Something From The Grove

Terreece M. Clarke has written for a variety of websites, magazines and newspapers including MyBrownBaby.com, Columbus Parent Magazine and as a YA and children’s book reviewer for CommonSenseMedia.org. Her work has garnered the attention of the New York Times,...

Stacey Robinson is completing his Masters of Fine Art at University at Buffalo. He is originally from Albany NY and he graduated from Fayetteville State University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts. He is part of the collaborative team Black Kirby with artist...

John Jennings is a Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California at Riverside (UCR). Professor Jennings received his MA in Art Education in 1995 and the MFA in Studio with a focus on Graphic Design in 1997 from UIUC. He is an...

Craig Rex Perry is a native of Chicago, Illinois.  He attended the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago, American Academy of Art (Chicago), Parsons School of Design (L.A) and Altos de Chavon (Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic) where he studied under famed fashion illustrator, Antonio Lopez.

With a signature flair uniquely his own, Rex is one of America’s premier fashion artists.  Intentionally known for his beautiful renditions of stylish men, women and children, Rex remains at the top of his game by designing and illustrations for global corporations.  Whether a fashion sketch, an apparel design for an animated cartoon, or a book illustration…the Rex style is recognized the world over.

His book credits include: It’s Beginning to look a lot like Kwanzaa for Random House Disney; Over the River and Through the Woods for Jump at the Sun; All Things Bright and Beautiful for Hyperion Books for Children and the Empak Heritage Kids: Kumi & Chanti Tell the Story of Matthew Henson – An Empak “Black History” Publication Series: Black History at an Early Age.

Rex currently resides in Altadena, California with his lovely wife Deanna and their two beautiful children, Isabella and Maxfield.

You can see more about Rex at www.rexstudios.net

Dr. Audrey Hudson is an artist, educator, researcher and futurist. Audrey manages school and teacher programs at the Art Gallery of Ontario and teaches at OCAD University. She holds a PhD from University of Toronto/Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (UT/OISE)....

Quentin VerCetty (Lindsay) – also known as Di’ rAstroNautty, is an award-winning visual griot (storyteller) and art educator who knows no boundaries when it comes to his creative expression. Since receiving his first award, the Governor General Bronze Medal Award for excellence in 2010 and recent accolade from the Ontario College of Art and Design University diversity award in 2015, VerCetty continues to strive for new heights in his professional creative work and community-based work along with his academic career.

Currently building off his master’s in art education thesis from Concordia University, Quentin explores speculative narratives like Afrofuturism addressing issues of representation, immigration, decolonization and other social and environmental issues through public art intervention.

Quentin’s work has been in numerous academic journals, magazines and a variety of publication. He enjoys good wine, conversation, chocolate, of course, art and traveling. In which his artistry and adventurous spirit have brought him to every populated continent on the planet Earth.

His passion for artivism, using art as a tool for social change, lead to co-launching the Canadian chapter of the Black Speculative Arts Movement (BSAMCanada) in 2016 and has since then continued to spread it across the nation. Through his work, as an academic and as a creative, Quentin hopes to engage and inspire hearts and minds further with high hope to make the world a better place not only for today but for many tomorrows to come.