Daniel Lee

@danielwklee-neworleans-4656

Born Lý Phụ Cường, (Originally 李富強, later changed to 李華強 in Traditional Chinese, 李华强 in Simplified Chinese) in Kuching, Malaysia, Daniel is a third generation refugee going back to his grandparents on both maternal and paternal sides from Guangdong province, China to Vietnam; his Saigon-born parents became refugees in Malaysia after the purge of ethnic Chinese from Vietnam during the late 1970s before settling in the United States. Raised in the western suburbs of Chicago (first in Forest Park, Illinois and later in Downers Grove, Illinois) along with his older and younger sisters in a mish-mash of Cantonese, Vietnamese, and American cultures, Daniel eventually moved to New York City in August 1996 to attend New York University, where he received his BA from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. After undergraduate studies, he would apply his skills in the dot com and arts non-profit worlds, at OUT magazine, as a freelance market editor, infrequent fashion stylist, a product manager, and creative director in the licensed toy/stationery/gifts/watches/clocks/arts & crafts industry. In 2006, Daniel earned his MFA in Creative Writing from The New School whose creative thesis became the basis of his first book’s manuscript. In 2013, he worked as a campaign manager for a Green Party candidate for New York City council, and not long after in February 2014, Daniel left the Big Apple, his home of 17 years. He likes to say he is originally from Kuching, raised in Chicagoland, but grew the fuck up in New York City. Daniel relocated to Seattle, Washington in March 2014 and after a little over five years in the Pacific Northwest outdoor adventure-seeking, he and his preposterously beautiful whippet Camden moved to New Orleans in December 2019. His creative work has been widely published online and in print, including the Lambda Literary Award-nominated anthology TAKE OUT: QUEER WRITING FROM ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICA, the Lambda Literary Award-winning anthology I DO/I DON'T: QUEERS ON MARRIAGE, and most recently: THE NEW YORK TIMES, LOVEJETS: QUEER MALE POETS ON 200 YEARS OF WALT WHITMAN, as well as BERKELEY POETRY REVIEW, FLOATING BRIDGE REVIEW, WHITE STAG, FOURTEEN HILLS, and the UK’s OXFORD POETRY and AGENDA. ANATOMY OF WANT, published by the QueerMojo imprint of Rebel Satori Press in November 2019, is Daniel’s first book of poetry.

curseofcomfort

@curseofcomfort

We believe that comfort is the silent killer of potential

Madeleine Kelly

@madgkelly-neworleans-4652

Madeleine is a painter based in New Orleans. She specializes in acrylic painting, mural arts, watercolors, and face and body painting. She is interested in the exploration and interpretation of the human figure and elemental symbology, and often addresses esoteric and spiritual themes in her work. She has been teaching visual art in an alternative New Orleans high school setting for the last 7 years.

Megan Ihnen & Alan Theisen present...

@megan_ihnen-neworleans-4650

Megan Ihnen & Alan Theisen present… is an avant-pop voice/saxophone power duo. They bring new music to audiences everywhere through theatrical performances, collaborations across art forms, and curatorial projects. With influences extending from Ligeti to St. Vincent to Sun Ra, MIATp shows have been praised as “a fresh look at what it means to be artists in the 21st century.” The indie classical chamber group combines microtonal miniatures, pop song covers, experimental silences, and heavy metal to conjure sound worlds that are both ancient and futuristic, funky and fragile.

FERRARA SHOWMAN GALLERY

@ferrarashowmangallery-neworleans

JONATHAN FERRARA GALLERY is a collective environment of creative visions featuring monthly exhibitions of (inter)national, emerging to established, contemporary artists. Since its inception, the gallery has focused on forward thinking artists with a sense of purpose, mission, and message. The gallery is known for its stimulating and provocative exhibitions in a wide variety of media, having been featured in The New York Times, Art In America, The Art Newspaper, The Associated Press, ArtNews, NPR and many other international publications. The gallery regularly exhibits at art fairs in the US and Europe and works with museum and institutions to present its artists’ works.

The Bearded Oysters Brees

@katrinabrees-neworleans-4642

Mardi Gras parade maker Katrina Brees has spent 15 years co-producing over 200 parades. In 2003, she introduced New Orleans to the Mardi Bra,™ her first of hundreds of eco-conscious, parade art pieces as seen in films, commercials, television, events, and parades. Brees was motivated to share her love of parading with others and founded The Bearded Oysters Parade Club in 2004. Moved by the BP Deepwater Horizon tragedy, Brees used her powers of parading to affect change. In 2012, Brees founded the Greening of the Gras conference, a platform to connect Louisiana residents with solutions to the devastating impact that petroleum-based Mardi Gras beads are having on the ecology, economy, health, culture and global community. Brees founded I Heart Louisiana as the sustainable future of Mardi Gras and works with Carnival producers to source local throws, costumes, floats, and live entertainment. Brees continues to expand The KOLOSSOS Bike Zoo, an interactive visual and performance experience featuring her unique, kinetic sculpture collection of eco-friendly art-bike animals that showcases the majesty of animals without their exploitation. The Bike Zoo has received international attention and was honored by the Awesome Foundation for its ecological impact. The Mardi Gras Museum of New Orleans recently featured Brees with a solo show of her bike collection. The animal themed bikes have been paraded on screen through NCIS: New Orleans, Jack Reacher 2, and America’s Got Talent.