Round FIVE
We would like to thank all of our donors for supporting our 2023-2024 efforts to provide six grants in the Deep Ellum community to Jess Garland, Jacks Haupt, MurieL, Ori Evans, Alfredo Pina, Jeremy Biggers, and Jonathan Thomas. We're all working hard right now to face the many challenges in Deep Ellum, including the Commerce Street construction, disruption to businesses, loss of revenue for performers, and the rapid gentrification of our neighborhood. Your support is a testament that what we're doing in our community is important for the preservation and culture of Deep Ellum Thank you for investing in Deep Ellum, and for believing in the future of our neighborhood. We promise to keep at it and to never take your support for granted. Meet our 2024 grant recipients and read their stories!
Jess Garland
Jess Garland is a multi-instrumentalist from Dallas who founded Swan Strings, a nonprofit that offers free lessons to Dallas supporting diversity and equity through music education,6 and executive director of Girls Rocks Dallas, a day camp for girls, trans, and gender-expansive youth.7 She’s been recognized as one of Wild Turkey’s Local Legends, featured on the cover of Dallas Weekly, and has appeared as a featured speaker on TEDx’ Facing The Music: Finding Your Purpose and recently inducted as a member of the Recording Academy. She assisted Deep Ellum 100 as a panelist to help select artists for the Sounds of Deep Ellum album.
Her music, described as celestial avant-garde pop and ethereal jazz, began in Deep Ellum and has collaborated with Sounds of Deep Ellum Artists Flower Child, Skinny Cooks, as well as RC Williams, We Them Grays, and has gone to perform the Wyly Theater, and joined the board of directors for Friends of WRR, Dallas’ classical music station managed through KERA. Her work in the Dallas community has given hundreds of children throughout South Dallas an outlet of expression through the conduit of music.
“We are located in Dallas, Texas, and primarily serve North Texas of all ages. With the help of a few critical partnerships like She Shreds Media and Kyser Musical Products, I’ve reached audiences outside of North Texas. I think there are a lot of youth and adults that can benefit from the education that Swan Strings provides.”
Jacks Haupt
Jacks Haupt is a Dallas-born and raised singer-songwriter who’s recent acclaim was starring in the Disney+ film “Mija” featuring her hit single “3am” which has garnered over 1 million streams since it’s release. As Time Magazine says her music, "draws from the Chicano community of Texas, the divine feminine, and influences ranging from Amy Winehouse and Thom Yorke of Radiohead to Latin soul musician Joe Bataan and the English electronic band Sneaker Pimps."
Hailing from Oak Cliff, Haupt grew up in the artistically rich community, gifting her lively, flavorful culture, and an overflowing abundance of creativity. She has then released a number of singles mixing genres of hip-hop, R&B, jazz, pop and continues to be on the rise as an up and coming starlet in music and now in film. In 2020, she was one of five recipients to receive a grant from Deep Ellum 100 and performed at the Sounds of Deep Ellum album release show at the House of Blues.
MurieL
Hailing from Oak Cliff, MurieL is a Latin singer and recording artist who is on a path to stardom. She has been affectionately dubbed “The Oak Cliff Princess.” after receiving the moniker from her younger brother, and it stuck around following the debut of her EP, Trust The Process, in May 2021. Since then, she’s released a number of hit singles including her latest “Él” which can be found on all streaming platforms.
The R&B singer has developed a fan base singing both English and Spanish ballads about love, femininity and finding perspective, with such songs as “Chaos,” “Running Away” and “Your Heart is Mine.” She passionately shows off her R & B and rap skills with confidence and has helped put Oak Cliff Latin culture in the spotlight.
MurieL originally found her voice leading worship services in the West End to uplift disadvantaged communities. In a span of four years, her incredible talent has lead to her being immortalized with several murals in her hometown.
“I feel like I can express myself and my experiences through music, so going through the hard moments, the way I could feel myself getting better was, is, through journaling, through writing and through singing,” states Muriel.
Ori Matisse Evans
Ori Matisse Evans is a Dallas-native cinematographer and an Experience Designer for VLK Architects of North Texas. His eye behind the camera has captured a number of Dallas based musical artists such as Cure For Paranoia, WRLDFMS Tony Williams, and has worked closely with Deep Ellum 100 for the Sounds of Deep Ellum record. Hint: Visit our Sounds of Deep Ellum Page to see a quick preview of his work with us!
Evans continued work in film has involved working with advertising firms and directing commercials here in Dallas. Currently, Evans is working on a new narrative with members JayAnalog, Tomahawk Jones of Cure For Paranoia entitled Levels To This Sh*t, as a follow-up to his 2017 award-winning short, Mourning Dove.
In additional to his work, Evans’ filmmaking has made an impact in Dallas architecture as an Experience Designer for VLK Architects by structuring 3D models and capturing the finished building on video. His love for art and architecture is inspired by the city he loves.
“Look to our skyline and you see so much innovation. Dallas really embraces art, architecture, and creative thinking.”
Jeremy Biggers
Jeremy Biggers is a visual artist and photographer who’s work can be seen from the gritty streets of Deep Ellum to confectionary surrealism in the Sweet Tooth Hotel. His work of art, Stem and Thorn, utilizes vibrant color palettes to interpret the beat of each neighborhood and interprets it’s desire to communicate the need to cultivate and maintain the culture of Dallas as the city continues to gentrify. Some of his mural work includes the infamous Selena on Jefferson Street, Mavericks/Leon Bridges at Patagonia in Deep Ellum, and the Dream mural at Deep Ellum 100. In tandem with visual art, he has worked as videographer and director with musical artist and MC, Dezi 5, on his music video “Lady.”
His expressive work has been featured on Cadillac Presents, mentioned in D Magazine, Dallas Observer, and WFAA. Jeremy’s defining work highlights his positive message to embrace culture as a Black American in an act of defiance against discrimination and systemic racism. As he states on his website, “‘Defiant’ is about owning our ‘extra-ness’ especially when it isn’t welcomed, and being ‘extra’ anyway.”
Alfredo Piña
Alfredo Piña is a former New York native with an interdisciplinary visual arts and advertising background who has made Deep Ellum his home. Alfredo’s work on canvas is primarily acrylic and oil, but you can find many murals he's spray painted right here in Deep Ellum, including Jimi Hendrix, T. Bone Walker, and Leon Bridges, which can be found in Blues Alley. Others murals include Nike of Samothrace across the iconic Trees music venue, and his latest, is a portrait of Marc Rebillet on Good Latimer in the newly revamped Deep Ellum Art Park.
Since graduating from New York University, his career and life has been split between New York and Dallas specializing in both art and advertising. He has worked with many top agencies like Lerma, BBDO, McCann, Infinite and others to produce national campaigns for brands like Avocados From Mexico, Anheuser-Busch, Walmart, Dr Pepper, Dove and others. His conceptual and production experience as a Brand Director led him to open his own shop called 1 Giant Leap producing Super Bowl spots, SXSW, Marvel Comics partnerships and other national campaigns
He is an avid supporter of Deep Ellum and helped bring the latest Sounds of Deep Ellum vinyl album, merchandise and campaign to life with Deep Ellum 100. You can expect to see Alfredo dial up his presence and artwork in the Dallas area in 2025.
Jonathan Thomas
Starting his career as an in-house engineer and producer at one of Dallas’s most iconic studios, The Institute, Jonathan Lamont Thomas aka JAYANALOG, first gained attention as a member of the premiere Dallas hip-hop group, Cure for Paranoia. Having played a pivotal role in shaping Dallas’ musical culture through their numerous collaborations (Erykah Badu, We Them Grays, Chilldren of Indigo) and high profile performances, Cure For Paranoia has become synonymous with the new sound of Deep Ellum.
Since being voted Dallas Observer’s Best New Act of 2015 and releasing their first record in 2016, the group has landed several placements with their single “Feel Alive,” on ESPN’s US Open campaign and Lion’s Gate Film, 2 Minutes of Fame. Cure for Paranoia also placed single “Ain’t a Thing”, in IFC and SXSW Grand Jury Winner, Sh*t House. As the band became the new face of Dallas underground culture, Cure For Paranoia would later share bills with Erykah Badu, Nas, Ludacris, 21 Savage, BADBADNOTGOOD, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
Apart from the group, Thomas has production credits on Chandler Moore & The WRLDFMS Tony Williams’ “Anymore” and as a founder of the production house “Inside The Institute.” His instrumental productions have also been featured by Fox Sports, Bally Sports, the UK Outdoor Network and several international television series. Currently Thomas is expanding The Institute’s catalogue while releasing more collaborations with The WRLDFMS Tony Williams, BJ the Chicago Kid, and Johnny Venus of Earthgang. Thomas will also be producing Cure for Paranoia’s 2023 release, “Center of the Maze.”
Jayanlog is married to Kierra King Gray of the storied "We Them Grays" musical family and they have two children.
