Visual Artists

Xena is a muralist, illustrator, narrative comics creator (bike zines), and photographer. She has a history of transportation advocacy that intersects directly with her passion for breaking down complex topics in her visual work so it is accessible to anyone. “As a visual artist with experience in writing and education, I seek out opportunities to use art with a focus on storytelling, informing, empowering, increasing, accessibility and generating conversation.”

Philipo Dyauli is a muralist who uses bold color palettes to capture the joys of everyday life, specifically elevating the representation of Black and Brown people and their lived experiences. He connected with housing specifically due to his personal and familial immigration story from Tanzania, seeing his parents navigate the complex housing experience in Minnesota.

Rock (CYFI) Martinez is an aerosol artist, public muralist, and graffiti writer with more than 25 years of experience creating large-scale public art pieces. With over 300 mural pieces across the country, Rock works across cultural boundaries to highlight the challenges communities face today. He’s known for pushing ideas to extremes to unlock public art awareness through larger-than-life murals that brighten city streets.

Kao Lee Thao is a muralist with extensive commissions, including work with Metro Transit and past community engagement experience. She has a deep personal and cultural connection to water and is eager to weave Hmong resilience and unity into the project’s vision of sculpting our collective future. She sees this project as “a transit system that moves with the stories and dreams of its community.”