Kerry James Marshall was born in 1955 in Birmingham, Alabama, and currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. The artist was educated at Otis Art Institute, where he received a BFA in 1978 and an honorary doctorate in 1999. In his work, Marshall interrogates Western art history, recontextualizing the canon to include themes and imagery that have been historically excluded. Through his paintings, drawings, installations, and public works, the artist builds a body of work that privileges the Black figure, using race, history, and everyday Black experiences as the inspiration for his work.

Born in 1982 in New Orleans, Zarouhie Abdalian now lives in Oakland, California. Her site- and context-specific sculptures and installations are often located in public spaces and draw viewers into participating and engaging with their surroundings.

Yun-Fei Ji was born in 1963 in Beijing, China, and now lives and works in New York, Ohio, and Beijing. Using traditional Chinese painting techniques and addressing contemporary social, environmental, and political issues, Ji’s work marries history with the present.

The Propeller Group consists of Phunam, Matt Lucero, and Tuan Andrew Nguyen, was formed in 2006 and is based in Ho Chi Minh City. The collective creates large-scale productions that combine fine art and media practices, often collaborating with international artists and cultural producers.

Christopher Myers was born in New York, where he continues to live and work. An acclaimed writer and illustrator of young-adult literature, Myers’s artistic practice is equally rooted in his storytelling and interest in global affairs.

William Cordova was born 1971 in Lima, Peru, spent his childhood in Miami, and now lives and works in Lima, New York, and Miami. His multimedia practice includes installation, drawing, and sculpture, on which he has focused his attention in recent years.

Lonnie Holley was born in 1950 in Birmingham, Alabama. One of the South’s preeminent self-taught artists, Holley lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia. His practice extends from assemblage and sculpture to music. He made his debut as a recording artist in 2012, at sixty-two years old; he has since worked with such figures as Bon Iver, the Dirty Projectors, and Animal Collective.