This set of photos took place at the Ashtae Event Center. Itwas a genuine pleasure working with the models as we all had a good time doing what we love...

BIYO:Born September 6, 1983 in New Haven, CT to the arts, Kween (aka Jennifer Lee Moore) comes from an artistically inclined family blended from a multicultural environment. After receiving her B.A. in Art/Art Therapy Psychology, she traveled -- setting her sights on bringing an ‘up-north’ funk to Greensboro.

Mission:
Crafting her intricate visions under the elegant moniker 'Kween', Jennifer Moore's mission as an artist is to get to the core of the people; to let them experience art in its rawest form. She channels her artistist energy into several mediums of art, including digital and film photography, (cubist) drawing and painting, jewelry design (metalsmithing), dance, ‘spoken word’ poetry and more.

Born to a Cape Verdean/Portuguese and Black mother and Black/Portuguese father, culture was integral to who Kween would become as an individual and as an Artist.Kween works as a non-conformist, seeking to inspire and create a different movement among people. Her willingness to venture outside the norm is evident even in the naming and chosen spelling of her projects; Urban Kween Collekshun (‘collection’) & UrbanShotz Photography.

As a child, Kween honed her creative prowess through dance w/ a private dance instructor from the Alvin Ailey Dance company, going on to share her love of fluidity and movement as a teacher in high school and college. However, it was while attending Cooperative Arts & Humanities Magnet High School in New Haven, CT that Kween first realized that art was to be a vessel to reach the unreachable.

UK Collekshun Jewelry was born 9 years ago, in Kween's simple, unfinished attic studio in CT. The sweltering summers spent in 90-plus degree in that room were sacrifices necessary for growth. UrbanShotz Photography was born in 2008 after graduation from Albertus Magnus College. Moore focused her efforts around Art/Art Therapy Psychology so that she could continue doing what she loved and making a difference. Her collaborative vision for the UK Collekshun has led Kween to work with a broad spectrum of artists, including:

* Narada of MND Clothing and Art

* Aquila of Venus Phli Designs

* Jeweler Darrell Roach of DRD Jewelry

* Musicians, the Uprite Lions (a GSO based rap/reggae sensation), and

* JosephusIII, from Reasons to Rhyme Poetry

About the Movement

The UK Collekshun/ UrbanShotz Team are a collective of individuals devoted to Art, simply because it’s what they know, have learned, live and bled from every cut and scrape as progress heals and inspires them to move forward in production. Jennifer 'Kween' Moore and her partners (Temeka Moore and Trisha Becton) refer to their self-created culture as 'Urbanite' -- a precious lifestyle and struggle for which they each worked diligently.

Through their expressive design, people should be able to feel the physical embodiment of the struggle for respectable art styles and creations. The jewelry and accessory gear that the line provides is unique not only because of the medium used, but because each particular shape or design is impossible to duplicate. Therefore, the unique design gives customers a sense of quality and confidence that their piece is one-of-a-kind. Varying in color and fashion, the line offers pieces that most everyone can admire. From the more conservative of jewelry to our more edgy designs, every piece is hand-crafted with the love of art in mind.