Joy Ike is a full-time singer-songwriter and artist coach based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Polished and precise, yet buoyed with an airy grace, Joy Ike paints with a broad palette that defies easy categorization. Born to Nigerian immigrants, the singer/songwriter’s music, voice, and writing have drawn comparisons to female musicians such as Nina Simone, Laura Nyro, and Regina Spektor. But her percussive piano-playing and soaring vocals give homage to her African upbringing.

As a singer/songwriter/storyteller, artist and public speaker, Joy believes that music and art have the power to transform hearts and connect people who would otherwise be strangers at best and enemies at worst.  As an artist coach and former publicist, she teaches workshops on branding, marketing, and using your authentic story to engage your audience. Joy is passionate about art as a vehicle for change, empowerment and empathy and sees art as a way to openly and thoughtfully wrestle with the uncertainty of life.

Brian is a marketing professional by day, and a painter and an actor by night. He grew up in a small town outside of Cleveland, and after graduating from Grove City College in 2019, he got married and currently lives in Pittsburgh, PA. 

Born in 1995 in Moscow, Russia, Josh Tiessen is an international award-winning artist based near Toronto, Ontario, Canada, He was listed as one of the world’s top ten prodigy artists (Huffington Post) and recognized as the only known male art prodigy in North America (Dr. J. Ruthsatz, international child prodigy expert). His hyperreal shaped oil paintings, which take up to 1700 hours to complete, reflect the interaction between the natural world and human-made structures, drawing upon his studies in philosophy, theology and intercultural aesthetics.

Mentored by masters such as acclaimed Canadian wildlife artist Robert Bateman, Tiessen has exhibited his work since 2006 in over 100 exhibitions including the National Gallery of Canada, and is frequently juried into group exhibitions throughout the United States. He has sold upwards to 150 originals and hundreds of limited edition giclée prints to private/corporate Canadian and international collectors. 

Featured over 200 times in the press & media (American Art Collector, International Artist), speaking and teaching at 60 venues, and making 90 invited art donations to charitable organizations, Tiessen established the Arts for a Change Foundation. In spite of early success, Tiessen humbly acknowledges that his artistic talent is a gift from God.

Josh will be attending virtually, but we will have his physical art pieces displayed in the gallery.