2024-25 National Cohort: South Arts
Ali El-Chaer | Nashville, Tennessee
Artist
Ali El-Chaer (b. 1995, they/he) El-Chaer (b. 1995, they/he) is a trans, diasporic Palestinian writer, illustrator, and artist currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. They received their bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Austin Peay State University in 2018. El-Chaer has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including “Moving, Transfer” at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, Ohio (2024); “Watermelon Seeds” at Begonia Labs at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee (2024); “We Are Sorry to Inform You That,” curated by Adele Jarrar for MNFA Gallery in Amman, Jordan (2022); and “Queer Identity” at The Dirty Spread Collective, Bristol, United Kingdom (2022). They were also selected as a resident artist for the Bethany Artist Community in New York in 2024.
El-Chaer is the founder of Nour Nashville, a community collective focused on political education, organizing, and outreach in Nashville. They were honored with the Press On Southern Movement Media Fund award for their work with Nour Nashville and their use of journalistic and artistic practices to support Palestinians in Gaza during the ongoing genocide.
El-Chaer’s current artistic practice and research focus on navigating intense interpersonal emotions surrounding the ongoing Palestinian genocide and continued displacement. Their work draws from archived political posters from the Levant region (1913 to present) and Byzantine art.
Ashley Elim | Martinez, Georgia
Artist
Ashley “AE the Cool” Elim is an accomplished R&B artist, cultural curator, and community advocate based in Augusta, Georgia. With a degree in music production from Full Sail University, AE combines technical expertise with artistic vision to create soulful music that resonates deeply. Her projects, including the “Chasing Love” EP, showcase her talent for blending emotional storytelling with innovative soundscapes. She co-created The Cool Down, a monthly R&B set that fosters connection and highlights the beauty of live R&B music.
AE’s impact extends beyond her music. She actively volunteers her time to support local events and organizations that advocate for Black artistry. With prior experience in event planning, artist development, and community organizing, AE aspires to continue curating transformative experiences and developing community-focused projects. She exemplifies leadership through innovation, using her platform to inspire, empower, and elevate underrepresented voices in the arts.
Lauren Garcia | Durham, North Carolina
Executive Director, NorthStar Church of the Arts
Lauren Garcia is the executive director of NorthStar Church of the Arts, a nonprofit organization in Durham, North Carolina, dedicated to empowering marginalized artists and cultivating cross-cultural spaces for community healing.
With a strong background in nonprofit leadership, Lauren has served arts organizations and coalitions, focusing on capacity building and project management. Her expertise spans public relations, event production, and community organizing, with collaborations featured in outlets such as Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, and The New York Times. Previously, she held roles in affordable housing and homelessness advocacy, driving statewide initiatives to address critical social issues.
Lauren holds a Master of Science in sociology and pursued a doctorate at the University of Virginia, publishing research on digital disinformation before transitioning out of academia. Her work reflects a deep commitment to anti-racist solidarity and mutual aid efforts, particularly in the South. Lauren is also a musician and artist, exploring themes of memory, resilience, and community through multimedia projects.
Mariel Gardner | Louisville, Kentucky
Mariel Gardner was born at the mouth of the Susquehanna River in Havre de Grace, Harford County, Maryland, and hails from another French river city on the banks of the Ohio, Louisville, in Jefferson County, Kentucky. A graduate of the J. Graham Brown School and the University of Louisville, Mariel was raised in the Algonquin neighborhood of Louisville’s West End.
A seventh-generation Kentuckian by way of Christian County, Mariel’s family moved to Louisville during the Great Migration, seeking refuge from the violence of the Deep South. They settled in neighborhoods later devastated by urban renewal, a history that deeply informs Mariel’s work. As a community organizer, writer, and advocate, Mariel focuses on preserving Black land, promoting sociopolitical education, and building networks of solidarity across Kentucky.
With roots in the land and a commitment to justice, Mariel carries forward the legacy of the women who came before her, weaving art, history, and community care into her mission to create a more equitable future.
Terrence Pride | Pompano Beach, Florida
Producing Artistic Director, Brévo Theatre
Terrence “TM” Pride, a native of Quincy, Florida, is a graduate of Florida A&M University with a degree in theater performance and dance and holds a Master of Science in urban education from Florida International University. An award-winning artist, he is a member of the Actors’ Equity Association and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Pride has choreographed numerous works, including musicals and commissioned ballets. His credits include Off-Broadway productions such as For Colored Boyz and regional productions like American Black Princess, American Son, and For Colored Boyz. His film and television work includes First Ladies, Lovecraft Country, and Underground Railroad, and his contributions have been featured in outlets such as South Florida PBS, Miami New Times, CBS, Voyage MIA, and Playbill.
Currently, he serves as the producing artistic director for Brévo Theatre in South Florida. Pride has been recognized as the Southeastern Theatre Conference Sara Spencer Award winner for children’s drama, a 2023 South Florida 40 Under 40 Leaders of Tomorrow honoree, and a 2024 artist in residence at Bailey Contemporary Arts Center in Pompano Beach.
His professional teaching artist career began in 2012 as the director of the arts program for 21st Century Fun2Learn Camp in Gadsden County, a role he held for four years. He has continued his teaching work at Joan Kroc Atlanta Theater Camp, Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota, and Ailey Camp Miami at the Adrienne Arsht Center.
An advocate for arts in education, Pride serves on several community panels to help secure access to arts programming for underserved youth. For more information and professional credits, visit TerrencePride.com.
Imani Richardson | Birmingham, Alabama
Grants & Development Specialist, Create Birmingham
A graduate of Yale University with degrees in African studies and political science, Richardson brings three years of nonprofit sector experience. She previously served as a law and policy advocate at the Tulane Women’s Prison Project. She was also an Afrofuture Fellow at the New Orleans African American Museum, where she provided administrative and artistic support to the curatorial team. In 2023, she joined Create Birmingham as grants and development specialist.
Through the LoCF program and her broader work, Richardson is committed to using her skills to support the arts and cultural community in her hometown. She is particularly interested in amplifying the voices of the most marginalized members of her community and exploring the stories, wisdom, and visions of the future they offer through their creative contributions.
In her free time, Richardson enjoys listening to live music, reading short stories, and visiting new art exhibitions.
Crystalyn Whitaker-Nelson | Shreveport, Louisiana
Performing Artist
She performs as a vocalist with Tipsey the Band, winners of the 2017 Music Prize, and shares spoken word under the moniker Poetess Lady Munira. Her 2022 debut exhibit, “The Colored Port Saga: Colored Faith Walk,” marked her introduction to visual art and immersive learning experience curation. Her next installment, “The Colored Port Saga: Colored Criminality,” is set to premiere in 2025.
Candace Wiley | Greenville, South Carolina
Co-Founding Director, The Watering Hole
She has been honored as a Tulsa Artist Fellow, Vermont Studio Center Fellow, Lighthouse Works Fellow, Fine Arts Work Center Fellow, Callaloo Fellow, and a Fulbright Fellow to San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia—a town established by West Africans who escaped slavery in Cartagena. Her writing has appeared in publications such as Furious Flower: Seeding the Future of African American Poetry, Kenyon Review, Wild Gods Anthology, Killing the Negative Table Book, and Best American Poetry 2015, among others.
Wiley left a teaching position at Clemson University to focus on building her own real estate portfolio. She currently resides in Greenville, South Carolina, where she writes and serves as the executive director of The Watering Hole Poetry Organization. Visit her online at www.candacegwiley.com.
Chandra Williams | Clarksdale, Mississippi
Executive Director, Crossroads Cultural Arts Center
Chandra Williams is an artist, educator, and community healer. She brings the gift of transformation to communities, teaching processes that foster widespread social and cultural change. Williams’ work highlights the role of the arts in reshaping society, offering a practical understanding of art’s power to influence culture. Her approach empowers communities to create change directly, without relying on institutional processes.
Williams serves as the executive director of Crossroads Cultural Arts Center in Clarksdale, Mississippi, a city internationally recognized as the “Home of Blues Music.” The center celebrates Blues as one of many African cultural practices persisting in Mississippi today and works to restore these practices’ role in community healing. Amid inequity, poverty, and appropriation, the center provides space to reclaim Black cultural identity and narrative on both local and global levels.
Williams earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in printmaking and drawing from Washington University in St. Louis, with concentrations in critical theory and community education. Her previous roles include serving as museum educator for the University of Mississippi, sole proprietor of a private art school, and community educator and organizer for two decades.