Artist Bios

Jonelle Austin is a queer Guyanese-born practicing artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Her work is fluid and surreal, encompassing forms of portraiture of ancestors, those she holds close as well as her own figure. From alligators, jaguars to hassa fish, she uses animals native to the Guyana jungle to act as symbols of guiding spirits and/or reflections of said figures. Through storytelling, collective memory, and alternative forms of secret language, her works are empowered to connect with the past, reflect on the present, and place itself in a space of translation with 'future'.

Maya Beverly is a multidisciplinary artist from Macon, GA, whose work is currently centered around Sculpture and Ceramics. In 2020, she received her BFA from New York University in Studio Art. Her work has been shown in exhibitions throughout the United States including, New York, California, and Washington, D.C.and  internationally in the United Kingdom and Mexico. She has held residencies at Women’s Studio Workshop, The Archie Bray Foundation and Township10. She is currently based in New York. 

Odessa Bubblegum is a multidisciplinary Queer Afro-Caribbean artist raised in Antigua and now based in New Jersey. Their creations are vibrant and lighthearted expressions of how they challenge themself to interpret the world beyond the confines of racial capitalism. Rather than commodifying the experience, they celebrate the joy, the grief, the uncertainty, all of it. Bubblegum mixes media to create multidimensional collages that incorporate the use of oil, acrylic, oil pastels, sharpie, markers, paper cutouts, and textiles. Additionally, they recycle their hair braiding extensions to create sculptures. These sculptures affirm the notion of “sustainability” that can not be separated from their cultural identity as a low-income Afro-Caribbean artist. They are carrying on the tradition of repurposing materials to create functional pieces.

Melinda Griffith is a left-handed folk artist from Bed Stuy that creates work inspired by Black Americana, and other representations of Blackness that were not created by, or necessarily for Black people. In her free time, she can be found rummaging through the depths of Ebay, two-stepping to Rocksteady & practicing jiu-jitsu. 

Rhianydd Hylton Rhianydd Hylton is a Brooklyn-based photographer and visual artist whose work explores conceptualizations of beauty and identity. By expanding her practice into cyanotyping, she intertwines her thoughts and images with new materials, exploring many manifestations of connection across different mediums.

Traci Johnson, a native of Brooklyn, New York, is an artist whose creative journey is an exploration of textile design, installation, and sculpture. Their work is a testament to the intersection of mental health, art, and the therapeutic facets of fashion subcultures. Through their art, Traci shapes a nurturing sanctuary for themselves and their audience, a safe space where emotions can freely unfold. Traci's inspiration flows from a profound connection to the human experience, particularly the soothing of the mind, soul, and body amidst life's trials. As they discover personal paths to comfort, their art takes on a tranquil, euphoric quality, inviting viewers to share in this therapeutic voyage. Traci boldly infuses their essence into their creations, aiming to evoke euphoria and vibrancy through the harmonious interplay of colors and forms.

Audrey Lyall is an interdisciplinary artist from Corte Madera, CA currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. Lyall’s work explores the intersections of beauty standards, celebrity culture, and surveillance through the use of collage and found objects. 

Emily Manwaring was born in Queens, New York. Emily attended The Cooper Union to receive her BFA in Fine Art. Following her graduation she has been featured in galleries and shows such as New Image (LA), Canada, Swivel Gallery, Cierra Britton Gallery (NY), and Venice Biennale (Italy) to name a few. She has also been featured in articles for Artnet, JUXTAPOZ, It’s Nice That, ArtDaily, Office Magazine, and The New Yorker. 

Isis Davis Marks (b.1997) is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and writer based in New York City. Her artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally in venues including the Yale School of Art, the Spring/ Break Art Show, and Prizm Art Fair. Her articles have been published in Smithsonian magazine, Cultured magazine, Artsy, Frieze, the Art Newspaper, Hyperallergic, and elsewhere.

Gabrielle Narcisse is a multi-disciplinary visual and performing artist born and raised in New Jersey, now based in NYC. Her current practice utilizes antique mirrors as a base from which to construct sculptural forms, informed by her lived traumatic experiences, experimenting with materials such as undergarments, hosiery, rope, twine, and wire. Her use of mirrors inherently forces the audience to participate in the work by confronting their own reflection. Art has aided in Narcisse’s continuing healing process. Through the work, Narcisse reclaims her narrative and turns darkness into something that gives her strength. 

Kilo Nesbitt, born and raised in Brooklyn, NYC around heavy Trinidadian culture is a multidisciplinary artist. Her work consists of rugs, sculptures and digital collages. Fueled by her passion for emotional connections and releases through art, she looks to patterns, textures and materials in nature to channel her innermost feelings. Nesbitt's work often includes elements of nature and spirituality, suggesting a connection between the natural world and the “ugly” phases of life. Her work could be described as eclectic, dreamlike and deeply personal by the way it takes on a life of its own and develops new meanings as she grows. She deeply cares about creating a space for not only herself, but specifically black women to release and connect through art. Art has allowed her to keep a timeline of healing and mourning and falling and living, that help to guide her through discerning all of life's lessons.

Ashley Peña (b.2000) is a Dominican-American artist originally from Maryland and has lived and worked in New York as an image-maker for the past four years. She is now currently studying to obtain her Bachelors of Fine art degree at New York University, Tisch school of the arts. Known for being up-close and intimate, Ashley uses her lens to document and tell stories throughout her images. With a primary focus on subjects across the diaspora, she explores how vulnerability looks like privately versus publicly. Her work also centers on exhibiting relationships and love within the community while also communicating the nuances of Black culture for a sense of familiarity and comfort. To have people in her community see themselves within the images and outside of Eurocentric standards of beauty and being seen as worthy, desirable and sacred. Some of her select clients include Apple, Jordan, The New York Times, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, The Cut, Vogue US, GQ and Allure. 

Precious Star (b. 2003, New York, New York) is a Nigerian-American artist from Wanaque, New Jersey. Currently, she’s in her undergrad at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson studying Anthropology and Studio Arts. Through her practice of mainly self-portraiture, she is consistently navigating her own identity and its place (or lack thereof) in the world around her. Nostalgia, black adolescence, sexuality, intimacy and self-image are major themes throughout her work. As a newer artist, she experiments with all sorts of mediums ranging from oil, gouache, crayon, graphite, wood, and metal. She thinks it’s important to draw from her own past experiences, but also past fantasies to help craft a more beautiful and enticing future.

Siobhan An Jie Russell Wood is a photographer, sculptor, plus-sized model, ex-fashion assistant, video maker, and poet. Her multi-disciplinary studio practice is informed by these experiences. She works in a highly mediated collaged process that mimics the way information is thrown at us and only some of it sticks. Siobhan reckons with her daily insertions into foreign social and racial contexts. Her bloodline is a product of displacement because of British and Dutch Colonial rule in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand. She looks into her imperialist trade histories to examine the commodified ‘Other’ and representations of diaspora ‘culture within Western society and media. Her work is a material rendering of cultural abstraction, the scar tissue of diaspora. An ongoing study and appropriation of the process of ‘cultural abstraction’ that she believes her own mixed ethnicity/class body has been through.

Black Girl Fight Club (BGFC) is a community organization that provides empowering experiences for black women, throughout NYC, fostering joy and a sense of community. BGFC stands as a beacon of empowerment, celebrating the creativity of black womanhood, and continuously fosters a sense of belonging within its community. "Chrysalis", being BGFC’s third annual art exhibition, represents the culmination of BGFC's unwavering commitment to amplifying the voices and talents of black artists, challenging the confines of conventional artistry, and elevating marginalized voices to the forefront of artistic discourse.