Nate Renner is a Memphis-based pop artist who finds inspiration in Southern rituals and commercialism. His work explores the repetitive traditions of the rural South—like the guy who throws beer cans in the same ditch every day after work—and how people prioritize vices over necessities. Growing up Church of Christ, Nate examines the connection between brands and memory, how families attach to specific products that stir up nostalgia. His recent solo show "Flowers Ain't Forever" at Ugly Art Co processed his divorce through black and white dying flower paintings, marking his first solo exhibition in seven years and representing a departure from his typical highly conceptual screenprinting work.

Dame Mufasa is a poet disguised as a hip-hop artist, "Trojan horsing poetry through gold teeth and hip hop.” His brain works in narrative connections, whether linear or abstract, creating entire universes from disparate thoughts before they become too big to execute. Dame's philosophy centers on art as sacred work—following in the footsteps of Tupac and James Baldwin—with every project carrying the weight of representation and the responsibility to prove hip hop is fine art. His recent album "Church in the Wild" emerged from a Crosstown Arts residency where life fell apart (lost job, lost someone close, car got smashed) but became fuel for the "fuck it, create" mentality. Dame admits to being a nerd with concepts rather than a traditionally skilled rapper, but turns limitations into strengths through high concept and intention, making do with minimal resources while creating maximum impact through storytelling and aesthetic vision.

Elle Perry is Memphis's go-to Arts & Culture editor at The Daily Memphian, a self-described generalist who can hit five art gallery openings in one night. Her love affair with the arts began in third grade when a speech therapy teacher took her to see The Nutcracker, then deepened in college when she discovered the broke student's paradise of gallery openings (free wine and cheese). Elle's nosiness-turned-superpower drives her journalism, giving her permission to ask deeper questions while building genuine connections with artists. She approaches art like a tactile kid who wants to touch everything, drawn especially to abstract works that mess with your head and make you turn sideways to look. This constant consumption of Memphis's vibrant arts scene—from the bold, bright colors she sees recurring in local work to ballet adaptations and underground galleries—directly feeds her creative writing projects, including a novel inspired by The Warmth of Other Suns and a comedy script about female relationships.

Sapphic Memphis has become a creative heaven for Alex, Karis, Chloe, and Faye—four board members who've found their artistic selves through building queer community. This volunteer-run collective doesn't just host stylish underground parties; it's created a safe space where members can explore their identities and express themselves authentically. From Alex conquering stage fright while hosting comedy nights to Chloe discovering the importance of being surrounded by creative people who inspire her musical aspirations, each member has found new creative courage through the group. Faye went from hiding her all-black, spike-covered aesthetic to finally expressing her true goth drag artistry inspired by video games. Karis describes it as "excavating yourself”—the self-discovery process naturally breeding creativity as they express their evolving identities. What started as event planning has transformed into a rainbow mixing pot of artists, music lovers, drag artists, and budding musicians who've found their tribe.

India Taco—drag performer and fashion designer—started life as a little kid bouncing between family members on the Choctaw reservation after her biological mother didn't want to care for her. When her adoptive parents took her in, they showed her the love, but her teenage years brought new challenges as they struggled to accept her queerness. She found escape doing classmates' hair and makeup in high school, becoming the only openly gay student who earned respect for being two-spirit instead of bullying. After working jobs at reservation casinos and water parks, a Wizard of Oz-themed concert in Memphis opened her eyes to city possibilities. What started as Ariella da Vinci in Starkville drag shows transformed into India Taco—a rebrand connecting her to indigenous heritage through the playful pun of "Indian taco," the beloved frybread dish. Now she's Memphis's brightest indigenous artist, working costume design at Playhouse while building her drag empire and fighting for Native representation.

Vivica Vanity's path to drag began with a childhood creating digital art, anime obsession, and fictional world-building. As an "internet baby" who could type before writing, she spent years making animations and original characters while feeling like an outsider in school. Her drag career sparked in 2022 at Code Pink in Oxford, Mississippi after being inspired by Sasha Colby's reveal techniques. She reverse-engineered costume reveals by studying YouTube videos frame by frame, eventually mastering theater quick-release techniques. Her first performance came during a Jay Lee memorial night where she felt compelled to "embody the queer spirit," performing to Ayesha Erotica's "Literal Legend." Vivica describes her drag persona as "a spirit of sorts" that exists for three minutes at a time on stage, seamlessly merging her background in digital art and character creation with live performance.

When drag star Hunny Blunt first discovered tarot as a child, she had no idea that a simple deck of cards would become the spiritual compass guiding her through life's wildest transformations. After her childhood deck was thrown away, curiosity eventually led her back to the mystical practice, where she found not just divination, but a roadmap for healing. When she stepped into drag, something magical happened—the spiritual depth of tarot merged with the glamorous artistry of performance, creating a practice where sequins and sacred wisdom coexist. For Hunny, humor is "the acceptance of pain," a way to transmute life's hardest moments into power and connection. Through drag and tarot, she's found her calling as a healer, helping people reclaim control of their lives with a mixture of whimsy and deep introspection.

Bobby Ford discovered professional wrestling when he was a kid and was immediately captivated by its energy and theatricality. As a middle child among three brothers always vying for attention, wrestling's performative nature aligned with his natural inclination to entertain. After drifting away from his passion during high school and college, attending a 901Wrestling show reignited his determination to become a wrestler. He spent two years paying dues as a “do-boy” before finally getting consistent training in perhaps the most Memphis way possible: in a wrestling ring set up in someone's front yard in Nutbush. Under the guidance of Andy Mack and Dustin Anthony, Bobby trained there every day during summer 2021, enduring 3-4 hours daily in unshaded heat. This grueling experience prepared him for his first match at Black Lodge, where despite anxiety, he found confirmation that wrestling was his calling. Enter Livewire Bobby Ford. 

The name "Ugly Art Co." comes from a pivotal moment when founder/owner and visual artist Anderson Goin overheard a friend's mother describe his early work as "just so ugly." Rather than being discouraged, he reclaimed the term, associating ugliness with authenticity and human imperfection. After stepping away from the art world due to its inauthentic culture, Anderson returned with a mission to build community among talented Memphis-connected artists. His own artistic practice has evolved alongside Ugly's growth, as interactions with the collective's diverse artists have made him more intentional while maintaining his immediate, raw style that changes frequently—he gets bored easy but thrives on the collaborative energy that continuously feeds his creative process.

Felicia Wheeler's return to artmaking represents a significant transformation after years supporting others as an arts administrator. She describes this transition using a clay metaphor - like dry clay becoming malleable again when submerged in water, her challenging period actually softened her to become "something better than what I previously was." Art has served as her sanctuary throughout life, including during the pandemic when a pivotal dream about her grandmother's home inspired her creative rebirth. Her current focus is beaded portraits of family photographs, particularly "Way Up There," a 10,000-bead peyote stitch piece recreating a childhood photo of herself at age five. This labor-intensive work, which took over 100 hours across three months, serves as both a promise to herself and a way to honor her inner child while exploring memory preservation.

IMAKEMADBEATS—artist, producer, and founder/CEO of UNAPOLOGETIC—began his artistic journey with rejection and the struggle of not fitting in. With a computer programming background and experience as a recording engineer at Quad Studios in Manhattan, a pivotal moment came during a session with Busta Rhymes, who shared Q-Tip's advice about knowing yourself before succeeding. This prompted him to draw his now-iconic mask during sociology class—a visual representation that "what I actually look like is not important." When founding UNAPOLOGETIC, he recognized many Memphis artists felt forced to leave their hometown to pursue unique creative visions. Having experienced this struggle, he created a platform for diverse artistic expressions unified by what he calls a "genre of sincerity and vulnerability." His vision expanded beyond music to include fashion and multimedia projects, reflecting his belief that "the music industry no longer exists" as a standalone entity but has evolved into a broader creative industry.

Kathryn Hicks' artistic journey began with a childhood obsession with dragons that her mother once warned would never lead to financial success. Starting as a traditional artist with a strong foundation in drawing and painting, Kathryn was initially "anti-digital art" before completely reversing course. At the University of Memphis, she studied studio art before transitioning to graphic design, which taught her to think differently about creative work. Her path then led to SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), where she initially pursued animation before discovering 3D modeling was her true passion. The pivotal moment in her career came in 2015 when she experienced virtual reality at SCAD and immediately knew it was her calling. This led to working with extended reality (XR) technologies in medical device training, creating augmented reality experiences for Snapchat, and eventually founding Creature Studio (named for her love of dragons). Her expertise in spatial thinking, 3D design, and world-building culminated in her being chosen to create a location-based augmented reality experience for HBO's House of the Dragon through Snapchat, bringing her childhood dragon obsession full circle in her professional career.

Emily Burkhead is an intermedia artist whose work blends 3D printing, found materials, and surrealist filmmaking. Despite not having formal artistic training in her undergraduate years (she has a social science degree), Emily pursued an MFA where she developed her distinctive style featuring vibrant hot pink colors and varied textures. Her thesis project, "Trigger/Glimmer/Something Else," became a powerful exploration of her queer and neurodivergent identity. Emily was drawn to hot pink as a "dopamine inducer" that felt forbidden because of how society had conditioned her to view it as childish, trashy, or garish. Her work creates a visual language that communicates her neurodivergent experience - with yellow elements representing sensory triggers (like "wet socks" or "Ed fucking Sheeran") and hot pink representing sensory "glimmers" (like "weighted blankets" or "my nephew's laugh"). Though she sometimes struggled to verbalize her artistic intentions in graduate school, Emily found that her work allowed her to express feelings that are difficult to put into words.

Micah McGee, known as Strooly, began his musical journey in a family of artists and musicians. His earliest memories include playing piano at his grandparents' house at age four, fascinated by harmonies and rhythms. Growing up around painters, illustrators, and screen printers instilled a DIY creative mentality that influenced his approach to art. Though he learned multiple instruments by ear (piano, guitar, drums, cello, and stand-up bass), his transition to electronic music production happened in college when limited space made traditional instruments impractical. After moving to Memphis in 2010, he joined a collective of DJs and producers called Voodoo Village, gaining experience in the backend of running a label. This eventually led to co-founding Future-Everything with his partner Anthony Carter, creating what he describes as "a living museum" for artists he believes in, focusing on music that evokes strong mental imagery and emotional narratives.

Musicians J Opp and Benjamin Reese are co-owners of Havenhaus, a DIY music venue in Memphis. The venue began as a small house music space that J started after the COVID pandemic shut down other DIY venues like Pagan Mom House. What began as a necessity to keep the local music scene alive has evolved through several locations to their newest location next to Earnestine & Hazel's in downtown Memphis. J describes finding each new space as almost divinely ordained, with opportunities consistently appearing at the right time. When the previous Cooper Young location began showing limitations (one porta-potty, no AC, electrical issues, and noise complaints), J and Ben found their current downtown location with a built-in bar, stage, lights, and sound system - the perfect next step for Havenhaus.

At the age of 5, Suroor Hassan wanted to become a pop star. She discovered Britney Spears who taught her unapologetic self-expression and artistic presentation. This early fascination with pop as an idea has led her to experiment with the art form, blending sounds she heard growing up in Pakistan, layered hyperpop glitter, poetic themes of queer joy and angst, and performance. Not only is Suroor a pop star on the rise who recently finished a tour of the Midwest, she’s an adjunct professor and scholar working on her dissertation.

Sam Reeves Hill's artistic journey began after what she describes as an "ego death" when her basketball career came to an unexpected end. Asking herself what she would do if money didn't matter, Sam finally admitted aloud what she had always known inside: "I want to paint." Despite having no formal painting experience until college, Sam developed her distinctive layered, textured style through daily practice—what she calls "daily journal entries" of creativity. Now a prolific painter and muralist, Sam creates abstract works that embrace imperfection and depth, drawing inspiration from her family's creative heritage while carving out her own artistic identity.

Almost a year ago, the music and lifestyle platform BitchBopz—led by Ashley Koehler—was born and has since taken the Memphis music by an ultra hot storm, highlighting all things femme, femme, femme. Frustrated with not being able to use her marketing and design talents for something that gave her purpose, Ashley formed BitchBopz out of a need to amplify authentic music she loved which blossomed into an engaged online community. Eventually, artists Taylor Mix and Ellen Whelan joined as co-Bopperz, and now, the trio is getting ready to throw a big anniversary bash at Ugly Art Co. after a wildly successful Grammys Watch party—their largest feat yet, but with so much more to come. 

At just four years old, DeMarcus Suggs experienced his first transformative moment on the dance floor, swaying with his grandmother to Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" at a family wedding—a joyful awakening that revealed how movement could become both expression and liberation. He found a calling in movement through ballet, leading him to create imaginative choreography pieces centered around redemption. Fast forward to now: he’s made history as the first Director of Creative and Cultural Economy for the City of Memphis. 

Singer/songwriter Victoria Dowdy started her music career relatively late. She always sang since childhood but was too shy to purse it professionally until it hit her: she would regret it for the rest of her life if she didn’t follow her path. Now, she’s a star on the stage, collaborating with musicians (including her duo with Ethan Baker for Oakwalker), releasing albums and singles, and finding the happier side of herself through writing.