Welcome to Our 2023-24 Resident Artists

This year, we received an overwhelming response for the 6th cycle of our art residency program. The number of applications in our open call nearly doubled!

The quality of the proposals we received was truly exceptional, reflecting the immense talent and dedication of artists within our community. The emphasis on experimentation and collaboration in these submissions was inspiring, and we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all who applied. Reading about your work and creative processes reminds us that sharing our practice as artists is an act of vulnerability, and we are incredibly grateful for your generosity.

We'd like to acknowledge and express our appreciation to our esteemed guest panelists committee: Carrie Chen, Nykelle DeVivo, and Bri Stokes. Their expertise and invaluable contributions enabled us to carefully select four exceptional artists for this cycle.

It is with great enthusiasm and excitement that we welcome Kyla Carter, Gemma Jimenez, Faith 'Aya' Umoh and Davia Spain to the Level Ground residency program!

• Kyla Carter

  Kyla Carter (they/them) is a Liberian-American, Los Angeles based multidisciplinary artist (occupied Tongva land) mainly working with textiles, video, and performance to create bridges between reality and memory, allowing new modes of myth-making to take place. In a world where Black bodies are relentlessly exploited, policed, and violated in ways that deny autonomy and leave Black people perpetually navigating pain and trauma, their work aims to liberate Black bodies by honoring their autonomy and creating a space in which communion with the ancestors can take place. Their lens as a Black, queer, trans nonbinary being informs their work, which is rooted in the exploration of Black liberation through kink and the centering of consent, shapeshifting, the healing of trauma in the body, self love, and death.

  Follow Kyla on Instagram.

• Gemma Gonzalez

  Gemma Jimenez Gonzalez (she/they) is a multimedia artist, educator, and community-based urban planner raised in Los Angeles with roots in Veracruz, Mexico. Her transdisciplinary practices bridge urban studies and visual arts to explore community relations, urban ecologies, and mobility. As an avid public transit rider and cyclist Gemma moves through lands envisioning a reality that fosters wonder, connection, and resilience. 

  Gemma is A.C.T. Coordinator with Public Matters and forms part of LA VACAcicleta and the Echo Park Film Center Collective.

• Aya Umoh

  Faith ‘Aya’ Umoh (she/her), a Nigerian-American digital artist, data scientist, and CEO of Creative Aya, a global co-creative art and media software company producing AI-driven immersive experiences. Her work has been showcased across the world, including Austria, Dubai, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States with Artsy, VellumLA, and W1 Curates. With over 12 years of experience and a master's in Biostatistics and Public Health from Boston University, Aya has developed over a dozen AI-driven software products.

  Driven by a deep desire for empathy, collaboration, and innovation, Aya seamlessly weaves the threads of futurism and generative AI into her creations. Her art serves as a conduit for co-creation with AI, an exploration that extends beyond boundaries. With each line of code and human interaction, Aya seeks to ignite a deeper understanding of our shared humanity, inspiring conversations that dismantle barriers and encourages an appreciation for the interconnectedness of all aspects of human experience.

  Follow Aya on Instagram.

• Davia Spain

  Davia Spain (she/her) is a performance artist, musician, and filmmaker born and raised in California. She harnesses afro-futurist themes of time travel, multi-dimensionality, and circular time theory to imagine new possibilities for this physical plane. Her education and training in music, dance, acting, and filmmaking started in highschool and continued on through college. 

  In 2017, Spain received her Bachelor's Degree in Experimental Documentary Making (Visual Anthropology) from San Francisco State University. During her time in college, she began working professionally as a performing artist and writer, continuing to hone her skills to date.

  Follow Davia on Instagram.

These four artists explore a diverse range of thought-provoking topics, including community movement paths in Los Angeles through public transportation and local plant life, cultural erasure and the potential of AI in preserving cultural identity, eroticism as a source of power, and the creation of Black liminal spaces that foster transformation and agency.

Over the course of their residency, we're committed to providing support to Kyla, Gemma, Aya, and Davia as they develop new works and further their artistic practice. We'll also be providing them support and will be co-producing their solo shows in March of 2024.

Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Kyla Carter, Gemma Jimenez, Faith 'Aya' Umoh, and Davia Spain! Their talent, dedication, and artistic vision will undoubtedly make a significant impact within our community and beyond.

Thank you for your continued support as we build community and create systems of care and access for artists!