Georgia Erger
Georgia Erger is Curator at the Frye Art Museum, where she has organized exhibitions including Stephanie Syjuco: After/Images, Sky Hopinka: Subterranean Ceremonies, Clarissa Tossin: to take root among the stars, and several iterations of the Boren Banner Series public art initiative. Previously, she held the position of Assistant Curator at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, where she organized solo exhibitions including Claudia Rankine and John Lucas: Situations and Caroline Monnet: Bridging Distance, as well as group and collections-based exhibitions including Hyper Text: The Video Essay and the Expanded Field of Audiovisuality and Visual Citizenship.…
Belen Escobedo
and Ramon Gutierrez
Texas
fiddle, bajo sexto
(written by Dan Margolies) – It’s not only hard to describe Belen Escobedo’s gardens, it’s hard even to comprehend what you are seeing. Flowers, trees, vegetables, vines, and who-knows-exactly-what of local and Texas native plants grow everywhere, in, over, and through things in two yards. Plants assert themselves alongside terraces, awnings, containers of all descriptions, bird baths, signs, statuary, old rusted things, compelling little tableaux of children’s toys, collectibles, antiques.…
Steven Espaniola
It’s rare when an artist arrives on the scene offering a refreshing new spin on a traditional genre of music. Nā Hōkū Hanohano nominated Steven Espaniola is that artist. Raised in Aliamanu, Hawai’i and now residing in the California Bay Area, Steven is a self taught multi-instrumentalist Hawaiian artist specializing in Ki Ho’alu (Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar), ‘Ukulele, Upright Bass, and Leo Ki’e Ki’e (Traditional Hawaiian falsetto).…
Queen Esther
One of country and Americana music’s most fascinating artists, Queen Esther’s range stretches far and wide creatively. Bold and outspoken, sweet and generous in spirit, her music shines a light on violence against Black Americans, her passion for country music, and the myths that have haunted the South since long before the Civil War. She’s a vocalist, songwriter, lyricist, musician, solo performer, playwright, librettist, essayist, actor, TED speaker and producer.…
Leroy Etienne
Percussion
Leroy Etienne is a drummer, percussionist, washboard player, and vocalist, based in Lafayette, Louisiana. His critically album released in 2018 features original compositions by Etienne composed in Louisiana Creole. Featured song writer on the album and book ‘Le Kér Creole’ (Creole Compositions and Stories from Louisiana) native Creole speaker Leroy Etienne said in the 1950s, he was told by teachers not to speak “French” in school.…
Arit Emmanuela Etukudo
Arit Emmanuela Etukudo is a Nigerian-American artist whose practice deals with the fluidity and metamorphosis of Black identity through self-portraiture, moving image, installation and performance art. Etukudo earned her BA in Cinematic Arts from University of Maryland Baltimore county and her MFA in Fine Art from Nottingham Trent University. She has earned achievements such as a 2024 VCCA Fellowship, 2023 MacDowell Fellowship, the 2020 Foundation for Contemporary Art Emergency Grant, 2019 NAE Future Exhibition Prize, and the 2017 Indie Capitol Award for Best Experimental/Animated film.…
Jonathan Evison
Jonathan Evison is an award-winning full-time novelist. He has published ten bestselling novels: All About Lulu, West of Here, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, This is Your Life, Harriet Chance!, Lawn Boy, Legends of the North Cascades, Small World, Again and Again, and The Heart of Winter.…
Robert Eyerman
Robert Eyerman, aka Bboy Bobby Drake, started breaking in 2005 at the age of 13. Three years later he co-founded the Dog Pound Crew. His group works frequently alongside the Seattle Theater Group, dancing in productions such as DANCE This, Global Party, and Sasquatch Music Festival. Robert highly values education, graduating from the University of Washington with two degrees – chemistry and biochemistry.…
Albanie Falletta
Guitar
A native of Monroe, Louisiana, Albanie Falletta was in their formative years exposed to the local music of Louisiana: the sounds of cajun, zydeco, blues and gospel musics at festivals and backyard parties. After relocating with their family to San Marcos, Texas at the age of nine, Albanie began taking guitar lessons. They began their love and study of early American Jazz when hey were exposed to the Parisian Romani guitarist Django Reinhardt.…