As Buffalo’s first prominently out Black trans woman, artist Ari Moore has established herself as a leader and matriarch of the local movement for decades. After studying at the University of Buffalo and Daemen College, Moore has served an art instructor at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Langston Hughes Institute Center. She was one of the first artists to show at Buffalo's Juneteenth Festival. Moore owned and operated the Inner City Art Studio before joining the Buffalo Police Department, where she served as an officer for twenty-five years before retiring.