Ashley Mayeux began her dance training at the High School for Performing and Visual Arts and graduated cum laude with a BFA from SUNY Purchase. Mayeux continued her studies at Dance Theatre of Harlem and went on to perform in the tour of the Broadway musical Aida.

She has been featured in publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Pointe Magazine, and Dance Magazine. Mayeux was a member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet from 2012 to 2016, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 2016 to 2018, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet from 2018–21. She rejoined the company in 2021.

“The Jazz Church of Houston is an endeavor by artist Tierney Malone to create a temporary institution dedicated to collecting and sharing the story of Houston’s musical tribe. While there are museums in Texas dedicated to music, a space does not exist that chronicles the jazz history of Houston. The name “Jazz Church” drew its inspiration from the Church of John Coltrane in San Francisco. Established in 1970, the church uses John Coltrane’s music as an expression of worship. The Jazz Church of Houston is a secular temple that will serve as a communal gathering place for like-minded people to listen, learn and celebrate jazz music and culture in Houston.

The Jazz Church of Houston’s patron saint is Texas tenor legend, Arnett Cobb. He is the standard bearer for all those who came after him. He made Houston his base of operation instead of New York or LA, as many of his contemporaries have done. He mentored the next generation of jazz musicians who followed in his footsteps to New York. He is the model of rugged individualism that often characterizes Texans. He survived many physical challenges to pursue his passion of making music. He was hospitalized for a year from a car accident, and used crutches for the rest of his life. He never let his physical challenges prevent him from playing for audiences around the world.”-Tierney Malone, via jazzchurchhouston.org

The installation moved to a 3D virtual interactive space on the HMAAC website as a living archive.

BERT SAMPLES, “Manu Languidly Stirs Songs in the Grip of Shadow and Light”, 2011, glass, 55 x 188 in. located in the Dykes Library at University of Houston- Downtown (UHD) as part of Public Art of the University of Houston System collection. The piece references the four elements—earth, air, fire and water and was installed in 2011 and it’s one of our favorite titles for an artwork.

Bert Samples is a founding board member of Project Row Houses, a native Houstonian, he earned a master of fine arts degree from UH and a Core Fellowship at the Glassell School of Art of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.