Melanie is a Virginia based Black queer artist, who was born in Georgia in 1981. They received a BA in Visual Arts at Antioch College in 2004. Through textiles and performance, Melanie explores issues around home, sickness, healing, race, gender, sexuality, capitalism, and liberation. In their art, they uses vibrant colors, geometric shapes, and symbolism to create talismanic like pieces. Some of Melanie’s work has been incorporated into ritual performances that they create. Melanie has held workshops at and participated in an arts residency at the Los Angeles Women’s Center in conjunction with the Pasadena Arts Armory in 2015. They were a fellow of ‘at land’s edge’, an autonomous pedagogical platform based in Los Angeles that nurtures the voices of cultural producers who are committed to social transformation in 2017. They have been a part of group shows at the Pasadena Arts Armory, the Queer Biennial, Human Resources, SOMArts, and LACE. They completed a residency at Marble House Projects in 2018.