CAT Institute: 27th Cohort

Aries Ballard​
Visual Artist
Aries is a visual artist born in Nashville, Tennessee, but currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. She focuses on oil portraits and ceramic sculpture, but is open and curious to all mediums. She creates works of art that are a reflection of life and its experiences, as she learns who and what she is. Her art is meant to spark the belief that all of life is art and every experience itself is art. Her acceptance into the Community Arts Training program is a large step toward her goal of building a community and practice that allows all to use art as a source of self discovery and understanding.

Maxi
Um Artist, Organizer & Public Speaker
Maxi Glamour is a multidisciplinary artist, philosopher, and community organizer who blends high fantasy with social critique. Known as the “Demon Queen of Polka and Baklava,” Maxi uses demonological imagery to represent how marginalized communities are demonized by society. Through an absurd yet whimsical lens, their performances deconstruct systemic oppression, using art to confront and challenge structural harm. Maxi’s unique fusion of chaos and tranquility invites audiences to rethink identity, power, and justice, infusing wit, whimsy, and wonder into their work. With over 15 years as a performance artist that had toured internationally, Maxi’s practice spans drag, burlesque, music, and world-building. They tackle issues such as queer rights, housing justice, sex worker rights, and the contemplation of time, using fantasy to envision alternative realities. Armed with a sharp tongue and a passion for postmodernism and deconstructionism, Maxi dismantles conventional understandings of gender, race, and privilege. Their rhetoric is staunchly anticapitalist and non-hierarchical, aiming to disrupt social stratification and challenge binary oppositions. Maxi’s impactful work has earned them numerous accolades, including the Stacey Harris Award for Transgender Visibility and the Changemaker Award from Riverfront Times. Maxi is also a dedicated scholar, constantly seeking knowledge. Their academic interests span phenomenological semiotics, post-colonial critical theory, Queer theory, Cultural Marxism, and international human rights. They have presented at universities nationwide, empowering marginalized communities to engage in critical thinking that challenges systems of oppression. Maxi’s work as an artist, activist, and academic envisions a future that transcends the imaginable, cradling justice and creating space for a new reality beyond the confines of the present.

Roben
Teaching Artist & Performer
Roben Harris is a passionate educator, actor, improvisor, and writer. She believes in the power of art to teach and transform. She has performed in St. Louis and throughout the midwest for audiences from Pre-K to Seniors and every age in between. Through the performing arts, Roben has taught communication and collaboration practices to healthcare providers, social workers, local government officials and students from middle school through college. She is the founder of production company In Cahoots, focusing on education, entertainment, and edu-tainment. Through the CAT Institute fellowship, Roben is excited to collaborate with fellow creatives to develop greater understanding of and gain valuable experience in reaching underserved communities with the arts.

Sequoi Edwards
Actor and Visual Artist
A St. Louis native who has been involved in community outreach on a national level since 1998. At a very early age Sequoi began his formal training in music, art, and theater while simultaneously engaging in public speaking events to inform business owners about the percentage of funds they are allowed to donate and write off on their taxes. This encouraged Sequoi to create and develop a nonprofit organization called the “Go Do Something Great Foundation” whose mission is to enrich impoverished communities by offering programs that teach life skills and art with an emphasis on financial literacy. This allowed Sequoi to partner with multiple organizations in an impactful way. Currently there are collaborations with Black Men Build, Better Family Life, Freedom Community Center, Mission STL, and The Ville Neighborhood. In the art world Sequoi has done many murals in the city for companies and organizations like the AKA Sorority and the Comfort Inn Hazelwood. Also Sequoi has featured in a vast amount of theater plays, television, and film including the Shakespeare Festival, STL theater Festival, Mary Meachum Underground Railroad Events, and A Call to Conscience Interactive Theater for Social Change.

Artist Love ​
Visual Artist
My name is Artist Love and I’m a fine art photographer and multifaceted artist. I created my name to represent what I believe in – art is love. My artistic vision is rooted in a deep desire to explore and express the complexities of the human experience through surreal and abstract art. Every piece I create is a reflection of my inner thoughts and feelings, allowing me to channel my emotions and ideas into visual form. By embracing creativity and self-expression, I aim to inspire others to connect with their own sense of identity and purpose. My art is a journey of enlightenment, not only for myself but for those who engage with it. Through vivid colors, dreamlike beings, and abstract forms, I seek to evoke love, curiosity, and introspection. My work is inspired by the continuous journey of learning myself, understanding my place in the world, and sharing that raw, evolving story with others. I hope to encourage viewers to see beyond the surface, embrace their own complexities, and find the beauty in the journey of self-discovery.

Kaleb
Writer 
My name is Kaleb Moses, a creative writer born and raised in Memphis, TN. Growing up, I found refuge in the world of storytelling, building fantastical worlds and characters that helped me navigate my experiences as a gay, Black man in the South. I discovered my passion for writing in middle school, but it wasn’t until later that I fully embraced it as a means of expression and connection. My work is rooted in bringing underrepresented stories to life, using folklore, personal narratives, and the power of creative writing to build bridges within communities. Through the CAT program, I aim to refine my craft and learn new ways to use storytelling to uplift and empower my community, emphasizing the role of writers as world-builders and change-makers.

Moses
Wellness Cultivator & Coach
I’m Moses! My loving beginnings span from the Eastside to North County. It took me about 8 years in my former healthcare career to become well informed in the pathways that didn’t align with my purpose. However, those formative years were very instrumental in my professional development, providing transferable skills that I am able to sustain today. I am in transition, and this shift is a recalibration of my joy; developing wings for those who will receive it. Things that light a fire under me, I do my best to share with others. I am learning through self-discovery how to best show up for myself so that I can be a support for others. This has opened doors for me to serve as a youth coach in tennis, a program assistant in higher education, and wellness cultivator for dance. I am here to serve the community.

Tim Raney​
Art Therapist, Visual Artist, Ceramicist
I am a painter, ceramicist, and art therapist born and raised in North County St. Louis. I received my BFA in scientific illustration and ceramics from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and my MS in Art Therapy from Mount Mary University in Milwaukee. Since graduating in 2008 I have gravitated towards therapeutic work with adults in recovery from substance use, trauma, and mental health disturbances. I have worked with Places for People Inc. for over ten years as a clinician, case manager, and day program facilitator. In these roles, I have been witness to empowered healing and transformative inspiration, be it in the context of self-directed work in an open studio model or art groups focused on support and validation as individuals start a recovery journey. I feel great joy in my work when individual voices feel heard, and needs are met. My goals are to explore ways to meet artistic needs in a civic context and helping to facilitate a larger public voice.

Eugenia M Jones
Dancer and Dance Teacher
Eugenia Jones is a native to St. Louis and began her Ballet training with Dance Arts of St. Louis in her later teen years. She obtained her Bachelor of Art in Dance and Management from Ball State University in 2019. Post undergraduate Eugenia joined Ballet 314 as a Founding Company Dancer and Board Member. Eugenia’s passion to share Arts with underserved communities lead her to obtain her Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Leadership from Webster University in 2022. Eugenia currently serves as the Director of Before and Aftercare for Premier Charter School, Company Dancer and Board Member for Ballet 314, Ballet instructor for Pointe of Surrender Dance Studio, and an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. Eugenia’s passion for youth and the Arts drives her commitment to utilize her experiences, skills, and passions to create programming and spaces for youth the experience and express art.

Kyla
Movement Artist
Kyla (she/her) is a movement artist originally from Altadena, CA, who graduated from the Psychological & Brain Sciences Department at Washington University. Kyla lives for the healing power of movement, especially through somatic practices; however, her passions have also led her to play live music in hospitals in Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Managua, Nicaragua. She is also an educator of neurodiverse and neurotypical youth, adults, and older adults. Kyla strives to be an active uplifter of the city and a player in the explosion of a more interconnected and truly passionate dance and artistic St. Louis community. She’s a proud member of the St. Louis KRUMP community, Arch Maddnezz, Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective, and Kode Redd Dance Company. During the day, Kyla works as an administrator at St. Louis ArtWorks and Saint Louis Dance Theatre, and she loves empowering those around her to be uniquely themselves, and to move in the way that they prefer while doing so. Finally, Kyla is a holistic storyteller, and she always seeks to tell or express more stories that deserve to be seen after being historically or systematically hidden–especially those of survivors–while simultaneously encouraging and inspiring others to live passionately through movement. She dreams of building bridges between art and science and community, particularly regarding the accessibility and definitions of distinct forms of knowledge of the body, mind, and soul.

Pandji
Designer
Pandji is a designer with years of experience working with early-stage ventures on everything branding, marketing and UI/UX design. He is a Senior Designer at Ascension, designing inclusive, transformative tech solutions ultimately to improve health outcomes. He is also involved in the community and works on amplifying efforts with his design skills. He is currently helping organize the upcoming St. Louis Design Week. In his free time, Pandji explores his passion for music, playing electric guitar — with punk, metal and shoegaze being his main inspirations.

Tubias “ias” Johnson​
Creative Architect, Community Engagement
I’m a St. Louis native, author, and visual artist, blending storytelling with bold visual expression to create spaces where conversations happen without speaking. My work is deeply rooted in community and culture, balancing tradition with new ideas. Through my platform, Sempleverse, I explore identity, creative innovation, and wellness using various art mediums, often through zines. With a background in humanities, I’ve worked to educate and uplift young people, and that experience informs my artistic practice. I aim to inspire dialogue, build connections, and push myself creatively, while fostering spaces that engage local communities and broader audiences. Call it what you want, but I see myself as a creative architect. “The place in which I’ll fit will not exist until I make it.” I am a revolutionary.