This year, PACE issued an open call to all participants in the Pittsburgh Cultural Treasures Initiative (PCTI), inviting them to submit an artist bio, sample artwork, and description for consideration as the featured artist for PACE’s 17th Annual Inclusive Voices event. This intentional step reflects our ongoing commitment to inclusivity by expanding opportunities to showcase diverse voices and creative expressions.
Below, you’ll find the submissions we received. We ask that Advancement Committee members review the materials ahead of our meeting on June 26, 2025, where we’ll discuss the artwork and select this year’s featured artist.
Applicant 1:
Name: Cue Perry
Artist Bio: Pittsburgh native Quentin “Cue” C. B.Perry has been dedicated to the arts throughout his life. He graduated from Brashear High School in 2004, where he gained foundational skills in graphic design and computer programming. He then attended the University of Pittsburgh, initially majoring in graphic design. However, after his first year, he felt uncertain about his artistic path and switched majors, exploring various careers for several years. After a few years , Cue returned to his passion for art, embracing an unconventional approach to social, political, and cultural themes. His work deconstructs pop culture with vibrant visual representations, capturing the colorful randomness of everyday life and encouraging viewers to think outside the box. With nearly 6,000 original paintings sold worldwide, including murals, drawings and canvases, his art is prominently displayed throughout Pittsburgh’s communities, galleries, and business . Notably, he designed a Carnegie library card for the libraries 125th anniversary , His the First Artist to Ever Live Body Paint in the Carnegie museum of Art and he even has an ice cream flavor named in his honor.
Artwork Submission(s):
Artwork Description:
- Cologerful series. 36×36 Mixed media
- At Peace. 15×24. Acrylic
Applicant 2:
Name: Daynell Marbury
Artist Bio: Daynell Marbury is a multidisciplinary resin artist based in Pittsburgh, PA, and the founder of HelloBoutiq and Chantille’s Forever Florals. Through HelloBoutiq, she creates vibrant resin home decor and jewelry that brings joy, creativity, and bold design into everyday spaces. With Chantille’s Forever Florals, Daynell turns real flowers from weddings, funerals, and other meaningful events into lasting keepsakes—offering a way to preserve memories through art. Her work blends storytelling, craftsmanship, and emotional connection, using resin as a medium to both celebrate life and honor legacy.
Artwork Submission(s):
Artwork Description:
- Forever in Bloom – Memorial Heart
Crafted with preserved funeral flowers and gold foil, this heart-shaped resin piece captures love and remembrance in a tangible form. It honors grief while creating space for beauty and healing. - Bridal Keepsake Tray
This custom floral tray uses real wedding bouquet petals arranged in a soft blush design. The resin preserves each petal’s natural elegance, turning a moment into lasting art. - Legacy Candle Holder
Created using pressed flowers from a family memorial, this resin piece doubles as a candle holder. It invites reflection and remembrance through its warm glow and meaningful design. - Timeless Touch – Ring Holder
A petite, sculpted resin cone embedded with dried petals from a wedding bouquet. This elegant ring holder captures the beauty of love and commitment in a lasting keepsake that’s both functional and meaningful. - Bloom & Sip Coasters
A set of vibrant resin coasters featuring real pressed flowers and shimmering accents. These pieces bring natural elegance and protection to any surface, blending artistry with everyday use.
Applicant 3:
Name: Marlon Gist
Artist Bio: Marlon Gist is a lifelong artist who is determined to be among the best ! Marlon is known for his vibrant colors and a wide range of styles and mediums.
Artwork Submission(s):
Artwork Description:
- Guitar lessons,
- Taylor Swift,
- Roberto Clemente,
- Gist Ave,
- August Wilson’s Table
Applicant 4:
Name: Percy Echols II
Artist Bio:Percy Echols II is a Pittsburgh-based artist, alchemist, and educator at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, where he pioneers the development of a space dedicated to plasma and neon light art. Percy began his glass journey in 2011 at Illinois State University and discovered his passion for plasma in 2014 at Pilchuck Glass School. After earning a BFA in Studio Glass, he apprenticed at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, where donated neon equipment and a network of artists facilitated the growth of this new medium. In 2017, he launched the Taming Lightning podcast to explore plasma and neon, fostering enriching conversations with artists and institutions. His commitment was recognized in 2019 when he joined the Plasma Art Alliance Committee, and in 2020 he assumed a leadership role, reflecting his dedication to promoting plasma as a sculptural art medium. In 2023 he was nominated as a Board Member of Glass Art Society recognizing his connections and expertise, and opened an online store under Taming Lighting. Percy continues to share his expertise, aiming to make plasma art accessible through public institutions and inspire future artists, makers, and engineers.
Artwork Submission(s):
Artwork Description:
- Atupa (Lime Light), 2022
Blown and Engraved glass; Plasma Illuminated Gases
14.5in x 14.5in x 9in, wall mount
$8,400.oo
*requires outlet power, turns on by motion sensorimage link: https://percyechols.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/20220428_211323-scaled.jpg
video link: https://percyechols.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/20220428_211356.mp4 - Inspire (Neon Citrus), 2021
Blown and Engraved glass; Plasma Illuminated Gases
15.5in x 9.5in x 12in, wall mount
$11,200.oo
*require outlet power, turns on by motion sensorimage link: https://percyechols.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Inspire-2021-Neon-Citrus-1_photo-by-Nathan-J-Shaulis-Porter-Loves-scaled.jpg
video link: https://percyechols.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Neon-Citrus_Video.mp4
Applicant 5:
Name: Nick M Daniels
Artist Bio: Nick M. Daniels is a celebrated Pittsburgh-based choreographer, multimedia artist, and the founding Artistic Director of The D.A.N.A. Movement Ensemble (Dancers Against Normal Actions), a company he launched in 1991 to confront and challenge societal norms through movement. A graduate of Slippery Rock University with a BFA in Dance, Daniels has been celebrated as a Pittsburgh Cultural Treasure and recognized as a pioneer in exploring themes of race, sexuality, and identity in performance.
After a 20-year hiatus, Daniels reemerged in 2016 with a renewed artistic vision grounded in authenticity, innovation, and bold social commentary. Drawing from a dynamic blend of African, modern, and contemporary dance—infused with Butoh influences and raw emotionality—his choreographic language is uniquely his own. His work is a powerful fusion of dance, electronic soundscapes, video projection, and theater, creating immersive experiences that spark dialogue and reflection.
His creative practice has been supported by numerous awards and residencies, including a Pittsburgh Cultural Treasures grant, the Kelly Strayhorn Theater’s FRESHWORKS Residency, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ Preserving Diverse Cultures grant, and the Young-Howse Theater Award for Movement Artist of the Year. Daniels’ work has been commissioned and performed across the United States and internationally, and 2025 brings new opportunities to share his vision throughout Europe, Central and South America, and beyond.
Artwork Submission(s):
Artwork Description:
- It wasn’t what it should have been….
Images from American Safari
Digital Montage and Giclee Prints
Applicant 6:
Name: Gregory Scott Williams Jr
Artist Bio:
Gregory Scott Williams, Jr.
Writer, Producer, Director, Cinematographer, Photographer, Editor
Gregory Scott Williams, Jr. is an award-winning Artist. His current project, Connected, is a
multimedia project that includes a feature documentary film and an exhibition of large-scale
protests images. To date, Connected has been awarded an Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh
Grant from The Pittsburgh Foundation; a Creative Development Grant from the Heinz
Endowments; a Community Arts Program Grant from Duolingo; a Pittsburgh Cultural Treasures Initiative Grant from the Ford Foundation, Heinz Endowments and PACE; and a Foundation Directed Grant from The Pittsburgh Foundation. Connected was also selected to participate in an Artist Residency with Film Pittsburgh in 2023 and is currently scheduled for a solo exhibition at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center in 2027.
Greg’s short films have aired on network and cable television, screened at several international
film festivals, including Sundance, Cannes and Tribeca, and attracted over 100,000 online views.
Greg has been nominated for a DGA African American Student Award for Directing, Golden
Quill Award and a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award. His projects have also received several grants
and been awarded an Audience Award from the Pittsburgh Short Film Festival, a Paul Robeson
Award from the Newark Black Film Festival, and Best Short Narrative Awards from both the
Los Angeles Film Festival and the Chicago International Film Festival. Greg has also been
selected to participate in IFP’s Spotlight on Documentaries and No Boarders International Co-
production Program, Black Public Media’s 360 Incubator and Fund and Film Independent’s
Project Involve.
Greg attended Morehouse College and majored in English Literature. While at Morehouse,
Greg was an UNCF Scholar and studied the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at Hebrew University in
Jerusalem. He was also a Merrill Scholar as an undergraduate and studied Creative Writing and
English Literature at Hertford College, University of Oxford in England.
Greg attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Film Program. As a
graduate student at NYU, Greg received the Lew Wasserman Scholarship. He was also a Tisch
School of the Arts Scholar and studied at the FAMU School of Film and Television in Prague,
where he received an Excellence in Directing Certificate for his short film Kolos Zloga. He also
studied screenwriting in Paris as a Tisch School of the Arts Scholar.
Artwork Submission(s):
Artwork Description:
- “Connected 1″Image from an upcoming exhibition documenting peaceful protests held in Pittsburgh from 2016 to 2025.