“I decided to become the person I needed when I was a kid.”
ANTWOINE WASHINGTON
As a kid growing up in the ‘90s, Antwoine Washington fell in love with drawing replicates of characters he watched during the Saturday morning cartoon lineup, including Tiny Toons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Animaniacs. This childhood fixation flourished into a larger desire to learn and perfect his craft, leading him to matriculate at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he later received his B.A. in Studio Art.
While at Southern, Antwoine deepened his understanding of the relationship between black history and art in America, inspiring him to further the legacy of Harlem Renaissance artists like Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, and Jacob Lawrence. There, he decided that he too would use narrative art to capture the history and stories of the black experience in America.
After college, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio and began working for the U.S. Postal Service as a mail carrier, but the burning desire to make art resurfaced soon after. His dream was to create full-time, so he left his job at the post office to pursue a career in art. While taking this leap of faith, however, in November 2018, Antwoine suffered a stroke. During his recovery, he used his art to help get through panic attacks and the numbness he was experiencing on the right side of his body.
Since the stroke, he continues to seek out opportunities to show his work. His art has been displayed at the Cleveland Print Room, Worthington Yards, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Rooms to Let in Cleveland’s Slavic Village, and Artist Archives of the Western Reserve, (MoCHA) Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, and SPACES online exhibition. He also was commissioned to do a mural in Cleveland Public Square by Land Studios.
Antwoine co-founded a non-profit organization called the Museum of Creative Human Art (MOCHA), where he teaches graphic design courses. Antwoine also is a recipient of the Cleveland Arts Prize Verge Fellowship Award of 2019. He currently works and lives in Cleveland with his wife Carlise and they have two children, Grayson and Luca.
“Sometimes we can live our entire life being or pursuing something we are not.”
MICHAEL C. RUSSELL II
Michael C. Russell II began his professional career as a youth advisor and advocate with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), where he spent ten years mentoring students whom statistics reveal to be the most marginalized and at-risk population—African American males.
Michael often took the young men on cultural awareness trips, as he believes that exposure to experiences that broaden perception and understanding is a key driver of success. During his tenure, through his mentorship, coaching, and advising, Collinwood High School’s graduation rate increased from 63.32% to 79.03%.
Michael is a two-time honoree in Who’s Who in Black Cleveland, a noted publication that recognizes and spotlights those who make significant contributions to the development of Cleveland. He was recognized as “Youth Leader of the Year” for two consecutive years for his work in advocacy and education.
Known for his coaching skills on and off the court, Michael was able to integrate his mentoring acumen with a well-informed approach to teaching basketball. He was raised and taught by his father, Cleveland Cavalier legend Campy Russell, along with three uncles and other close relatives who have led professional basketball careers, giving him an edge with his advanced knowledge of basketball expertise.
While serving as the assistant coach at Collinwood for five years, not only did he help the young men become better players and athletes, he supported them in building their character and sharpening their leadership skills, combining two of his passions in one pursuit—basketball and mentorship.
As co-founder of the Museum of Creative Human Art (MOCHA), Michael continues to follow through on his vocational aspirations to enrich his community. The organization’s conceptual framework harmonizes his ability to inspire and engage others through his love for the arts, while operating in the creative space he uses to incubate ideas and strategies.
Michael has a B.A. in Organizational Communication – Marketing and Management from Cleveland State University, and is currently pursuing his master’s in non-profit leadership from the same.
Michael and his wife Autumn reside in Solon, and together they have four daughters, Alahjanai, Amiyah, Savannah, and Journey.
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