Dexter Komakaru is the queer human behind his lifelong visual arts practice and creative design studio, DXTROSE, established in 2015. Born and raised in Central OH in the "bottoms" of the Hilltop neighborhood near what is now the Franklinton Arts District, he comes from a long lineage of visual artists and creators. As an Indigenous Northern Native American/Mexican person of queer and transgender experience, he views his complex and intersectional story as his superpower, using the hardships experienced through his lifetime as fuel for his creative fire.

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With a multidisciplinary background in visual arts, graphic design, and illustration and over half a decade of dedicated experience freelancing, he creates art inspired by his experiences and work throughout his youth in intersectional activism and community organising.

 

It's his hope that his lifelong body of work will be able to resonate with people who relate to the stories and struggles he's experienced, as well as provide inspiration to other aspiring artists for disrupting systemic cycles of harm and navigating a creative practice under capitalism from a revolutionary lens.

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In addition to working with clients as a freelancer, he is serving his second year as a member of the 2024 Greater Columbus Arts Council's Navigator's Program, representing the marginalised communities he comes from as a professional artist and expert in his field in the Central Ohio community.

As a GCAC Navigator, he provides creative consulting and peer mentorship, public speaking and panels on the arts, and connecting other aspiring professional artists in the Central Ohio area with grants and the necessary funding to continue pursuing their creative passions and potential. LEARN MORE >

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Previous clients include The Greater Columbus Arts Council, ForEveryone Co., GSANetwork, ResourceGeneration, Broadway Advocacy Coalition, The Columbus Metropolitan Library, Land Grant Brewing Co., Question Culture, and The Franklinton Arts District.

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Proud recipient of the 2023 Franklinton Arts District George Bellows EQUALI+Y Grant, Greater Columbus Arts Council's Funds For Artists 2023 Grant, a Congressional Commendation from the Ohio House of Representative's 13th District, and the 2019 Huck House Youth Award for community impact.

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Public art installations in Central Ohio include the Columbus Commons 2023 Egg Prize Machine and two public art sidewalk murals in the Short North Arts District and The Ohio State University District, sponsored by FLOWOhio.