Introducing the New Faces of Halcyon Arts Lab
Halcyon is thrilled to announce the newest cohort of Halcyon Arts Lab Fellows. These eight socially driven artists – working in multi-disciplinary media from choreography to poetry to visual arts – will join the Halcyon community this fall as they embark on a nine-month residency in the nation’s capital. Through the language of art, they will tackle economic inequality, systemic racism, socio-political upheaval, indigenous incarceration and other contemporary issues of social justice.
Kelli Rae Adams – visual artist who molds clay and other materials to examine economic systems and our relationship to labor, currency and value through both functional objects and installation-based work.
Kokayi – GRAMMY-nominated artist and educator entrenched in the ethos of hip hop culture and exploring the origins of creativity and innovation through experiences centered on DC, Go-Go and the music of the African Diaspora.
Jessica Mehta – poet, novelist and member of the Cherokee Nation working with incarcerated Native American women on a book of poetry which will illuminate the disparities of Native Americans within the justice system.
Tariq O’Meally – dancer and choreographer seeking to create empathetic and socially-relevant kinesthetic stories through the movement of the African American body which disrupt the canonized imagery of the black narrative.
João Pina – Portuguese-born photographer shedding light upon global socio-political changes, changing urban landscapes and human rights abuse through the language of visual memory.
Ada Pinkston – multimedia artist, educator and cultural organizer examining the intersection of imagined histories and socio-political realities on our bodies through inter-subjective exchanges.
Mengxi “Althea” Rao – journalist-turned-artist exploring storytelling and political discourse through embodied interactive design, conceptual essayistic video and immersive narrative experiences.
Naoko Wowsugi – multidisciplinary artist drawing on local lore, horticulture and community participation to celebrate human connection beyond interpersonal and socio-political norms.
(via Halcyon Arts Lab. Photo courtesy of Halcyon Arts Lab.)
