Meet the Facilitators

ARTIST INC HOUSTON FACILITATORS

Meet the Artist INC Houston team which includes a diverse group of local artists and creative leaders.

Artist INC Facilitator, Team Green

OUTSPOKEN BEAN

Emanuelee Bean, also known as “Outspoken Bean,” was the first poet to perform on Houston Ballet’s main stage with their production “Play.” The Carnegie Hall performer has been commissioned to write and perform a national campaign on diversity for Pabst Blue Ribbon and VICE, while creating and producing his own festival, Plus Fest: The Everything Plus Poetry Festival. Born in New Jersey and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Outspoken Bean serves as Houston’s poet laureate through 2023.

In 2022, Bean received an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship. Bean has also worked with the Harris County Department of Education, Houston’s Young Audiences: Arts for Learning and Texas Commission for the Arts, and Houston Grand Opera. He serves as the Project Coordinator, Lead Coach and mentor for Meta-Four Houston, a project under Writers in the Schools’ WITS Performance program where professional performance/slam poets encourage self-expression and literacy among Houston’s youth through creative writing and performance.

Artist INC Facilitator, Team Blue

EEPI CHAAD

Eepi Chaad (she|her) is a practicing multidisciplinary artist, advocate, and naturalist based in the Gulf Coast region. She tells stories using textiles, fibers, metals, places, and people. Chaad studies humanity’s relationship to both natural and built environments. She illustrates social and environmental issues using scale & mapping and continues to grow through community collaborations. Chaad has received various regional and national grants and awards including being named one of the first resident artists for the City of Houston as well as more recent projects such as a residency with the CAMH and a public art installation in Galveston. Nurturing a role as a cultural worker in the community is integral to Chaad’s sense of practice. She has spent formative time working with organizations including Art League Houston and Artist Boat in Galveston. She currently serves as Director of Partnerships & Learning with Arts Connect Houston as well as serving as part of the team of facilitators for Artist INC Houston, the PrintMatters Houston Board of Directors, and the Houston Museum Educators Roundtable Steering Committee. Chaad believes art is for every community and creativity is in every human.

Artist INC Facilitator, Team Orange

Artist INC Facilitator, Team Red

DOMINIQUE RØYEM

Dominique Røyem is the Music Director of the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra. She has worked with ensembles such as the Ukrainian State Orchestra, Plevin Philharmonic, Galveston Symphony, Moores Opera Center, Sugarland Opera, HBU Opera Theatre, and the Houston Civic Orchestra. She was the Resident Conductor for Bayou City Concert Musicals, Music Director for Houston Grand Opera’s Opera to Go! during the 12-13 and 13-14 seasons, and the Conducting Fellow for the Allentown Symphony Orchestra’s 2012-2013 season. She has a Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Houston Moores School of Music. Her dissertation, entitled “Generic Integration and Its Expressive Potential in the Music of Kurt Weill and Richard Rodgers,” uses semiotic and genre theory to illuminate the similarities between opera and musical theatre in the 1940s and 1950s. Dominique currently lectures at the Women’s Institute of Houston. Dominique is the lead artist facilitator for Artist INC, Houston, where she helps to train artists in entrepreneur skills such as web design, social media, grant writing, and strategic planning. Dominique’s YouTube channel focuses on bringing her joy about classical music to listeners everywhere. Check out her videos about Music History, Music Theory, and Pop Music. She currently serves on the board of the International Conductors Guild, a musical service organization for conductors of all stripes. Her upcoming engagements can be found on www.dominiqueroyem.com, or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube @dominiqueroyem.

Artist INC Facilitator, Team Yellow

CHRIS THOMAS

Christopher Thomas known as YungChris began entertaining at a very young age, by the time he reached 11 Chris was being featured in local tv commercials. Taking a break during his teen years to focus on sports and college YungChris returned to his true love of dance. In 2007 Chris began traveling the world. Thomas has toured the world visiting 24 countries as a teacher, DJ, choreographer and performer. YungChris has also performed alongside Steven Tyler, Keith Urban, Sugar Ray, Life House, Natasha Bedingfield, Pit Bull, 69 Boyz, Flo Rida, Kendrick Lamar, Erykah Badu and more. In 2010 YungChris relocated to Bangkok, Thailand to explore dance abroad. There he trained local pop stars while hosting and performing at events throughout Southeast Asia. YungChris moved back home to Houston a year later and started his own dance company, Sonkiss’d Dance Theater. With Sonkiss’d Chris mentored dancers. He also provided opportunities for them to expand their talents to become more valuable in the competitive market of entertainment. YungChris now has past dancers who work and tour with Sam Smith, Taylor Swift, Tobe Nwigwe and Beyoncé. YungChris has been awarded numerous awards and grants for his unique artistry and productions. In 2013 Chris was a featured artist by the Texas Southern University Museum Wheel Project. In 2015 Chris was recognized as a Cultured Millennial by Remy Martin Cognac, in that same year YungChris was awarded the Independent Artist Grant by the Houston Arts Alliance. A few years later in 2018 Chris was also awarded the Let Creativity Happen Grant by the Houston Arts Alliance. Just recently Chris was awarded a grant from the Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs to produce a work at the DeLuxe Theater in 5th Ward, a historically Black Neighborhood in Houston, Texas. in 2018 Chris was named a Houston Cultural Influencer by Red Bull. Now YungChris is on the Red Bull production team for all dance events produced in the Houston area. In August of 2021 YungChris hosted Red Bull BC1 Cypher Houston, one of the largest dance competitions in the world. YungChris helps emerging creatives as a mentor/facilitator with Artist INC., a program curated by Fresh Arts. He also coordinates talent and entertainment for Fresh Arts. During the 2020 Covid-19 shut down YungChris received his first commissioned project from the Society for the Performing Arts for his short film "TipToe Thomas." TipToe Thomas is now making it's through film festivals across the world. When it comes to entertainment Thomas believes he can achieve anything. His motto is: "God gave you a talent. Use it. That is your gift to the world."

Artist INC Alternate Facilitator, Team Purple

LORI YUILL

Choreographer, Lori Yuill, has been engaged in making dances for the past two decades. Her work includes ongoing research into the in-between spaces: the space between narrative and abstraction, choreography and improvisation, and between performance and rehearsal. Her most recent work was a collaborative event performed on Pelican Island, Galveston and made with visual artist Eepi Chaad and musician Jeremy Lejeune. Lori is drawn to site specific work because of the opportunity to learn from and about different places like the Flower Garden Banks off the shore of Galveston, or Finca Tres Robles a farm located in Houston's East End where she made “Green Zebras: Moringa Madness'' In addition to making dances for specific spaces, Lori has made several evening length works for the stage including “The Remembering Happens” created during a residency at Rice University. Her choreographic interests in collaboration, research and process infuse her teaching practice as well. She works with a variety of organizations to bring dance to curious movers and thinkers. At Houston Met Dance, Lori serves as the Director of Curriculum helping to cultivate a conversation about how dance is shared across age groups and across genres. Additionally, with Hope Stone she has the great pleasure to guide the residents at Village of River Oaks Memory Care Center through bimonthly dance classes, and through Performing Arts Houston Lori facilitates a creative writing and dance program for middle school students. When not in the dance studio Lori can be found adventuring with her two creative and inspiring kids.

Artist INC Houston program administrator

ANGELA CARRANZA

Angela Carranza brings over a decade of nonprofit dedication to her role as Executive Director of Fresh Arts, having served in several positions at the organization including Intern, Administrative Assistant, Programs Manager, and Managing Director. She holds a B.A. in Art History with a minor in Studio Arts from the University of Houston. Prior to Fresh Arts, Angela spent a decade in the interior design industry as a small business manager and designer focused on art-centric, creative styling solutions and provided a range of services including decorative painting, furniture design, and event planning. A lover of art adventures, hot dogs, and the Beatles, Angela is also an active community volunteer having served on committees for United Way of Houston and the Mayor’s Millennial Advisory Board for the City of Houston. She is currently an advisory board member for Barrio Dogs, Inc. and a long-time volunteer for the organization. Angela is also a mom to a Beatles-loving preschooler, two rescue dogs, and two cats, and shares a life of laughter with her husband, a former chef, who endures her love of hot dogs.

Program + Marketing Manager

DARAL MOORE-WASHINGTON

Daral Moore-Washington is an emerging arts administration leader with experience in project management, event planning, and social media management, with interests in graphic design, strategic planning, and workflow optimization. She is a recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, earning a Master in Arts Management and holds a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Houston-Downtown. As Program + Marketing Manager she is responsible for managing program resources and logistics while facilitating brand and content distribution on all audience facing platforms. Since 2017, Daral has held several part time positions at Fresh Arts, ranging from Artist Resource Intern to Special Events Assistant, and most recently Marketing + Communications Coordinator. If you ever want to spark a conversation with her, color theory, anime, and bullet journaling are excellent starting points.

ARTIST INC HOUSTON FACILITATORS

OUTSPOKEN BEAN

EEPI CHAAD

TAMI MOSCHIONI

DOMINIQUE RØYEM

CHRIS THOMAS

LORI YUILL

ANGELA CARRANZA

DARAL MOORE-WASHINGTON

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