DJ Perera

Dhananjaya "DJ" Perera is a Sri Lankan American artist entrepreneur residing and practicing in Fort Worth. He has served as an art educator for the past ten years currently teaching AP art for Eagle Mountain Saginaw ISD's Boswell High School. Perera is heavily engaged in art entrepreneurship and spearheads the NAMNAL (New Age Media New Age Learning) programme in conjunction with TCU and UTD in association with the EMS-ISD Education Foundation. The aim of NAMNAL is to expose secondary artists to new media/ non-traditional art techniques at the collegiate level and have students apply their knowledge in authentic and practical ways towards resume management. Perera has done work with HSC Next; facilitated as a visiting artist to both the Kimbell Art Museum and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; appeared on podcast and radio interviews including KERA NPR's 2021 State of the Arts discussing

the role of art and art education in Fort Worth. Perera has also served as a panelist speaker at the Start-up Champions Network Leadership summit and is a board member for the TCU Friends of the Library. He has recently been selected as a JP Morgan Chase Inclusive Excellence TCU Mentor and was recently selected as Innovate Fort Worth's top five favourite innovators of 2023. Perera is also the sponsor for the BOS Gentlemen Organisation which aims to instill philanthropy and entrepreneurship in young men.

Perera first moved to the United States in 2006. He graduated from TCU in 2010 with a BFA in Painting and Drawing, and later received his MFA in Painting and Drawing from Pratt Institute in New York at the age of 23. Perera has served as a National Advisor to the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations; As an artist his work has been commissioned and exhibited throughout DFW. In 2020 DJ Perera and was one of six grand-final recipients that was awarded the "New Normal" grants funded by Mr. Edward and Mrs. Sasha Bass during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Perera’s involvement with the Tarrant County Black Historical Genealogical Society first occurred during the 8th Annual Lenora Rolla Juried Art Exhibit. This was the first show and award ceremony that was organized virtually during the apex of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perera was awarded 2nd place in the drawing category. Three years later, Perera was awarded 1st place in the ink category during the 11th Annual Lenora Rolla Juried Art Exhibit. Recently, Perera was one of four panelist speakers invited to discuss the societal, educational and existential issues surrounding the importance of investing in underrepresented

artists. The roundtable dialogue was organized and hosted by TCBHGS and moderated by Dr. John Barnett.