Amber McKenney

@AmberAnnPhoto

Born in San Antonio, Texas and raised in the Texas Hill Country (with excursions to the Gulf Coast regularly) I fell in love with nature. I spent lots of time in California (all over the state) and now reside in Missouri. My happy place is behind the camera taking photos.

Dea Powers

@DeaPowers

Dea Powers is a St. Louis–based visual artist working in figurative and abstract painting. Her work explores transformation, embodiment, and the liminal space between shedding and becoming. Rooted in intuition and process, her practice prioritizes experience over narrative finality. Bold color palettes and expressive palette-knife techniques are frequently used and celebrated, creating layered surfaces that emphasize movement, texture, and emotional resonance. Her figurative work often depicts the body in states of transition—walking, turning, releasing—while her abstract work expands these themes through gesture and form, allowing meaning to emerge without constraint. Influenced by classical figurative foundations alongside contemporary abstraction, her work exists at the intersection of realism and the ethereal. Powers is also the founder of Empower Studios, a creative and healing space that integrates art and experiential practices. Her current body of work centers on themes of personal sovereignty, release, and the moment just before transformation fully reveals itself.

JAKE

@ArtLuvLee

Since my first steps I've always been drawn to art , no pun intended .Self taught at a early age , love sketching people and graphic design. I create many items from my art .Sticker ,buttons, T shirts ,key chains hand made, currently for sale at the History museum Forrest Park Gift shop.

imani

@imanitysonart

Emerging artist looking to explore St. Louis more while also growing as a creator

Frieda Silva

@Frieda_Silva

Artist born and raised in STL.

Sunkiss

@Sunkiss

I have been an artist for as long as I can remember. Creating was my first language—long before I had the words to explain myself or my emotions. I began as a child with drawing, and from there my creativity expanded naturally and endlessly. Over time, it grew into a multi-disciplinary practice including costume design and fashion, ceramics, event creation, photography, poetry, painting, baking, and more. Making has always been instinctual to me—a way of thinking, feeling, and understanding the world. I grew up carrying a sense of fragility—feeling deeply, noticing everything, and often being misunderstood because of it. That tenderness made the world feel heavy at times. Art became a place where my fragility was not something to hide, but something held with care. When my environment didn’t allow space for expression, creating offered an outlet that could hold the weight of my emotions without breaking me. That relationship with creativity was transformed when Jesus found me. In Him, I discovered strength that did not demand hardness, but flourished in weakness. Rooted in God, my creativity became steady ground rather than a fragile escape. I learned that my sensitivity was not a flaw to overcome, but a place where His strength could dwell. Grace gave me room to make mistakes, to grow, and to create without fear, allowing my work to flourish from security rather than pressure. My work is driven and guided as the Lord works through me, revealing His beauty in everything I create. Every piece reflects and celebrates the natural beauty inherent in the world and in those around me. I let my light shine through every creation, inviting others to see it and glorify my Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:16). Through my art, I provide spaces where fragility is met with strength, sensitivity is honored, and the creative refuge Christ gave me can inspire, comfort, and point people unmistakably toward His love.

Russell Beckham

@RussellBeckham

R&B and Soul | Producer, Singer, Songwriter, and Instrumentalist

Faizan Ahmed Khan

@faizanahmed

I'm a filmmaker and visual storyteller originally from Karachi, Pakistan, now based in St. Louis, Missouri. My background spans directing, producing, and editing across commercials, branded content, and narrative shorts. Over the years, I’ve had the chance to work with some amazing teams, collaborating with directors I admire and brands like Pepsi, KFC, and Unilever. I’m currently listed with the Missouri Film Office and love bringing an international perspective to local stories. My work is often shaped by themes like identity, memory, and human connection, whether I’m leading a crew or grabbing a camera myself. To me, filmmaking is more than just telling stories. It’s about capturing emotion in a way that feels honest and lingers with you. That’s what drives me, and that’s what I bring to every project I take on, including this one.

Phi

@dx_0777

I am a director. I am a writer. I am an actor. I am a model. I am a plethora of things but ultimately, I am a storyteller. Filmmaking is, at its core, visual storytelling and I have so many stories to tell. My body of work combines filmmaking and original writing/storytelling to explore culturally relevant themes and ideas in engaging, thrilling, and innovative ways. I draw inspiration from anything and everything. A sense of curiosity - the what, why, when, how - about the simplest of things such as a drop of water on a desk to profound concepts such as what makes one happy and the human condition has always piqued my interest. Films and shows of all genres has also creatively inspired me to explore these ideas and challenged me to present them in a manner that others can relate to. Along with being an award winning director, I am also a multi-agency repped model, and thus have had the pleasure of working with and learning from many different directors and their teams. Having been on both sides of the lens, these experiences grants me a unique sensibility of incorporating a fashion forward, stylish aesthetic, and energetically paced method into my films. My hope is that whoever watches my films will be completely immersed, entertained, and at the conclusion of it, ask “When is the next one coming?”

Cora Trout

@coratrout

I am a designer, illustrator, and writer whose work explores interior spaces and the built environment. I make books and paintings that examine the documentary, emotional, and memorial qualities of interiors. I have an unhealthy obsession with historic interiors and chairs, and they are often the subject matter of my paintings and writing. My most recent project is 62-page illustrated book titled Mise en Scène: Illustrating French Interiors, which combines paintings of interior spaces across Île-de-France with short writing passages that provide historical context and commentary. The book features ten different locations—from a formal ancien régime palace on the Place de la Concorde to a 1950s home in the western suburbs of Paris. Even across time periods, a certain gôut français inhabits all of these interiors. The paintings and research for this book were made possible by a two-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris (September-October 2024). I earned my MFA from Washington University in St. Louis in 2024, and my BA with majors in French and Francophone Studies and Classics from Macalester College in 2016. My illustrated book, Looking Inside: Room Portraits of St. Louis, was the recipient of the Lewis E. Atherton Prize for an outstanding master’s thesis on Missouri history from the State Historical Society of Missouri. My work has also been recognized by American Illustration 42. Prior to joining the faculty at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, I worked as a designer and motion graphics artist in Minneapolis.

Rebecca Begis

@rebeccabegis

My paintings use bold colors and expressive brushstrokes to explore my perception of the past and its connection to my present life. I scour old black-and-white photographs for interesting people, reimagining their likenesses in oil paint. As I build up my paintings, I incorporate imagery drawn from both my life and imagination. My ultimate goal is to keep refining my voice as an artist and mastering my craft.

Travis Scholl

@travisschollwriter

Travis Scholl is the author of Walking the Labyrinth. His most recent essays and poems have appeared in ANMLY, Essay Daily, Fourth Genre, and Saint Katherine Review. He holds a PhD in English and creative writing from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and an MDiv from Yale Divinity School. He has taught at Washington University and Concordia Seminary, and works as a mission leader at the nonprofit EverTrue.