Mēlani N. Douglas

Socially engaged artist and curator Mēlani N. Douglass is the founder of the award-winning Family Arts Museum. Mēlani’s art and life practice is rooted in rituals of healing informed by ancestral technology and communal connections. Mēlani was recently named Wherewithal Grantee by the Washington Project for the Arts, HumanitiesDC fellow, East of the River Artist in Residence and a Roots to Sky Fellow as a part of the Humanities in Place initiative of the Mellon Foundation. Her work has been highlighted by the New York Times, Atlas Obsucura, Artnet, Shondaland and BmoreArt.

Jaren Hill Lockridge

Jaren Hill Lockridge is a community storyteller and memory keeper that uses food and water (access) as entry points to community and cultural wellness. Like many Washingtonians, her southern roots run strong as a descendant of people who grew crops and tilled the soil. Jaren holds a Bachelor’s degree from Middle TN State University while currently pursuing an advanced degree in urban sustainability at the University of The District of Columbia. An avid tree hugger and proud mother of three, Jaren is also the chair of the Ward 8 Health Council.

Murat Cem Mengüç

Murat Cem Mengüç (he/him) is an artist, writer and historian whose work appeared in numeorus solo shows, group exhibitions and publications. He is the founder of Studio Teleocene which is dedicated to the study of art and environment and a member of the Cultivate Projects, a platform for a contemporary redefinition of landscape. He lives and grows food in North Potomac, Maryland, at the intersection of the Potomac River and the Seneca Trail, the ancestral home of the Piscataway Indian confederacy.