Ear Audigy

Ear Audigy is a DJ and audio engineer that mixes different genres of music from afrobeats to zydeco to create a global musical experience. She has played at venues that celebrate and make space for queer people in Jamaica, and makes all her mixes free and available to the public. She is happy to be a Connek ambassador.

Dom the Poet

“Growing up in St. Catherine, Jamaica, I never took writing or art seriously. Now, art is one of my escape routes, but my favorite form of art would most definitely be writing, especially poems or songs. It’s just a way to express, not just myself and my personal feelings, but to bring across issues that may not be spoken about on other platforms. I tend to write a lot about love, heartbreak and social issues because I feel like those are things I’m most passionate about. However, a few times you’ll actually find me producing pieces that are distant from those 3 topics.” - Dom

Ghana
Ghana is a musician living and working in Kingston.

Irkah

Urkah musician, entertainer, model and we are honoured to have her on the Connek team.

Wixard

The Musical Savage Wixard is doing big things in Jamaica that will storm the world. Making some of the most amazing rhythms out of Jamaica that you can hear on the radio in Jamaica and abroad. She has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry and we are honoured to have her on the Connek team.

Emani
Born and raised in Trelawny, Jamaica, I was granted a gift with an Artistic vision, for style and fashion. I have always wanted to explore the fashion capitals of the world, and have my work displayed on the huge runways. Throughout my adult life, I realized that there were different ways to have my visions seen and explored by my people. I took an interest in Activism, and through my work with marginalized groups, and being a Trans Woman, living in Jamaica, I have learned that my work can take a different course into greatness! Read more about Emani here.

Ty
”I go by the name Ty-Zachary Fong but, you can call me Ty. I’m 21 years old and I originate from the breathtaking nation of Jamaica. In all of my country’s beauty along with its people it has only fueled my passion as a creative to inspire and connect with people from all walks of life. I want my vision to be seen through my lens and i’d like for it to leave an indelible impact on not only us throughout the LGBTQIA community but the world around us. It is important for our youth to feel safe regardless of their sexuality. I firmly believe that we are the pioneers of this generation and It’s a blessing to be on board and apart of CONNEK JA as an ambassador.”

Chereese Lavonne
”Hey! I’m Chereese Lavonne and I love creating experiences using words, human energy, and the design of physical things. I’d say my art is currently experimental, as I wouldn’t say I’ve found my particular “voice” yet. However, the thing that tends to motivate me as a person always finds itself into my work; I have a deep curiosity about what it means to “BE” and the freedoms we afford ourselves as “beings”. This is echoed in the design of my sunglasses that challenge our understanding of “ordinary” and fashion trends. It’s also behind the journals I create as I’m obsessed with writing and trying to make sense of this thing called life! My poetry expresses a lot of the anger I feel for being taught not to trust my intuition and is often a call-to-arms for us all to start designing (and creating!) our own destinies. Check out my current projects at @studiolavonne or online at chereeselavonne.com ❤✨”

Shauna K aka Mainz

Allow us to re introduce the talented @shauna_k_di_fashionista_avoir as apart of our CONNEK family of ambassadors! Shauna was one of our 1st ambassadors here for the Connek project and has been riding with us since day one! She was our leading host of last year’s Connek bashment and brought a life to the party that we can’t wait to see again at our Fall 2020 bashment! Not only the life of the party but an amazing designer/ artist - Shauna has been working on some beautiful projects of her own in styling, fashion, dance and makeup. Check them out at: @emphasis_faces_by_khaj @khaj_dance_house @cotterells__emphasis - Thank you so much @shauna_k_di_fashionista_avoir LOVE YOU DOWN❤️❤️😘🇯🇲

Kyym
Kyym is an advocate, activist, feminist, reader, challenger, ambassador for @transwaveJA and an important member of the queer liberation in Kingston. Read more about Kyym here.

Kandice
”Hey, I’m Kandice.. 28yrs young and so proud to call Jamaica the land of my birth. Being a ConnekJA Ambassador is a prideful endeavor for me because unity and love have always been the only thing I believe will really impact change. I just started a movement for creatives called ExhaleJamaica, our first show is coming up and that with ConnekJA makes me feel good about inclusivity and equality in JA. The LGBTQIA community is growing and nothing makes you feel more safe than being loved. Unu ready?! Follow @exhalejamaica”

Anash

Anash is doing big things in Jamaica that will soon storm the world. She is a dj, entertainer, model and we are honoured to have her on the Connek team.

Renae

Renae is the Executive Director of Trans Wave and all around beautiful soul we are honored to have on the Connek team. Trans Wave & Renea have been huge supporters of Connek from the beginning and continue to push us up as we work to grow/ stay alive. We love you Renae and can’t thank you enough for believing in our project. BIG UP UNU SELF

BAMBII from Toronto
BAMBII is one of Canada’s most compelling DJs. Whether online or on dancefloors, her political and musical vernacular give credence to dance music’s ever-expanding reach, the relationships it helps forge between individuals, cultures and spaces. As proof, the last year has taken her across North America, Asia, and across Europe as a solo artist and on support for some of the world’s most relevant artists -Mykki Blanco, Kelela, and MikeQ, to name just a few. At home in Toronto, her event series queer Caribbean party ‘JERK’ is still hitting capacity and still true to its roots. 

Chris Boreland from Canada
Chris is a chef and community activists living and working in Canada. Our 1st international ambassador, Chris found our Connek project and wanted to build a tie to his homeland of Jamaica and the queer people there. When we launched CONNEK in 2018 the out pour of messages and notes about this project from queer folk outside Jamaica who were touched by this project was beautiful starting with Chris. We asked him why CONNEK was important to him and what he saw in the future for queer liberation through out the diaspora. Read more here.

DeVonn Francis from NYC
DeVonn is a queer, first-generation jamaican-american artist with a background in design and performance studies. He founded Yardy in fall 2017 as a way to investigate his own role in Caribbean culture and to encourage others to seek joy and celebration in their own identities. Since then, Yardy has gone on to create brand campaigns, develop activations, and redefine and reaffirm the importance of food and culture. 

Yardy is in the works to launch a flagship studio space in Brooklyn this coming spring with an emphasis on food & beverage programming. 

Read more from DeVonn here.

Katrina Sterling from Seattle
Born in America to Jamaican parents, Katrina currently resides in Seattle, Washington. She is a mental health coach and advocate for wellness and self preservation. In addition to serving the systemically marginalized populations in her current career, as a creative she curates and designs interior spaces and believes our intimate environments shape and guide our liberation work.

“Our connection and togetherness as LGBTQIA BIPOC people is essential to our growth and wellness and for many, survival. For Jamaicans abroad and locally, connection with each other, our culture, and connection with ourselves is a form of resistance and preservation, and it’s where our liberated selves live. A spiritual and beautiful land rooted in connection, beauty, resiliency, and pride, Jamaica is a land we love and truly connects us all. To evolve we must prioritize these connections. ” - Katrina Sterling

Terrell Villiers from Florida
”My name is Terrell Villiers, also known as ‘Frostgawd’. I am a cartoon illustrator based in Miami, Florida. I’m a first-generation American born to British-Jamaican parents. If I could describe my work in a few words, they would probably be “Unapologetically Black and Queer.” The inspiration behind my work comes from different Black, Alternative, and Queer social media influencers, models, fashion designers, and close friends of mine. As well as Carribean dance culture, and lastly, my childhood love for cartoons, more specifically, black cartoons. Shows like Little Bill, Proud Family, and Static Shock (just to name a few...) really set the blueprint for illustrators like myself, to showcase their heritage through their work. Nowadays, I feel like there’s a huge lack of representation for Queer, Alternative, Black, Carribean kids in today’s cartoon television community and I would like to change that. I am absolutely elated & honored to be an ambassador for the CONNEK JA family, and I’m excited to see what the future has in store with us!
Read more from Terrell here.