Featured Artists
Ecko
Visual Artist
Evander Banks, a 34-year-old Black, Queer, Southern, disabled artist, explores the visual language that surrounds us through his artistic practice. Working across mediums including drawing, painting, printmaking, and assemblage, he investigates the role of pictograms and symbols, inviting viewers to question their interpretation of visual messages. Rooted in semiotics and driven by process, his work challenges perceptions and encourages a critical examination of visual communication.
Shardé (Share Your Soul)
Curator
Shardé is a creative curator born and raised in Maryland, constantly inspired and moved by the music and art coming from the DMV region. As a howard law alum, she is aware of the legal issues creatives can face when trying to make a living off of their art. Sketchy business practices, little to no pay, and lack of opportunities make it twice as hard to have a sustainable career pursuing a passion. Feeling like the talent in her hometown was underrepresented and undervalued, she created Share Your Soul a creative agency that aims to provide meaningful opportunities (i.e. job/gig placements, gallery invitations, connections), advocacy for creatives (agent representation), and a path for ownership (legal consulting).
theMKeffect
Visual Artist & Writer
Rooted in Boston, my artistic journey began as a form of self-witnessing—a way to survive seasonal sadness and emotional intensity by transforming it into art. Working as a figure model and self-portrait photographer, I became both muse and maker, exploring the power of being seen on my own terms. Influenced by 70s aesthetics, divine feminine archetypes, and the intersections of sensuality and spirituality, I create across poetry, performance, and immersive curation. My work lives under the name theMKeffect—a mood, a movement, and a mirror for emotional truth. Each piece reflects my devotion to reclaiming softness as strength, eroticism as sacred, and vulnerability as revolutionary. Through books like MOOD, RelationSHIT and S.A.D I create portals for others to feel, reflect, and connect. My art isn’t just seen—it’s felt.