Deycha Nhtae, is a queer, Black survivor and product of the ghetto. Born and raised in Southeast Washington, D.C., she unequivocally belongs to a rich history of innovation, resilience and joy. Deycha is a first generation high school and college graduate with a degree in Anthropology and Spanish from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  In 2017 she began formal studies in fine arts; developing a self guided BFA curriculum, weaving together an array of theoretical and applied artistic competencies. She's supplemented her independent work with studies at Seattle Central College, University of Washington and Pratt Fine Arts Center. Deycha is a freelance teaching artist working at Pratt Fine Art Center and Young Women Empowered. She has worked with the Seattle Art Museum, Northwest Harvest, The Seattle Public Library and Seattle Restored on various instructional and visual artistic activations. She's shown work at Columbia City Gallery, The Fishbowl Gallery and ACES (Artists of Color Expo and Symposium) in addition to her solo showcase as a Seattle Restored Recipient in 2023. Her exhibit “Don’t Forget to Lotion the Back Rolls” opened in the Summer of 2023 at the intersection of Seattle’s Central and International District neighborhood at the Mason & Main building. As founding member of the Creative Care Collective, Deycha was a recipient of the 2023 Neighbor Recovery Grant Recipient. Together they produced the Creative Care Fest, a QTBIPOC skillshare and community wellness event. The intimate festival was a spontaneous response to the needs of the creative community navigating social isolation and creative development amidst a global pandemic. Deycha is inspired by the strength and beauty of Ghetto culture, the meditative qualities of abstraction and the undeniability of Black pride. Through her work in abstract figurative painting, collage and digital illustration, Deycha transmutes ancestral trauma into beautiful expressions of life. Her practice centers a radical embodiment of the process of art marking, aimed at subverting compulsory productivity. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Teaching at the Seattle University College of Education as well as continuing artistic development as a mixed media visual artist.