KOKAYI
ARtist-in-residence / February1 - april 25 2022
Kokayi, a multidisciplinary artist. producer, Grammy-nominated musician, preeminent improvisational vocalist, educator, storyteller, connector of dots, chief ideator and co-curator of BeatsnBeans: a cultural design project examining the intersections of creativity, coffee culture, and the re-imagining of creative spaces. He has performed in over 42 countries utilizing hip-hop culture as a tool for diplomacy, education, and catalyst in fostering cultural exchange. "My work is an amalgamation of my life experiences as filtered through; DC, Go-go and the music begat from the African diaspora."
Kokayi has been faculty at the School of Improvisational Music teaching vocal improvisation as it relates to Jazz and Hip Hop, collaborator with international arts program OneBeat, and a freelance music emissary with the U.S. State Department. DCCAH Artist Fellowship and Sister Cities grant recipient and has served as Artist in Residence for Music Meeting in Nijmegen, NL. Kokayi considers himself an emcee and performer first, no matter the medium, he allows his love for the lexicon of artistic language to control the narrative of creating and his love for the catharsis of performance to captivate his audiences across the globe. Halcyon Arts Lab Fellow ( HUBRI$), Creative DSGN for projects with Grammy-nominated artist Goldink and artist/musician Guillermo Brown.
Kokayi continues his art practice with the 18x24 photography project and musical work with Ambrose Akinmusire, Teri Lynne Carrington + Social Science (NPR Tiny desk), Whose Hat is This?, Ego Mondo, and MacArthur recipients Dafnis Prieto and Steve Coleman, respectively. He has been a TEDxWDC presenter, speaking on “collaboration and the creative economy,” and has taught university-level classes on vocal improvisation at Monash (Melbourne, AU), Universidade Lusíada (Lisbon, PT), Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, and San Francisco State.
During his residency, Kokayi produced a mixed-media exhibition around the over-proliferation of black trauma in media and music, mental health, and the imagery associated with each, utilizing manipulated photographs, film, and sound.
Learn more about KOKAYI’s work at www.kokayi202.com
BLACKNESS AND THE INFINITE POTENTIAL WELL
During his residency, Kokayi worked with Guest Curator Jarvis DuBois to produce a mixed-media solo exhibition around the over-proliferation of black trauma in media and music, mental health, and the imagery associated with each.
Exhausted and frustrated by the ever-present images of black death and trauma, multimedia artist and musician Kokayi offers a new way of seeing and being seen. Blackness and the Infinite Potential Well brings together sculpture, film, sound, and digital collage to create an immersive experience of varied and nuanced Black critique, joy, and resilience. On view from April 21 through June 18, 2022, the exhibition debuts new work created during the artist’s residency at The Nicholson Project.
Interested in becoming our next artist-in-residence?