Being a creative is tough work: planning, research, drafts, creation, revision, audience engagement, etc., etc. Add to that: finances, health, networking, any number of things it takes to succeed as a creative and/or small business. Starting a family seems like another bale of straw on the camel’s back, so to speak. But artists and creatives can have families and fruitful art careers. We will have two guests discuss the apprehensions, transitions, frustrations and joys of having an arts practice and being a parent. 

Amy Malkan is a public artist, artrepreneur and community developer. She is best known for her contemporary style infused with Indian and Asian motifs within her murals and art installations. Her creativity and artistic approach are inspired by her travels to more than 28 countries around the globe. Malkan fundamentally believes that everyone deserves access and exposure to the arts. She strives to engage the public in the design and production of most of her public art projects. Over the past 5 years Malkan has facilitated the design, coordination and production over 30 public art projects across the Houston area and around the globe. These projects have been co-created with the involvement of over 10,000 area youth, artists and hundreds of community stakeholders. In her personal time, Malkan is a mother, an avid runner and cyclist, she enjoys dancing, traveling and spending quality time with her friends and family.

Matt Manalo was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. He received his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Painting and Minor in Art History at the University of Houston. Manalo creates work which involves elements of painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and printmaking. He uses raw materials, found objects sometimes collected and often times donated… By doing this, he is making his practice environmentally conscious as well as understanding the idea of scarcity and abundance. He uses the grid as a foundation for most of his work to tackle geography, cartography, borders, and the idea of displacement while having a constant conversation of how “home” should be defined. Being a first generation immigrant, Manalo discusses his experiences navigating around the physical and social structures of society through his work. As he explores this, home becomes a two-part environment where the artist is split between the Philippines and Texas. The latter sits on the southern border of the US. It is also important to mention that colonization of the Philippines by Spain, Japan and the United States resulted in erasure, colorism and colonial mentality; a frequent topic in Manalo’s work. 

Music: "Ike is Gone" by Nick Gaitan

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You could be a writer with ten years of writing experience and still be considered ‘emerging’ after your first book comes out. You can be a painter with years of experience, exhibitions, recognitions, and clients and be considered ‘mid-career.’ Or you can just not care about any of that. What is the point of those labels anyway? Who finds them useful and why? How do you use them to your benefit? We will have two guests explore career labels, what their experiences are with them, and when they’ve been useful (or not).

Julia Barbosa Landois is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist whose sculpture, video, and performance works have been exhibited in galleries, festivals, and museums throughout the USA and abroad. She holds a BFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. Exhibition venues have included the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, McNay Museum (San Antonio), Mexic-Arte Museum (Austin), Artpace (San Antonio), and many more. She was a 2018-2019 Artist-in-Residence at the Lawndale Art Center and won a 2019 grant from the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures to create MantecaHTX, the nation’s first online directory of Latinx artists. In addition to her career as a professional artist, Barbosa Landois has worked as an exhibitions coordinator, preparator, arts educator, and grant writer.

Yeiry Guevara is a creative with extensive nonprofit and arts management experience. Currently, Yeiry is the Interim Director of Grants for Houston Arts Alliance. HAA is the City of Houston’s designated local arts and culture agency which provides city-funded grants to local arts organizations and individual artists. Prior to this role, Yeiry was Manager of Consultants and Programs at National Executive Service Corps in New York, NY. NESC is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering other nonprofits through management consulting. A lady of many talents, Yeiry is a writer, translator and multimedia artist. She is an engaging public speaker as well as the author of bilingual zines. Her work can be found in bookstores and libraries across the country.

Music: "Ike is Gone" by Nick Gaitan

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Artists can do many things with their work to combat injustice: begin or contribute to larger conversations affecting people; bring light to an issue not being addressed by society; conceptualize a solution to a problem in a new way; etc. But some issues are so vast and large that even addressing it presents its own series of issues. One could enter a conversation with generations of artists having already laid the groundwork, requiring research and participation before engagement. A good question for artists to ask themselves is: am I the right person to bring this issue up? We will have two guests discuss the work it takes to address political and/or social issues in their practice and what considerations artists should do before entering new conversations with their work. 

Shayna Schlosberg is the Director of Operations + Strategy at Women of Color in the Arts. Before joining WOCA, Shayna was the managing director of The Catastrophic Theatre, a highly acclaimed experimental theatre companyvin Houston, TX. From 2017-2021, she led the organization’s administrative and producing operations. Prior to her work at The Catastrophic Theatre, Shayna was the Associate General Manager at the Alley Theatre, where she played an integral part in expanding the theatre’s international programming, with a focus on Latin American theatre. Ms. Schlosberg has a BFA in Drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and an MM in International Arts Management from Southern Methodist University and HEC Montreal. She has served on grant panels for organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts (2018) and Houston Arts Alliance (2017)(2019). She is a graduate of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture’s Advocacy Leadership Institute, Women of Color in the Arts’ Leadership Through Mentorship program, and a 2020 New Leaders Council Fellow. She is a member of Arts Accountability Houston and sits on the Advisory Committee for the Houston BIPOC Arts Network Fund. Ms. Schlosberg served in the Peace Corps in Armenia from 2010-2012.

Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton is an internationally-known writer, educator, activist, performer, and the first Black Poet Laureate of Houston, Texas. Formerly ranked the #2 Best Female Performance Poet in the World (PSI), Her recent poetry collection, Newsworthy, garnered her a Pushcart nomination, was named a finalist for the 2019 Writer’s League of Texas Book Award, and received honorable mention for the Summerlee Book Prize. Its German translation, under the title "Berichtenswert," was released in Summer 2021 by Elif Verlag.  The opera, Marian’s Song, for which she wrote the libretto, debuted in 2020 to roaring reviews. 

Honored by Houston Business Journal as a part of their 2021 40 Under 40 class, D.E.E.P. has been a finalist for Texas State Poet Laureate, a Kennedy Center Citizen fellowship, and the prestigious Breadloaf Retreat. Her work has been highlighted and studied in Canada, England, New Zealand, and Germany. She performed as a part of the Kennedy Center's Arts Across America event. Named a Houston Artist Commissioning Project award winner by the Society for the Performing Arts Houston,. her second book, Black Chameleon, is set to release in 2023 by Henry Holt & Co. A storybook opera, entitled "Lula, the Mighty Griot", which reinterprets one of the stories from Black Chameleon is set to debut in Fall 2021 with the Houston Grand Opera. Currently, she is a Resident Artist at the American Lyric Theater and Rice University. She lives and creates in Houston, TX. For more information visit www.LiveLifedeep.com

Music: "Ike is Gone" by Nick Gaitan

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“It’ll pay in exposure!” artists have heard time and time again. Often, this just means doing something for free, that being featured on a platform is somehow a form of compensation in and of itself. Artists should value themselves and their work by requesting monetary payment. However, artists are also vital members of their community that can serve in various roles: advocate, volunteer, supporter, activist, etc. Does one interact with a small community center the same as an institution with an endowment? When should an artist donate their time? Under what conditions should an artist work ‘for free,’ if ever? We will have two guests discuss their experiences on contracting their services in different contexts, agreements and payment scales.

Moe Penders is a Salvadoran artist, whose practice is mainly framed in traditional photography. They moved to Houston in 2009 to attend the University of Houston, they received a BFA in Photography and Digital Media. Their work explores the social construction of home, intersectionality of identity and gender expression. Moe predominantly focuses on themes regarding home and culture, as well as the systemic socio-economic inequality in El Salvador. They also work with themes regarding the LGBTQIA community, and their constant work to be respected within all societies.

Carla Lyles is a multidisciplinary artist, activist, and entrepreneur who hails from Alief in Houston, Texas. Carla first shared her passion for community service by creating The Haven, a grassroots organization that empowered the youth  through the arts. Providing free arts activities to the community and local shelters. Currently, Carla's drive to support the community has manifested in Keep Houston Dope, a movement started during Hurricane Harvey to help bring the city together, and her business Carla Sue,  a fun and bold greeting card company that encourages self-love and hopes to help destigmatize mental health, one greeting card at a time. She also created the Carla Sue Network, a home shopping network to highlight other small businesses which she hosted on Instagram during the first months of the pandemic. You can find Carla Sue products in stores nationwide. Carla's work has been featured by Houstonia Magazine and Huffington Post among others. She has been  honored with Pop Shop America’s Maker Awards in the Best Prints and Paper Goods category. Carla Lyles is a fellow of the esteemed arts program Artist Inc and in 2019 she was named one of the Top 10 Entrepreneurs Who Turned Their Hobbies into a Successful Career by Entrepreneur Magazine. When Carla isn’t working on her business, she enjoys hanging outside, listening to hip hop with her spending time with her husband and adorable 5-year-old son Kaleb.

Music: "Ike is Gone" by Nick Gaitan

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Are you a sculptor considering collaborating with a writer? A dancer wanting to work with a filmmaker? A graphic designer looking to create something with a fashion designer? An artist’s creative imagination knows no bounds. However, how do you even begin defining your project’s parameters if you’ve never seen a model for it before? Can you work with someone if you don’t speak the same artistic language? We will have two guests to discuss their experiences in developing and executing inter/multi-disciplinary projects and/or events from the ground up.

Y. E. Torres (ms. YET) is a professional movement artist, instructor, model & specialty entertainer: Fusion Bellydancer, Fire Performer & Flow Artist. She holds dual BFAs in Drawing & Painting and Fashion Design from the University of North Texas and multiple dance and yoga based certifications. Torres is an arts educator, movement instructor, and Public Programs Coordinator at Contemporary Art Museum Houston. She was named one of Houston's Top "100 Creatives" by the Houston Press in 2011, inaugurated into the Houston Music and Arts Hall of Fame in 2016, and awarded 2nd place for the “Best of Sideshow Arts” at the 2019 ABurlQ! Burlesque & Sideshow Spectacular. Torres is also a Flame Effects Operator, licensed by the state of Texas and a Principal on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Special Effects (SPE-AAA) Committee.

Koomah is an intersex & genderfluid multidisciplinary artist, performer, and filmmaker currently residing in Houston, Texas. Koomah has facilitated several interactive public art projects including: "Chalked" around the outside of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, "Intersex Welcome Mat" at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, and the immersive multi-sensory interactive art experience “No Such Thing As A Free House” inside a home in South Park. Koomah has performed, showcased artwork, presented workshops & lectures, and screened films across the US & internationally.

Music: "Ike is Gone" by Nick Gaitan

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You see them packed into artist bios: residencies, grants, fellowships, awards, etc.  What are they? What’s the difference? Are some better than others? A residency may grant you time to live rent-free to work on your art, but can you just up and leave your life like that? A grant can give you funds to complete a project, but how long does that last? An award can add attention to your work, but what do you do with that momentum? There are pros and cons to some blessings, after all. We will have two guests to offer their experiences in receiving these accolades but also provide context and nuance to each type and what their art gained from them.

Julia Barbosa Landois (b. San Antonio, USA) is a performance, installation, and video artist based in Houston, TX. Her work has been featured in galleries, museums and performance festivals in the United States, Latin America, and Europe. Awards include grants from Artpace and the Artist Foundation of San Antonio, and residencies at the Santa Fe Art Institute (USA), Lademoen Kunstnerverksteder (Norway), and Künstlerhaus Bethanien (Germany). She was a 2018-2019 Studio Resident at the Lawndale Art Center and received a grant from the National Association of Latino Arts & Cultures in 2019 to co-create MantecaHTX. Barbosa Landois has worked as a studio artist, itinerant professor, preparator, exhibitions coordinator, grant writer, garden educator, and math tutor.

Sarah Rafael García is a local writer, community educator, and performance ethnographer. She’s the author of Las Niñas and SanTanas Fairy Tales, co-editor of pariahs writing from outside the margins and the sci-fi anthology Speculative Fiction for Dreamers as well as founder of Barrio Writers and LibroMobile. Currently, she splits her time between shipping books out to loyal readers across the nation and developing an archival ethnofiction project for the life of Modesta Avila as a 2020 USLDH Mellon-Funded Grantee.

Music: "Ike is Gone" by Nick Gaitan

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Not every artist considers their practice a small business, but the government does. Many creatives use this fact to their advantage by using business structures to grow and/or fund their practice. An artist will find several benefits as an independant, for-profit small business, and a non-profit provides another model of funding & structure that’s more commonly recognized by artists. Should an artist consider a non-profit status to help their practice?  We will have two guests to offer their experiences on utilizing these business structures to their benefit.

2017 Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs Artist in Resident and 2016 Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and The Idea Fund Recipient, Emanuelee Outspoken Bean is a performance poet, writer, compassionate mentor, electric entertainer and educator. Bean uses poetry to collaborate with other mediums and institutions such as being the first poet to perform on a main stage production of Houston Ballet's Play. Also, creating his own festival, Plus Fest the EVERYTHING plus POETRY Festival. That work ethic has taken him to perform in Trinidad to Miami to South Dakota to Broadway, over 35 states, 200 universities, annually performing in front of thousands of people and across the vast Houston Metropolitan where he inspires people from all walks of life. Also, Bean was commissioned to write and perform a national campaign on diversity for Pabst Blue Ribbon and VICE. He was the 2011 Texas poet laureate nominee, ranked 9th in the Individual World Poetry Slam 2013, ranked 2nd in collaborative poetry at Group Piece Finals 2013, and ranked 9th at National Poetry Slam 2014. He started performing spoken-word in 2005. In his senior year at Prairie View A&M, Bean founded and coached the University's first poetry slam team. In their first year, they won the title in their region and grabbed the 8th place ranking in the country at College Union Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI '08).

Marlana Doyle is originally from Massachusetts and graduated from Point Park University in 2001 with a BA in Dance. Marlana is the former Artistic Director of Met Dance, where she held various positions for seventeen years. Under her direction, Marlana’s vision and leadership catapulted the company to new levels of excellence and growth while holding tightly to the company’s long tradition of diversity and versatility in its dancers, choreographers, collaborators, and content. Marlana is the President & CEO of the Institute of Contemporary Dance Houston which houses Houston Contemporary professional concert dance company and HC2, a youth training company. Marlana is a member of Dance Source Houston, Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) and Dance USA, spending 2009-2012 as an emerging leader at both APAP and Dance USA. She was awarded the Dance USA Leadership Mentee Fellowship for the institute of training in 2012 and was a mentor for the same program in 2019. She also recently completed her three-year tenure as a Dance USA Board of Trustee member and Artistic Director Council Chair. Marlana has also served on many grant and organizational panels for the Houston Arts Alliance and Dance Source Houston. As a performer, Marlana has danced and generated roles in a range of works by renowned choreographers and artists. Marlana is also a guest teacher and an award-winning choreographer for her students in Houston and throughout the United States. She has choreographed for the City of Houston, Levi's and Walmart, Mercury Ensemble, Apollo Chamber Players, Houston Chamber Choir, Houston Symphony, TUTS and Lamar University. She lives in Sugar Land, TX with her husband Ben and her two adorable daughters Olivia and Evie.

Music: "Ike is Gone" by Nick Gaitan

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Representation uniquely manifests in different creative fields: curators, agents, gallery owners, editors, producers, etc. With audiences, collectors, and revenue more accessible than ever with the internet, creatives’ reliance on representation for success has diminished. However, representation can still prove to be an important element in an artist’s career through contacts, space, funds, and advocacy. We will have two guests to offer their experiences on navigating their successful careers in an ever-expanding arts landscape, one represented in some form by a professional and another who is not.

Janavi Mahimtura Folmsbee wants to live in a world where everyone can experience the beauty of our oceans. She was born and raised in Mumbai, India in a home overlooking the Indian Ocean. She is a 2009 graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (S.A.I.C). She currently lives and works in Houston. Folmsbee has shown her work in Mumbai, Beijing, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dubai, and the United States. Her works have been featured in international fairs, including Kunst Rai, Art Rotterdam, The Indian Contemporary Art Fair, Texas Contemporary Art Fair, Arte Dubai; in print media, including Harper’s Bazaar (Malaysia edition), The Times of India, the Houston Chronicle, Houston Modern Luxury, and Verve (India); and in television interviews on ABC News and KRPC Houston. Folmsbee has created large fine art murals throughout Houston, which can be found on Google Earth. Her public works also include an important commission from the Red Cross Society in Mumbai, India.
Folmsbee collaborates and works with marine organizations like the G.B.F, Correa Lab, Maar Alliance, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (N.O.A.A), and the Coral Restoration Foundation to help preserve our oceans. Find out more about her work by visiting Janavi Mahimtura Folmsbee’s website at http://www.janavimfolmsbee.com.

Francis Almendárez is an interdisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and educator that traverses the intersections of history, (auto)ethnography, and the arts. Using them as tools to address memory and trauma, he attempts to unpack and reconstruct identity, specifically of im/migrant, queer, working-class bodies of Central America, the Caribbean, and their diasporas. Almendárez has participated in exhibitions, screenings, and performances in the US and abroad. Recent shows including rhythm and (p)leisure, Artpace, San Antonio, TX; The Potential Wanderer, The Reading Room, Dallas, TX; Sisyphus, Ver.20.18, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan; and Voices of Our Mothers: Transcending Time and Distance, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX. Almendárez is the recipient of various awards including a Houston Artadia Award, the Carol Crow Memorial Fellowship from Houston Center for Photography, and artist grants, in collaboration with his brother Anthony Almendárez, from Y.ES Contemporary and the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance. He has been a participant of the Artpace International Artist-in-Residence program, and the Institute of Contemporary Art Moscow Summer School. Almendárez was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA and is currently living and working in Houston, TX where he is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Houston School of Art. He received his MFA in Fine Art (with Distinction) from Goldsmiths, University of London and a BFA in Sculpture/New Genres from Otis College of Art and Design.​

Music: "Ike is Gone" by Nick Gaitan

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According to a study by M-AAA, artists are one of the most educated populations amongst working sectors. However, degrees and/or institutional support has never been, nor should be, the deciding factor on whether or not someone is a legitimate/good/worthy artist. MFAs, ideally, should be programs that help an artist improve their craft, but others have interpreted the MFA as a necessity to be ‘taken seriously’ as an artist. Not to mention, the ‘institution’ can be a stifling & uniforming experience for artists.  We will have two guests to offer their experiences as successful creatives who have or don’t have MFAs and can speak to the pros and cons of either decision.

Grace Zuñiga is an artist, curator, and arts administrator originally form Sandia, Texas. In 2007, she received her BFA from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, with a focus in photography and in 2012 received her MFA in studio art, with a focus in printmaking, from the University of Georgia, Lamar Dodd School of Art in Athens,Georgia. In May of 2014, Zuñiga completed a nine-month residency at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft and currently holds the position of Creative Director at Sawyer Yards. In her role, Zuñiga strives to build bridges within Houston’s arts community by creating opportunities for local, national, and international artists and arts organizations.

Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton is an internationally known writer, educator, activist, and Poet Laureate Emeritus of Houston, Texas. Formerly ranked the #2 Best Female Poet in the World, Her work has appeared in Houston Noir by Akashic Press (2019), Black Girl Magic by Haymarket Books (2019), Fjords Journal, Crab Orchard Review, and on such platforms as NPR, BBC, ABC, Apple News, Blavity, Upworthy, and across the TedX circuit. She serves as a contributing writer to Texas Monthly and Glamour. Her most recent poetry collection, Newsworthy, won honorable mention for the Summerlee Book Prize. A German translation, under the title "Berichtenswert," is set to be released in Fall 2021 by Elif Verlag.

Music: "Ike is Gone" by Nick Gaitan.

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Each city is its own ecosystem of artists, organizations, and revenue with particular notions of identity and value. For example, Austin is known as the music capital of Texas, but Houston boasts one of the largest & most diverse populations in the United States. Should a Houston musician move to Austin to capitalize on that reputation? Should any artist move to another city for the sake of their art? Artists can find success in either scenario dependent on several circumstances. We will have two guests to offer their experiences of moving to and/or staying in cities for their creative practice and succeeding as a result.

Ashley DeHoyos is a cultural producer and educator born and raised in Baytown, TX. She received a BFA from Sam Houston State University (2013) and MFA in Curatorial Practice from Maryland Institute College of Art (2016). As of 2018, they have served as the Curator at DiverseWorks in Houston, TX, where they have organizes a full range of visual, performing, and public arts programming. Through their curatorial practice, Dehoyos is focused on creating cultural platforms with intersectional perspectives and speculative futures as they relate to history and the environment. Recent projects include the performance Jefferson Pinder: Fire & Movement; the 2019 Bayou City Be All LGBTQ+ performance festival; and the group exhibition Collective Presence. In addition to their role as curator at DiverseWorks DeHoyos also manages the Diverse Discourse and The Idea Fund, a regranting program co-adminsitrated by DiverseWorks, Aurora Picture Show, and Project Row Houses, supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation.

Artist, Mario E. Figueroa, Jr., artistically known as GONZO247, was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist with over 25 years of experience in street art, public, and private art commissions. Community involvement has been a considerable component of his activities as an artist. His experiences as a youth in the Houston community and his ancestors’ culture artistically inspire GONZO247. His early on admiration of the arts was the public art mural, The Rebirth of our Nationality (1973), by Leo Tanguma located in East End Houston, Texas, where he spent most of his childhood. He realized later on in life that the mural was the spark of his becoming a future artist. In his teens, he discovered and realized his artist identity through the visual language of Hip Hop, the graffiti art culture. The culture of Hip Hop was artistic expression by kids who were his age, and looked like him, more so than the examples he was being shown in school those days. He produced an Aerosol Warfare video series, established the Houston Wall of Fame in the 1990s (the city’s first and significant art production of its kind of that time), and has participated in projects working with top brand campaigns that speak to urban communities. He is known to be a key figure in pioneering the graffiti and street art culture as a leading underground art movement in Houston. Although he fully embraced, breathed, and participated in the Hip Hop culture, the primary element he practiced was graffiti art, and today he gives nod to his roots in his current works that have evolved overtime. In addition to public and private commissions, he strives to make time for independent studio work and on-going and longer-term collaborative endeavors through Aerosol Warfare, The Graffiti and Street Art Museum of Texas, and the Houston Urban Experience (HUE) Biennial Mural Festival. He continues to educate communities through civic art engagement, leading by example, and meaningful large-scale creative activities.

Intro music: "Ike is Gone" by Nick Gaitan.

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