meet the poets

  • LYNNETTE & ELLIOTT JOHNSON

    Lynnette Elizabeth Johnson is a daughter of the Most High God and an artist.  Born to Albert and Willette, sister to Lauren, mother to the amazing Elliott Enzi. Raised in Wilbraham, MA, shaped and molded at Morgan State University and reinvented on stage. Lynnette is a love-poet, actor, dancer, author, workshop facilitator, speaker, coach and taco connoisseur. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated. She believes her life work is to love on Black folks ferociously and to help women realize, access and utilize their beauty and power. You can experience more of Lynnette’s voice in her four collections of poetry. 


    Elliott is a passionate and expressive pre-teen- foodie. His favorite subjects are math and history. When he is not in school he enjoys listening to music, anime, gaming with friends, reviewing movies, spending time with his grandparents and making his mother laugh. E, as he is affectionately called, is an aspiring performer.  He has shared the stage with his mom and you may have seen his face on a board game. E looks forward to more opportunities to perform. 

  • MIKHAIL BUCHANAN

    Hartford Native, Mikhail Buchanan has made a career as both a writer and producer for film and television. Falling in love with the craft of filming during his time in Los Angeles, he has gone on to be apart of dozens of projects both in front and behind the camera.

  • ROODLEY MERILO

    Roodley Merilo is a 20-year-old poet from New London, CT, who began his poetry career in 2021. Since then, he has been featured on Fox 61 News, was The Word New Haven’s 2022 Youth Slam Champion, and won a spot on CT’s youth slam team, going on to compete in the 2023 Brave New Voices competition in San Francisco. Roodley is more than a poet, he’s a storyteller and film student who intends to share those stories he’s most passionate about.

Meet the ARTISTS

  • SANAA BUTLER

    DANCER

    It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

  • CALIDA JONES

    VIOLINIST

    It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

  • JASMINE NIKOLE

    PAINTER

    Jasmine Nikole is an award-winning artist whose vivid, emotionally-charged paintings are more than just works of art—they are powerful stories of identity healing, and empowerment. Through her bold use of color and intimate portraits of Black women, Jasmine creates art that speaks to the deepest parts of the soul. Each piece serves as a reflection of the resilience, beauty, and complexity of the Black experience, inviting viewers to connect with their own truths and heal from the societal limitations they’ve been forced to endure.

Meet the crew

  • Kimolee Eryn

    PRODUCER

    Kimolee Eryn is a multidisciplinary artist turned producer. As a high school student, Kimolee’s art class self-portrait was displayed in the Wadsworth Atheneum by way of the Hartford Youth Art Renaissance program. Seventeen years later, she returns with a project that brings more young Black artists into the fold of occupying fine art spaces.

  • Edwin Escobar

    DIRECTOR | CINEMATOGRAPHER

    Edwin Escobar is a self taught director and cinematographer based in Connecticut. He has been offering video production services to developing artists of all mediums and small businesses since 2009. Edwin has worked in over a dozen short films including 3 original award winning projects. Escobar’s passion for travel has been an asset in assisting and directing projects all over the country and the Caribbean.

  • IKE ABAKAH

    PHOTOGRAPHER

    Ike Abakah Is a Ghanaian-American cinematographer, photographer, and visual artist whose work both celebrates and explores Black Identity. Ike uses a variety of visual elements to bring stories to life, allowing them a home. His style, though wide In range, has vivid depth with an elegant finish with visuals speaking for times long gone, the present, and times to come. Abakah’s work has been featured by Google, The New York Times, Business Insider, Revolt TV, DJ Booth, Mary Magazine, and The Stages of New York Fashion Week.