Emanuelee Bean, known as "Outspoken Bean," is a celebrated artist, mentor, and poet with a distinguished legacy in performance and arts advocacy. Born in New Jersey and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Bean made history as Houston's Poet Laureate through 2023 and was awarded the prestigious Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship (2022–2024).

Inspired by a desire to one day take the final stage at the National Poetry Slam, Bean embraced the advice of renowned slam poet Gypsee Yo, who said, “Create your own final stage.” From this guidance, Bean began curating live, poetry-based events, which led to the creation of the Woodson Black Fest. Now in its fourth installment, the festival is produced by Outspoken Bean in collaboration with the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.

A passionate advocate for creative expression, Bean's electrifying performances have graced prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Hobby Center, and the Wortham Theater, earning him global recognition as an artist and cultural ambassador.

Among many things, Sha'Condria (“Icon”) Sibley is a proud Alexandria, Louisiana native and long-time New Orleans-based poet, writer, and multi-inspired artist, whose work spans across page, stage, canvas, theater, music, talk radio, and short film. A small-town country girl with an educational background in biology and public health, the once-aspiring physician still heals hearts but now has a different “operating room”. She administers medicine through her art, which returns us back to the Source, the land, and the people who nurture and are nurtured by it, telling stories of faith and family, legacy and lessons, healing and holiness, from the kitchens and classrooms of our mothers.

In the midst of creating art, Icon also works creating, organizing, and hosting arts-driven, community-centered events. A multiple-time national poetry slam champion and viral spoken word artist, she appeared on TV One's Verses and Flow, and her work has been featured on many platforms including Huffington Post, For Harriet, Teen Vogue, and BBC World Radio. She has graced the main stages of the Essence Music Festival, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and French Quarter Festival and has also featured on multiple recording projects alongside Grammy and Golden Globe award-winning artists. Icon is the author of My Name Is Pronounced Holy: A Collection of Poems, Prayers, Rememberings, and Reclamations.

Erin works with movement leaders, organizations, governments, and communities to translate their ideas into life-changing projects, programs, and initiatives. Unearthing their stories and visions, Erin’s multi-disciplinary practice works on strategy, design, legal, planning, architecture, and community building to "architect" social impact that reflects the communities they work in and for.

Nicole Hunt is a Houston-based vocalist, composer, and interdisciplinary artist whose work blends soul, jazz, and ambient textures. Her music explores connection, memory, and emotional reflection through performance and recorded projects.  In addition to her creative practice, she works as a music educator, community connector, and arts administrator, supporting performances and arts education programs across the city.

Efuru Kori is a textile artist, ritual practitioner, and cultural storyteller whose work weaves ancestral memory, grief transformation, and rites of passage into living art forms. As the Co founder of Royalty Reigns, Co Director  of Obinrin Egbe Titi Lola , Girls Rites of Passage and Women in a circle of Healing she creates ceremonial spaces where women reclaim lineage, sovereignty, and creative power through fabric, Textiles, Movement, and collective witnessing.

Her signature works—ancestral quilts activated through performance—function as portable archives and altars, carrying stories of twinship, loss, survival, Matriarchal Ancestral lineage and legacy. Drawing from African diasporic traditions, somatic practices, and community-based ritual, Efuru’s work resists static presentation and instead invites participation, reverence, and remembrance.

Anyrah Shavéh is an award-winning poet and spoken word artist from Flint, Michigan, now based in Houston. She is a proud alumna of Tennessee State University. Her work is grounded in women’s wellness, Black lineage, and cultural memory through truth-telling. She has performed at the inaugural Afropunk Herstory and the Lincoln Center Poetry Festival in New York City, and in 2024 served as a Brand Ambassador for the Kenneth Cole x Perfect White Tee collaboration.

Brooke Wyatt is a pianist, vocalist, composer, and audio producer based in Houston. She studied music performance and composition before earning her Master’s in Sound Arts and Industries from Northwestern University. Her work centers on original music and intimate, emotionally grounded sound. Drawing from personal experience, she channels her passion for songwriting and production through releasing her own projects on streaming platforms. Whether writing, recording, or mixing, Brooke approaches each medium with a strong ear for tone, dynamics, and feel.