Today we’d like to introduce you to Khaleelah Harris.
Hi Khaleelah , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My theological training is the foundation of all that I do and really shapes who I am as a person. I attended Yale University for Divinity School and it was through that transformational experience that I really developed a vocational vision that centered the arts and the disenfranchised. My artistic and curatorial practice developed towards the end of my theological education and since graduating in 2021, I’ve really taken the time to develop both of those practices. I ran an art gallery here in Washington, D.C., spent a short time curating art exhibitions independently, and am now focused on my art practice as an Artist-in-Residence at The Henry Luce Center for the Arts & Religion at Wesley Theological Seminary. In recent years, my career has expanded through Social Entreprenuership and I am deeply committed to serving my community through arts, cultural, and wellness programming that addresses social issues.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Many of the obstacles I’ve faced in recent years centered around systematic failures and even institutional blockages that made pursuing particular paths very difficult. I’ve made a practice of “pivoting,” and allowing both blockages and open doors to direct me along my path.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a self taught multidisciplinary artist whose work lies at the intersection of alternative photography processes, experimental visuality, and neohoodoo aesthetics. Harris’ work blends mixed media collage, alternative photography processes, and assemblage of found objects to create installations that interrogate the lived experiences of African American women to create a style of image making that interprets ancestral presence, archival absence, ghostly matters, and The Blues.
How do you think about happiness?
Tending to my spirit through my art practice, spending time with people in my community, and ministering to people through my ministries of art.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.khaleelahharris.com
- Instagram: @khaleelahsstudio
