A.D. Boynton, II is a doctoral candidate in the Department of English at the University of Kansas with research interests in African American literature, speculative fiction, and queer studies. Boynton is an Editor for the Journal of Science Fiction, and has work published in the South Atlantic Review, Community Literacy Journal, and Open Cultural Studies. Their dissertation, Ghosting While Black, attends to how ghosts and haunting figures show up across Black literary, cultural, sonic, and material production.

Zumba instructor, musician, poet

You cannot be a Lawrencian without knowing who Barry Washboard Barnes is. As Lawrence’s most beloved busker, the artist is often spotted with Tommee Sherwood on the corners of Downtown Lawrence, indulging the masses in Zydeco. His trademark (aside from his washboard, of course) includes kicking his hat up in the air and catching it on his head. The kids love it.

It’s rough going through the quarantine without seeing his band Zydeco Tougeau Downtown. Luckily, they’ve just released an album! Here’s the newly released Chicken Walk. (From “I Heart Local Music”)

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Writer, Entertainer, Evolving Transparently Transcribing My Truth and Transcendence.

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Alex Kimball Williams is the artivist (artist+activist) behind the Bad Alaskan project, composed of ambient synth-based electronic music with dance & meditative vibes. Diverse influences model & examine multiraciality through topics like colonialism & climate justice. Alex writes scores for films & themes for podcasts, conducts music workshops centered on improvisation & storytelling, performs for protests & community events, & more. You may recognize them from The Lawrence Songbook, Field Day Fest, the Festival of Cultures, Girls Rock Lawrence, & anywhere music & culture are the focus.

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Fred E. Byrd III is a fine art and portrait photographer from Saint Joseph, Missouri. Completely self-taught, Byrd's work centers around Black and queer identity, mental health awareness, and dreamscapes, highlighting beauty in the unlikely and ordinary.

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poet. preacher. teacher. father. earther. visioner.

born on the east coast-outside of philly-south jersey, tai amri is the son of: educators, haiku writers, historical fiction novelists, operatic, choral musicians, and the descendent of: quaker abolitionists and mystic deviants. he's a quiet fire, one you don't know is burning until he reads what's on the page. he pays for his missteps to the ones who have come before and the ones who will take his place. he bows deep to the divine in you.

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Cuee is a Black Trans hip-hop artist from Chicago, making his way through the music scene in Lawrence, KS. He's known for his energetic and fun live performances that compliment his smooth and motivational style of music.

Cuee first few releases, "Shook" and "Gravity" are currently climbing the charts on Spotify's Editorial playlists (Transcend, Choice Edit and Gemini). Using the stage as another platform to get his message across, he has performed in over 10 cities and played events like Pride Fests (Lawrence and Kansas City), Manor Fest KC, Silky Nutmeg Ganache Countdown (Indianapolis), Stonewall (Canada) and more.

Cuee's role in community activism, programs and local events makes him no stranger to the locals of Lawrence. He's active in the local music community, a graduate of Artist Inc. (2019), and a board member at The Haus of McCoy (A queer and trans youth center in Lawrence, KS).

Cuee recently released two singles, "Boss Talk" feat. Kay V and Ball in Your Court with plans of dropping more new music. After being named "Artist to Watch" in 2021 by Explore Lawrence and gaining national attention and respect from celebrities like Missy Elliot and Dua Suleh, it is without question that Cuee is here to make his mark.

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Martinez “Marty” Hillard is a musician, performing artist, freelance writer, and proud Midwesterner as of 1992.

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Musician

Author, poet, maker of jewelry, overthinker & quirky creative

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Darren Canady is a playwright from Topeka, Kansas, and graduated from Topeka High School. His talent and passion for writing theatre lead him to attend two well-known schools, Julliard and New York University.

“I come from a family that revels in storytelling. Whether the story was joyful, elegiac, painful or cautionary, I grew up hearing, seeing, and listening to family stories that were only told if they could be performed with as much blood, life, exuberance, and expressiveness as possible. Many of these stories grew out of personal journeys experienced against the backdrop of Jim Crow, the Great Migration, and the Civil Rights Movement. As an heir to this oral tradition, my dramatic writing has become a natural outgrowth of the marriage of my filial storytelling traditions and the unique culture of African-American life in the Midwest. As new explorations of multiculturalism, urban life, and ethnic borderlands enter my playwriting, I nevertheless find myself consistently returning to investigations of family, history, and social change in the ever-changing landscape of the American heartland.”

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Photographer (including headshots, weddings, events, & more)

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Datura Records

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Writer. Scholar. Poet. Creative. Forever pushing the boundaries of what words can do.

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Artist, writer, and gardener practicing on occupied Kaw, Wichita, and Osage land.

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Sarah has a gregarious - sometimes startling - laugh that brightens any space! She loves to dress to the “nines” and is creative in all aspects of her being. She is an artist who designs one-of-a-kind socially and politically engaged jewelry “for the culture”, which you can find at GetYourFleekOn.

Sarah is also an antiracist and equity educator at The (Un)Learning Space. She approaches her antiracist work with a beautiful mix of scholarly research and theory, and practical, grounded, and relevant lived experience. This lived experience has allowed her to center her knowledge in real examples of oppression, as well as authentic experiences of healing and justice. Sarah is an activist who doesn’t take herself too seriously, yet carries the heavy weight of the work she does with love and care - not only for herself, but for those with whom she works.

In addition to her artistic and antiracist work, Sarah is a professor of English at the University of Kansas, where she utilizes hip hop pedagogy to teach composition, protest literature, and other courses. Sarah is also a 2022-2023 Mellon Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Teaching Scholar.

Sarah holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Ottawa University (2002), a Master’s degree in Pan-African Studies from the University of Louisville (2007), a Master’s degree in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Louisville (2009), and a Ph.d. in English from the University of Kansas (2016). Basically, Sarah has all the degrees.

Sarah is striving to thrive and to live a life of love, liberation, and light because she deserves it.

Etsy

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Writer, poet

Writer & actress

INFP. Adaptable. Ideational. Empathetic. Futuristic. Synaptic. Cultural Worker.

Writer, poet, organizer

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Phone: 785-218-8997

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A Queer, Autistic freelance digital illustrator. Featured in The Whole Person KC’s Expressions exhibit, and KC The Pitch Coloring Book, He does custom illustrations, logos, twitch themes, portraits, tattoo designs, and many other projects for fun and on commission.

Website: https://satellitestardropartwork.gay/#

Email: SatelliteStardrop@gmail.com

Instagram: @satellite_stardrop