ABOUT NYKELLE DEVIVO
In using photography as language to understand their evolving sense of self, Portland based artist Nykelle DeVivo finds their voice referring to histories of Afro spiritualism and expressions of Black queer joy. Photographing ethereal bodies of light, sensual self portraits and quiet moments of prayer, their images act as a portal between timeless states of being and the physical world they inhabit. Nykelle studied critical theory & photography at the San Francisco Art Institute before going on to be published in articles such as Aint-Bad & I-D, displaying in group shows across the country, and assisting journalists for projects in The New York Times, The California Sunday Magazine and more. Their work can be viewed at nykelledevivo.com

ABOUT MIKAEL OWUNNA
Mikael Owunna is a queer Nigerian American multi-media artist, filmmaker, and engineer. Exploring the intersections of visual media with engineering, optics, Blackness, and African cosmologies, his work seeks to elucidate an emancipatory vision of possibility that pushes people beyond all boundaries, restrictions, and frontiers.

Owunna’s work has been exhibited across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America and been collected by institutions such as the Nasher Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Equal Justice Initiative; Duke University Pratt School of Engineering; and National Taiwan Museum. His work has also been featured in media ranging from the New York Times to CNN, NPR, VICE, and The Guardian. He has lectured at venues including Harvard Law School, World Press Photo (Netherlands), Tate Modern (UK), and TEDx. Owunna has published two monographs: Limitless Africans (FotoEvidence, 2019) and Cosmologies (ClampArt, 2021). Owunna’s multi-media practice includes film, and in 2021 he directed the dance film Obi Mbu (The Primordial House): An Igbo Creation Myth with Marques Redd. Owunna's work has been commissioned for major public art installations by organizations including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Foundation, Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh, Pittsburgh International Airport, and Orange Barrel Media.

Owunna is represented by ClampArt, New York City.

ABOUT RA MALIKA IMHOTEP
Ra Malika Imhotep is a Black feminist writer and performance artist from Atlanta, Georgia currently pursuing a PhD in African Diaspora Studies and New Media Studies from the University of California. As a scholar and cultural worker, Ra is invested in exploring relationships between queer Black femininities, Black vernacular cultures, and the performance of labor. As a steward of Black Studies and Black feminist thought, Ra dreams, organizes, and facilitates spaces of critical reflection and embodied spiritual-political education. Ra is co-author of The Black Feminist Study Theory Atlas and author of gossypiin (Red Hen Press, Spring 2022). 

They are also a co-convener of The Church of Black feminist Thought and a member of The Black Aesthetic curatorial collective.