Think, Work, and Be Resilient | Fall 2025

Naomi Kliewer (they/them) is a performance artist, activist, and educator whose work celebrates resilience, curiosity, and play. Holding a Master’s degree in Communication from the University of North Texas, Naomi combines academic insight with lived experience to show how failure is never a final stop—it’s a pivot point toward growth and possibility. 

As a performance artist, Naomi explores identity, vulnerability, and transformation with a spirit of experimentation. Their activism focuses on building equitable, inclusive spaces for marginalized voices, while their role as an educator encourages students and artists alike to approach challenges with curiosity, embrace play as a tool for discovery, and find strength in adaptability. 

Across each of these roles, Naomi champions the idea that resilience isn’t just about enduring—it’s about reimagining, rebuilding, and creating with joy. 

Alex Barrera (he/they) is majoring in Interdisciplinary Art & Design with a concentration in Arts Management and a minor in Non-Profit Leadership Studies. They currently work as a Lead Assistant at the Union Arts Center located on campus and have experience working in both professional and student gallery settings. With a passion for community and the arts, Alex aspires to work within the non-profit sector while advocating for increased art accessibility. 

Alex Lima (he/him) is a Brazilian-born artist currently pursuing an Interdisciplinary Art and Design Studies degree at the University of North Texas, where he explores sculpture, mixed media, and digital art. His work often focuses on themes of perspective, identity, and social connection, creating installations that invite viewers to reflect on their own experiences. Alongside his art practice, Alex has been active in collaborative projects, exhibitions, and creative initiatives that bridge personal expression with community engagement. 

Mia Gorus (she/her) is a sculptor, doll maker, fiber artist, and a senior in Interdisciplinary Arts and Design Studies; Arts Management at the University of North Texas. When not working on her unique Art Dolls, submitting for exhibitions and competitions, or studying, she recruits for, promotes, and assists in managing a variety of international music festivals and study abroad programs. In Summer of 2025, she worked on site at the Vienna Summer Music Festival as a Production Assistant. Her responsibilities included scheduling festival events, created promotional and print materials, managing the festival social medias, and assisting stage directors and individual artists such as Marianne Schulz and Micheal Polo. She hopes to surround herself with the arts in every way possible and is open to where this creative path takes her. 

Danielle Naylor (she/her) is an administrator, programmer, and art museum educator living and working in the DFW. Naylor currently works as the Director of Operations at The Cedars Union, where she manages the organization’s daily operations and oversees its programs and artist-related communications. She previously sat on the Board of Texas Vignette as the Art Fair Director from 2019–2024, overseeing the annual art fairs, a pop-up, and assisting with the development and implementation of the online sales platform. 

With a passion for building connections between people and art, Naylor has spent over 10 years working throughout the US, doing everything from creating educational and interpretive material to managing education departments to museum registration, and even helped open The Museum of Street Culture. Naylor received her MA in Art Education, with a focus on Museum Education, in 2016 from the University of North Texas and received a BA in Art History from UNT in 2013. 

Dr. Lupita Murillo Tinnen (she/her) began her career at Collin College as a Professor of Photography 20 years ago. She was a past department chair and associate dean before serving as Dean of Academic Affairs and Workforce at Collin College Plano Campus. As a first-generation college student, Dr. Murillo Tinnen earned a doctorate in Humanities with a major in Aesthetic Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas, a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the University of North Texas, and a Bachelor of Arts in Photography from East Texas A&M. She serves as a board member of the ArtCentre of Plano and Hendrick Scholarship Foundation, and she is a member of the Nuestra Art Collective.