Jonathan “radbwa faroush” Mayers is a Louisiana Creole artist, writer, poet, independent curator, and cultural activist born and raised in Istrouma / Baton-Rouj (Baton Rouge), Louisiana. Driven by a commitment to reconnecting with his heritage community and reclaiming his family’s native languages—Kouri-Vini (the endangered Creole language of Louisiana) and Louisiana French—his work falls under a distinct Creole art movement known as Latannyèrizm. This multidisciplinary practice melds visual art, language, and physical environment by pairing narrative paintings of mythological beasts in regional landscapes with accompanying micro-stories and poetry written in Kouri-Vini and French. Mayers builds custom ornate frames and incorporates physical earth, sand, and sediment gathered from environmentally sensitive and culturally significant sites directly into his artworks.
Mayers earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art (Painting) from Louisiana State University (2007) and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of New Orleans (2011). He is currently pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Mayers served as the Baton Rouge Poet Laureate from 2021 to 2023 and is the president and founding member of Chinbo, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and revitalization of Kouri-Vini.
Represented by the Arthur Roger Gallery in New Orleans, Mayers has presented notable solo exhibitions including L’Éparpillage (2017) and Nostalji ki fé rékòt (2023), alongside his solo exhibition radbwa ê tiré tik-layé at the West Baton Rouge Museum. His curatorial achievements include Mitoloji Latannyèr / Mythologies Louisianaises at the Capitol Park Museum (2023–2024) and Kont Kréyol-yé (Creole Folktales) at the West Baton Rouge Museum, which was accompanied by a 500-copy published catalog. His work has been featured in New American Paintings (South Competition #184) and published in peer-reviewed collections such as Naming and Being (Routledge), Févi (2022), Latær lèv (2023), and Folklore Figures of French and Creole Louisiana (2021).
Mayers’ international practice spans residencies and collaborative projects across North America and Africa, including De l'eau et des êtres (Of Water and Beings) in Togo with Togolese poet Dr. Anas Atakora, Centre SAGAMIE in Alma, Québec, the Salon du livre de Montréal, Est-Nord-Est in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Québec (2022), and A Studio in the Woods in New Orleans (2018).