bout me.
shalandrea houchen
creative. director. educator. human believin in the cause.
experiences of creation
Lucas Museum
What’s Ya Story! MoLAA Afro Latin X Museum
Workshop production
February 2023
Workshop SLC
Basquiat Taught Me
Workshop production and custom piece February 2023
Utah Museum of Fine Arts
What’s Ya Blueprint?
Workshop production and custom piece
February 2023
Utah Museum of Contemporary Arts
What’s Ya Drum? Lead Teaching Artist With OUT LOUD Teens Workshop production
February 2023
Utah Museum of Contemporary Arts
What’s Ya Roots? Paint N’ Plant Family Saturday’s
Workshop production
February 2023
Oasis Cafe
Paint N’ Plant Family Workshop Production
December 2022
Getty Museum 25th Anniversary
Crenshaw Remembers Art Installation and Workshop Production-What’s Ya Bloom?
August 2022
Parenting for Liberation
What’s Ya Pride?
Family portraits and workshop production
July 2022
Getty Museum 25th Anniversary
Koreatown Art Installation and Workshop Production
June 2022
West Elm
Spring Vibrations : Paint N Plant
Art Installation and Workshop Production
February 2022
Magic Johnson’s Kids Toy Drive with Crete Academy
Paint N’ Vibe workshop production and installation
December 2021
Insecure Film Screening
Installation Production
November 2021
Art by All Natural - Alibi Art Gallery
Curated three black artists work in a 2,500 sqft art gallery. Three day pop up with 5 events. Curate each event inspired by self empowerment, mental health, and expression. Creating ahead of trend concepts for shows, forming community events merging wellness, food, art, music, and nature.
July 2022
Tower of Light - Orthodox Art Gallery
Curated show with 22 visual artists, performers, writers, and entrepreneurs in a 500 sqft art gallery. Curated 8 events with vendors, caterers, wellness leaders, youth activity leaders.
February 2022
What’s Ya Story? - Orthodox Art Gallery
Curated show with 10 visual artists, self included. 35 day running show with 22 events including movie screenings, moon rituals and more.
October 2021
Phoenix Salon N Barbershop - Sole Folks Art Gallery
Curated show with 11 visual artists, self included. Coordinated 4 events with vendors, caterers, wellness leaders, and local youth.
February 2021
What’s Ya Zodiac? -NYC Chelsea Warehouse
Curated 8-day event with 12 BIPOC artists, self included and 12 immersive room installations and activations, corporate and community sponsors, and shop. NY Times mentioned.
September 2019
issa state of mind
Shalandrea Renee Houchen is a LA born NYC raised Jamaica American performative creative, artist, designer, educator and Director of What’s Ya Vibe? organization.
In her practice she uses everyday objects like black hair, it's accessories and vibrant media to express our societies love, fear and confidence. Her intention is to awaken, activate joy through humor and record history.
She uses her feet, hands and objects to create beats and vibrations on her work that jump out of the canvas or the ceiling to create experiences. With each piece being story based Shalandrea makes narratives using provocative bursts of energy along with tranquil brush strokes.
As a producer, director and curator she takes pride in creating experiences showcasing the work of Black Artists and all things the empower and educated POC creatives. After creating and producing, NY times mentioned "What's Ya Zodiac?" A twelve room zodiac art playground, Shalandrea now uses elements of astrology in her work highlighting our differences and similarities through elements like water and fire.
In honor of her mother, Yolanda “Yoly” Renee Thomas she often uses pearls representing her connection to the divine and ability to see beauty in all things that are deemed imperfect.
As a stage and film performer she has shown in Scorsese’s Vinly, is theatrically trained from age five under Wendy Raquel Robinson and Denise Dowse. She is has also won a NAACP award for playing, “Mistress It’s a Pity!” From the South African play “SARAFINA!”
The use of music plays a major part of Shalandrea’s work, she creates instruments to then be used as tools for spreading and blending colors.
Through digital art she expresses the continual need of diverse media motifs that occur in the USA by use of pop art.
As a teaching artist and founder of What’s Ya Vibe? she has worked with youth over 1,000 youth in Los Angeles and New York City and Salt Lake City. She creates curriculum based on wellness, self care, art therapy and multicultural arts.
Shalandrea has based her current practice around the principles of aiding herself and through that having knowledge that what she learns should be shared to communities for the worlds overall unification.