Taliyah "TINK" Shepard (they/them) is a multifaceted creative who focuses on the Black femme experience, punk dreamscapes, comic art, and the reality of being Young, Black, and Excellent.
Taliyah’s most recent shows include Resilient Voices (2025) at the LGBT Center in NYC, Anti-
Valentine's Day (2025) at Neighborhood Studios in Jersey City, NJ, and participated in and won Up Mag’s Art Battle (January 2025), solo shows including the MCA BFA thesis Welcome to STARWORLD: exhume the Last MC (2024), and No Cops, Creeps, Phobes (2024). They have appeared in many publications, such as Artistas de Color Unidos (2023) and Yarnbomb (2023). They have been honored with the Student Showcase Merit Award (2021) and the Alumni Award (2023) and graduated with honors from Montserrat College of Art.
In their own words, their art focuses on connection and understanding. “I am not a revolutionary. I create with the intent to bless. To set off an emotion, thought, or connection to something in my work. My work says, ‘I see you, you are loved, you are art, be blessed, stay blessed.’ There's nothing better than that feeling.”
After graduating, Taliyah worked as an Associate at the Montclair Art Museum and interned at the Newark Arts Festival. They partnered with Windows of Understanding to create a window display for Bridges Outreach, an outreach that helps people facing homelessness. The artist started NOIR RENAISSANCE, a group focused on creating space for young POC creatives in the NJ/ NY area.
After the success of the Give Her Flowers gala, Taliyah’s curation journey continues with upcoming Noir Renaissance shows and Magazines.
