Film and Media Arts and African American Studies programs. After graduating from Temple University, he held video production, television programming, and communication positions at various companies including the Service Employee International Union, Public Broadcasting Service, Prince Georges County Community College, Murray Hill Productions, The Feedroom (now KIT Digital), and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

In 2010, Lawrence founded Time Traveling Media Inc. to produce original content and provide visual solutions for clients. Since, Time Traveling Media’s work has been featured at the Prince George’s County African American Museum & Cultural Center, Community Harvest Festival, Anacostia Arts Center, The University of the West Indies Open Campus St. Kitts & Nevis, Atlas Performing Arts Center, and Experimental Biology. In 2016, Lawrence Green won the Studio Daily Award which celebrates the top creatives in the country. Currently, Lawrence Green is producing multimedia projects for clients, expanding his photography portfolio, creating mixtapes and writing his next short film. He serves as Commission representing Ward 8 at the Washington, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Victoria Ford started her journey into Music Photography in 2010. Since then the Washingtonian native has captured moments from Artists and Musicians ranging from Hip-Hop, Soul, Country and Rock genres. Her love of music and photography stemmed from weekend trips with her mother to record stores. Ford’s work has been featured on Okayplayer.com, Ebony, Film Quarterly and The New York Times to name a few.  Her work will be published in both “Smithsonian: Rock and Roll” by Bill Bentley and MFON:  Women Photographers of the African Diaspora.

S​hawn Lindsay, also known as Painta, hails from Forestville, Maryland. Lives and works in Washington DC. An energetic and enigmatic spirit, Shawn had been interested in art and drawing since he was a child and draws inspiration first from his daily life, cartoons and hip hop culture. Also portrait painters such as John Singer Sargent, Henri Matisse, Alice Neil, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Shawn attended the visual & performing arts program at Suitland High School as a young prospect and went on to study Fine Arts at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.

eYe am 24 years old in this life, with a mission to leave the world better than eYe found it, by turning hearts gold, not cold. eYe take photos and shoot films, while writing my experiences and ideas into entertaining stories. eYe was gifted with a camera, and fixed it to only shoot in manual.

Beverly Price is a native of Washington, DC resident. In 2014, she created a local clothing brand called Kemet in order to find stimulating ways to teach African Americans about their great, but often under acknowledged history. Ms. Price is a compassionate supporter of gentrification issues and is dedicated to informing those around her of the effects this has on African American culture and communities.  Ms. Price uses clothing, photography, and street art to creatively teach these issues to her community. But prior to starting her “Artivistism” (as she likes to call it), she spent a great deal of time wondering where her life was headed. In 2002, when she was a senior at Dunbar Senior High School she was sentenced to 5 years in prison and didn’t return home until she was 23 years old.  This life changing experience helped her to decide to do better for herself and her community. Ms. Price is a regular contributor of Barry Farms, Congress Heights, and the whole historic Anacostia. She is also a recipient of The Smithsonian’s James E. Webb Scholarship.

Growing up in Washington, DC within an artistic family, Anissa was exposed to the arts for as long as she could remember. Mostly a self-taught, abstract artist, she studied in Germany in an informal studio class at Bamberg University in early 2000.

Whether it be splashing colors on canvas or words on paper, Anissa strives to capture and preserve the beauty in everyday life. “I am an empath”, she says, my work is emotionally charged. Painting abstracts give me an immense freedom to create from anything.

Though Anissa’s work is done mostly in acrylics, she utilizes a mixture of Mediums to reflect her versatility, interest, and moods.

Her paintings capture the many facets of life–the simplicities and complexities.  She will not set up her easel unless there is something that grabs her heart.