CREATIVE TEAM
RiseUP is a collaborative of independent artists on a mission to beautify Connecticut.
EMIDA ROLLER
Lead Community Mural Artist
Emida has 20+ years of mural experience and immigrated to United States to complete her Masters of Fine Arts at University of Illinois after she completed her degree in Fine and Applied Arts from University of Benin in Nigeria.
Emida also has extensive experience running community based mural programs.
CHRIS GANN
Artist & Surface Prep Expert
Chris graduated from Lyme Academy art school in 2010 and lives in Enfield, CT with his family. Chris enjoys making art that excites people’s imagination and invites them to see the painting as a whole from a distance and a different experience up close with the accumulation of different expressions of humanity.
JILLIAN GOELER
Artist
Jillian is a graphic designer and muralist. She founded JAG Ink in 2016. JAG Ink Studio aims to fill your eyes, jean jackets, walls (and anywhere else she can sneak her art onto) with happy, relatable, whimsical designs filled with all of Jillian's favorite things - from retro typography, musical theater and dogs to living green and pop culture.
MICHAEL RICE
Artist and Fabricator
Michael Rice is a self-taught visual artist, designer and creator. His journey has afforded him the opportunity to explore many forms of art, including ceramics, sculpture, product and graphic design. However, his true passion lies in painting. Rooted in 80’s and 90’s counterculture, and heavily influenced by today’s technological landscape, Rice’s clean and precise style transcends genres and evokes a unique aesthetic that glides from nostalgic to futuristic.
MICAELA LEVESQUE
Artist
Micaela is a mural artist and oil painter from East Hartford, CT. While she explores a variety of topics, she has an inclination towards female empowerment subjects and conveying expression in portraiture. Her style incorporates the use of bold colors, realism, and symbolism that can further illustrate a story.
COREY PANE
Artist
Corey has completed murals with CT Murals since our first project in 2015. Corey's work spans different mediums from album covers to cleats for NFL athletes. His talents bring him all over the world to do custom mural pieces for famous athletes. Corey is known for his work on the Nipsy Hustle mural and most recently on Connecticut’s tallest mural, “Just Grow.”
DEKA HENRY
Artist
Deka has completed murals with CT Murals since 2020. Deka is a self-taught artist and creative from Hartford, CT. She extends her reach into all creatives by modeling, creative directing, tattooing, and painting. Curating her own artistic style she focuses on creating Modern Mosaics that add a modern flair to the classical look.
LAUREN CLAYTON
Artist/Designer
Lauren, founder and head designer of Studio 162, studied graphic design, photography, printmaking, and painting at the Cooper Union School of Art in NYC. Lauren began working with RiseUP as a guest artist in our Stamford Murals program. RiseUP also sponsored Lauren's Dream Street murals in Norwalk, CT.
BEN KELLER
Artist
Ben has been working with CT Murals since January 2021 when the team unveiled the first Martin Luther King, Jr. mural in Manchester. Ben’s work can be seen throughout Connecticut and surrounding areas. He especially enjoys creating a mural that is bold, that takes a stand and cannot be ignored.
ALEX RANNIELLO
Artist
Alex Ranniello is a Connecticut based painter. His forte is working in portraiture and figure painting. His work captures the highest moments of summertime in a way that reflects the human spirit through maximal colorful palettes, gestural brushstrokes, and enticing scenery. His work is influenced by artists associated with Southern California as well as the Bay Area figurative Movement.
JOEY BATTS
Artist & Emcee
Over the last two years, Joey has stretched his artistic reach and started to create more public art. Specializing in mostly spray paint, Joey has created work with his students, members of the community and created pieces that allow children and other artists to add to his designs with acrylic paints, paint markers & other mediums.
Katiana Jarbath Smith
Artist & Muralist
Katiana is a visual artist, arts facilitator, and passionate advocate for the arts. Since 2016, she's held various roles in arts education, underscoring her commitment to nurturing creative expression in the youth. Her realistic paintings, which honor the culture and history of her roots, echo her unwavering dedication to diversity and inclusion.
LORI BLOOM
Artist and Muralist
Lori has a BFA from Purchase College, and a Master’s Degree in both general education and art education from Sacred Heart University. In her early years she worked as a mural artist, Lori’s murals can be found in homes and offices in the tri-state area. Currently she can be found in her studio creating mixed media pieces, paper flowers and teaching classes. Many of her pieces can be found in homes across the United States.
TAO & AMY LABOSSIERE
Multidisciplinary Artists & Muralist Team
Art of Tao LaBossiere LLC is the Hartford-based husband and wife team of Tao & Amy LaBossiere. Tao is the lead visionary artist and Amy is the administrating director. The two collaborate to bring an artistic vision to life for tri-state area clients including restaurants, municipalities, corporations, and private art patrons. Art of Tao LaBossiere creates large-scale public art, murals, and art commissions in various mediums including sculpture, paintings, and illustration.
MARSH ART
Artist and Muralist
Candyce “Marsh” John’s ever growing body of work is a self reflective expression of her views on existentialism. Representing the essence of what it is to live as a BIPOC and member of the LGBTQ+ community in a world of resistance, resilience and revolution during a new era of renaissance rooted in benevolence. Rising from the ashes of grief into a space of gratitude, Marsh’s oeuvre encapsulates an unapologetically blaque nuance of love, loss, and liberty by way of artistic expression.