Yousef Bushehri | www.leyousef.com | He/Him
I am an architect by training and have always been drawn to the act of making. I am particularly drawn to the physical experience of making with my hands and figuring out a craft and experimenting with how it interacts with the physical world, like how humidity or sunshine change the experience of watercolor, or how the different seasons of the year impact pottery making. Most of my art is made out of necessity – when I needed a chair I learned to build furniture, when I needed a blanket I sat down and crocheted one, when I needed wooden spoons for the kitchen I learned to whittle and carve branches from my yard. My primary art tools are a paintbrush and a pencil. My art is a documentation of my experiences and I use it as a way to process and think through what might be happening in my life or in the world around me. My art does not focus on any one specific subject-matter but is a documentation of my understanding of the world. My work has included digital graphics, mural painting, ceramics, watercolor and acrylic painting, wood carving and carpentry, crocheting, paper making, and 3D printing. My education as an architect informs my artistic critical thinking and my artistic making informs my architectural teaching.
Ike Chinukwue (Pastel) |pixelborealis.com | He/They
Ike is a first-generation Nigerian multidisciplinary artist based in Atlanta. Working across textiles, 3D sculpting, graphic design, digital illustration, photography, computational art, and audio, Ike creates vibrant, maximalist work rooted in lived experience. Inspired by African textiles and pop art, he leans into saturated color, bold pattern, and layered texture to blur the line between the digital and the physical. Through this mix of mediums, Ike builds immersive pieces that are meant to be felt as much as they are seen.
Stan Clark | www.stanclarkstudio.com
My aesthetic comes from an early love affair with literature; mostly kid’s books and pulp novels, comics, Sunday papers – even the colorful stuff you’d see printed on candy and firework wrappers. I’d never even been to an art gallery or museum before I enrolled in Art School as an illustrator. But once I was there, I found I wanted to how to paint with oil and tempera, to learn printmaking, and to push outside the scope of what would traditionally be considered illustration. As a student, I successfully petitioned to structure my curriculum around traditional painting courses as well as contemporary illustration. This put me in an odd lane between what would be considered graphic art, and so-called fine art. It’s the same lane my work lives in today. I’m fortunate enough to be featured on illustration projects that require a painterly style, but to also show gallery work that’s known for its silver-age comic book style. I continue to explore traditional, even archaic means of picture-making, but I also embrace technology and various forms of printmaking in my art. Regardless of technique, the final destination for my work is always on paper, the medium that started my love affair with art all those years ago and the one that remains the most revolutionary today.
Billy Clifton-Strawn | www.billycliftonstrawnart.com | He/Him
My work is a reflection of transformation, identity, and the fluid interplay between memory and the present. Under the moniker “Created in Pixels,” I use digital media to tell stories and reclaim narratives, particularly those of LGBTQIA+ elders whose voices are often overlooked. By blending original photography, digital compositing, and intricate digital painting, I create mixed-media pieces that bridge personal experience with universal themes. Figures emerge and dissolve within dreamlike landscapes, interwoven with organic textures, celestial elements, and abstracted forms. These compositions blur the boundaries between self and universe, exploring the resilience of the human spirit and the fleeting beauty of existence. Through digital monitors, pigmented prints, poly tapestries, and layered digital prints, I build immersive visual experiences that challenge viewers to reflect on themes of interconnectedness, self-discovery, and the fluidity of identity. Each piece is a meditation on vulnerability and transcendence, inviting others to embrace the journey toward wholeness and collective memory. For me, art is both a mirror and a portal—an invitation to see beyond the ordinary and into a realm where transformation is constant, and every story finds its place in the cosmos.
David Clifton-Strawn | www.davidcliftonstrawn.com | He/Him
My artistic practice revolves around the examination of queer identity through the lens of portraiture. At its core, my work delves into the complex interplay of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, and sexuality, all of which are integral components in the formation of individual and collective identities within the LGBTQIA+ community. In a world increasingly characterized by diversity and fluidity, my portraits serve as a visual discourse on the intricate layers that constitute one’s sense of self. Stylistically, my portraiture is highly stylized, drawing inspiration from the worlds of fashion and editorial photography even as they are constructed through a collaborative process between me and the person I am photographing. This deliberate choice of aesthetic aligns with my overarching objective of elevating the individual. Through the incorporation of fashion-forward elements and editorial sensibilities, I seek to engage viewers on a visceral level, evoking both emotional resonance and intellectual contemplation. Although my work is firmly anchored in the present moment, I am acutely aware of its historical lineage within the realm of portrait photography. The images of August Sander, Yousef Karsh, Herman Leonard, Horst P. Horst, and Peter Hujar serve as my lodestars, guiding my artistic sensibilities. My work contributes to the ongoing discourse surrounding the complexities of identity in the contemporary world, inviting viewers to engage in a dialogue that hopefully will foster understanding and respect.
Orion Crook | www.orioncrook.com | They/We
I make art as a process of deep relational anchoring. My dual practice as therapist and artist lets me navigate the liminal spaces between psyche and form. Central to both my practices is Re-encountering the Core™, a therapeutic model I developed to help people access a felt, imaginal object located within the center of their nervous system. This internal “core” operates as both somatic anchor and storage for savoring, an imagined organ for grounding and psychological repair. My work spans painting, sculpture, performance, and interactive installations that work as mirrors inviting others into shared acts of becoming. I see each piece as a living organism, one of the others becoming alongside me, with myself as the conduit of its expression. For me, art is an act of emotional cohesion. It gathers the unspoken, the felt experience, and the psyche’s awareness into a single field of resonance.
Lewis H. Foster | www.lewishfoster.com | He/Him
Lewis H. Foster is a graphic designer, interdisciplinary artist, and creative solutionist. Foster began his career in 2012 creating posters for music festivals and concerts. After graduating from Georgia State University in 2016 with a graphic design degree, he held a variety of positions, including corporate design, community based design, freelance design, and film & television.
Andy Jackson | @controlcentercenter | He/Him
My work uses video and sculpture to navigate the world at large as well as more intimate personal experiences. This is a continuously expanding queer cosmology with a micro and macroscopic look into the world. I create snippets of imagined television programming including science fiction shows, news broadcasts, and commercials. My videos contain props, costumes, and miniature sets that mimic the style of the larger sculptures I make but remain separate. Ceramic and sculpture are props, making reference to their role as a souvenir, ancient artifact, or simply a background piece of set dressing. I display my videos on televisions within larger sculptural installations, disrupting the familiar sense of scale and enveloping the viewer in the imagined world which appears on screen.
Krista M. Jones | www.jonesyartatl.com | She/Her They/Them
My studio work centers on symbolism and several figurative series that explore the human experience through unconventional self-portraits, fragmented landscapes, and avian themes. With a tendency toward the deformation and dislocation of shapes and subject matter, my dreamlike landscape paintings are designed to challenge the viewer’s perception and provoke thought. They offer just enough visual cues for the viewer to interpret their own meaning. I am deeply inspired by the parallels between our inner and outer worlds, both ethereal and material. These connections allow for multiple layers of meaning in my work. For example, the visual similarities between human veins, vines, and tree roots are used to represent source of life and interconnectedness. Birds and nature play a significant role in my work, symbolizing freedom, transformation, and shifts in perspective—ideas that resonate with my own search for understanding and connection. Ultimately, all of my work is rooted in the desire to understand my human existence, feel connected, and share this experience with the world around me.
kbyte | www.kbyte.site
My name is Kerry. I am an Atlanta-based artist and software engineer, exploring the world of technology, information, and form using digital and traditional media. With cameras we can capture the world in unforgiving detail, while our minds recall only a distorted version of reality. In my work with video, digital manipulation emulates imperfect memory—hazy, fragmented, and strangely alive. Recordings and data are altered to evoke the way we experience and remember. When working with the digital I use every tool within reach. 3D printing and scanning, generative models, programming, and anything else I can get my hands on. Anything to help visualize the ever-shifting balance between signal and noise. The more traditional mediums like paint and clay change my focus. I tend towards organic patterns, exaggerated forms, and moments in space. Drawing closer attention to the visual, emotional, and chronological patterns we experience.
Just Toby | www.justtoby.com | He/Him
I’m Just Toby, known on Instagram as @justtobyme, an Atlanta-based photographer passionate about capturing the vibrant world of drag, architecture and patters in our daily lives. Over the past decade, I’ve
dedicated myself to documenting and celebrating the queer and drag communities, both here in Atlanta and around the world.
Originally from Puerto Rico and growing up in Florida, I made the leap from a background in criminology and international business to photography after moving to Atlanta. My journey into drag photography began unexpectedly when I met Mariah Paris Balenciaga. She encouraged me to pick up the camera and introduced me to other performers, leading to collaborations with some incredible figures—including contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race. That exposure helped me find my place in the drag world.
My style is all about bold colors, dynamic compositions, and honoring the unique personalities of every performer I photograph. Through my lens, I strive to transform each subject into a larger-than-life character and capture their essence. My work has been featured at major drag events and exhibitions, and I’m proud to be recognized as a key visual storyteller in the drag community.
Royce Soble | www.houseofsobolovitz.com | They/Him
Soble’s abstract expressionist paintings are a deeply personal form of expression, driven by emotion and intuition. They provide a contrast to their documentary photography by delving into the subjective world of feelings and experiences, utilizing color and texture to convey these internal states.Soble’s documentary photography serves as a window to the external world, meticulously capturing and preserving moments in time and the lived experiences of individuals and communities. It’s about objective reality and social commentary. Their abstract expressionism, however, is a mirror to the artist’s inner self, allowing for a deeply personal and emotionally charged exploration of the human experience. It’s about subjective experience and emotional expression. The contrast between these two approaches highlights the breadth of Soble’s artistic vision and their ability to engage with both the external world and their internal landscape through their work.
Lynsey Weatherspoon | www.lynseyweatherspoon.com | She/Her
Lynsey Weatherspoon’s first photography teacher was her late mother, Rhonda. Like her mentor-in-her-head Carrie Mae Weems, that first camera – a gift – delivered purpose. Her career includes editorial and commercial work that has been inspired and powered by her first teacher’s love and lessons. The #blackqueergirl is an award winning photographer, portraitist and director based in Atlanta and Birmingham. Using both photography and filmmaking as tools to tell stories, Weatherspoon’s work has been featured in print and online in such publications as The New York Times, USA Today, NPR, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Time, and ESPN. As a member of a modern vanguard of photographers, she is often called on to capture heritage and history in real time. The Equal Justice Institute’s Bryan Stevenson. The National Memorial for Peace and Justice. The Legacy Museum. Ronnie the shoe repairman in downtown Birmingham. The people of the Gullah-Geechee Corridor. An entire family infected with and affected by a pandemic. Demonstrators with raised fists and sad, vulnerable eyes. The sons and daughters of history. The mothers of children who died making history. The majesty of Mardi Gras. The loving hands of family caregivers.
Clint Zeagler | www.clintzeagler.com | He/Him
In response to the increasing digitalization of life and specifically my life as a researcher and academic, my art has become an outlet for my hands and a respite from the technical. As artistic creation in some spheres has become or is moving towards learning to cleverly craft briefs for artificial intelligence, in my art I am more interested in old world techniques and textural manipulations too complex and too left to chance for machines to produce. Working with centuries old root dye formulations and fixation methods I color fabrics. Folding, pressing, knitting, deconstructing, aging, and embellishing with luxuries, I create compositions to evoke moods, to calm or energize. These compositions carry the story of the materials and textures creating intentions. These textile incantations manifest and react to my experience living as a gay man in the American south. They are the salves and protections I search for; they are my spells and wards against a society that seeks to minimize my experience and harm my LGBTQ+ community.