Jenn Nkiru is an award-winning visionary artist and director from Peckham, London. Pushed through an afro surrealist lens, her works are grounded in the history of Black music, the aesthetics of experimental film, international art cinema, the Black arts movement and the rich and variegated tradition of cinemas of the Black diaspora and their distinct experimentation with the politics of form. As an artist, her works have screened internationally, from The Museum of Modern Art (MOCA, LA), to the Tate Modern London, The Victoria and Albert Museum in London to the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in London and Boston as well as MASP in São Paulo where she had her first solo show.

Nkiru is one of 75 artists selected for the Whitney Museum of American Art’s 2019 Whitney Biennial by curators Jane Panetta and Rujeko Hockley. Her latest film, BLACK TO TECHNO which premiered at Frieze LA Feb 2019, explores the philosophical, geopolitical, sonic and anthropological origins of Techno. In October 2019 she exhibited a multi-screen exhibition version of her film REBIRTH IS NECESSARY as part of TRANSFORMER: REBIRTH OF WONDER at Store X, 180 Strand.

Marc Thomas is a native New Yorker and filmmaker based in Brooklyn. He has always been fascinated with storytelling, visuals and sound, and he started his creative exploration as an artist and illustrator attending LaGuardia High School in New York.  Being the son of jazz drummer Bobby Thomas, Marc was always fascinated and inspired by music, leading him to learn to play guitar and write music, something that he still enjoys today. He has written several screenplays, directed short films and music videos, and worked as an editor for with many talented filmmakers- most recently cinematographer Bradford Young, on his directorial debut short films “Black America Again” and “Letter to the Free,” both films  inspired by musician and actor Common’s music album “Black America Again."

Marc also collaborated with Mr. Young on the film instillation “REkOGNIZE”, which was featured at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburg. Most recently, Marc was part of the directors collective The Ummah Chroma on the film “AS TOLD TO G/D THYSELF”, a film inspired by Mr. Washington’s album “Heaven and Earth”, which made its debut at Sundance 2019. He co-founder of the production company Rock & Roll City, with his wife, producer Erin Wile.

When Kamasi Washington released his tour de force LP, The Epic, in 2015, it instantly set him on a path as our generation’s torchbearer for progressive, improvisational music that would open the door for young audiences to experience music unlike anything they had heard before. The 172-minute odyssey featuring his 10-piece band, The Next Step, was littered with elements of hip-hop, classical and R&B music, all major influences on the young saxophonist and bandleader.

Released to critical acclaim, The Epic won numerous awards, including the inaugural American Music Prize. Washington followed that work with collaborations with other influential artists such as Kendrick Lamar, John Legend, Run the Jewels, Ibeyi and the creation of “Harmony of Difference,” a standalone multimedia installation during the prestigious 2017 Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

In June 2018, Washington released Heaven and Earth to wide praise.  The album garnered “best of” awards from Pitchfork, NPR, Variety, GQ, MOJO, and Complex among others. Collaborating with cutting edge filmmakers Bradford Young, Jenn Nkiru, Terence Nance, and Marc Thomas, Washington helped direct AS TOLD TO G/D THYSELF, a film inspired by Heaven and Earth which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019. The film has also screened at The Broad, Stony Island Arts Bank, The Apollo Theater, and 180 The Strand in London.