Brandi “Noire” La Zard was raised in Houston, Texas. La Zard received her BFA (Individualized Film/Video/Performance and Drawing) from California College of the Arts in San Francisco/Oakland. Her work has been selected and featured in the Creative Quarterly, as one of the national finalists in the Fine Art Professional category for the No. 27 circulation. She’s also featured in WMN Zine publication dedicated to artists living with disabilities. Ms. La Zard exhibited work in the group exhibition Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series – Regional – Houston Museum of African American Culture, Houston, Texas. La Zard currently lives and works in Houston, Texas: „My work explores my life-long curiosity and fascination with form. Specifically, typography and architecture have directly influenced my artistic approach, aesthetic. The forms are created through free association; in addition, predetermined forms are used as the catalyst to develop the overall composition. My studies in graphic design, typography, architecture, abstract constructivism, and pop art have shaped my aesthetic, thus far, in the majority of works to date. Merging gestural mark-making with structured line-drawing dominates the overall composition. In this realm of competing styles of mark-making (gestural, precision mark-making), the works highlight the desire to create freedom, harmony, and balance between those worlds.“

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Dr. Jampa Wurst (they, them) studied comparative religion at Freie Universität Berlin, where they earned their PhD in 1999. In their studies, they conducted field work among Tibetan Buddhist nunneries in exile India. They was ordained twice with white robes in Theravada Buddhism. From 1991 – 1999 they studied at the Tibetan Centre in Hamburg the “7 Years Systematic Studies of Buddhism”. They finished with a certificate and earned a small yellow hat of the Gelug tradition, so similar to a teacher/acharya.

Furthermore, they is a lifelong member of Sakyadhita, has held regular workshops about LGBTQQIA+ at Buddhist Conferences.

As DJ Jampa Sausage, they invented Dharma Rap, a playful medium to stir interest in education, research, Buddhist, ethics, feminism, diversity, and politics.

On the artistic side, Jampa is not only a rapper but also a painter with more than 100 paintings in her digital atelier. Now, it is her pleasure to organize the International Queer Buddhist Conference.

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Graduated in graphic design in 2005, he did his postgraduate studies in Socio-Psychology in 2015 at FESP-SP (Foundation School of Sociology and Politics of São Paulo)(2021). He then completed his master’s degree in Religious Studies in 2022, also at PUC-SP. He is currently doing his second degree in History at UPM-SP (Mackenzie Presbyterian University of São Paulo).

Icaro has been a Buddhist for 15 years, beginning his journey in the Japanese Nichiren-shu tradition. After a trip to Japan, he had a series of experiences in temples of the Pure Land tradition, learning more about this school and the teachings of Amida Buddha. On his return, he decided to move to the Higashi Honganji school, the Otani-ha branch of the Jodo Shinshu tradition, where he still practices Pure Land Buddhism today. In 2019, he also co-founded the Ranbow Sangha Brasil community alongside Reverend Jean Tetsuji, where he works to welcome the LGBTI+ community, showing Buddhism as an opportunity for religious identity for our community.