Photography Council’s Lunchtime Talk: Nykelle DeVivo

Free to the public. People are welcome to bring their lunch. A Flash of Spirit Artist StatementI use light as a ritual technology for spiritual intervention and ancestral protection. In this presentation, I’ll trace the evolution of my artistic practice and pay homage to those who guided me forward. From the potentiality in Sun Ra’s astral travels to the void work of decolonial struggles, I’ll discuss the power of light in all its forms. Nykelle DeVivo (they/them) is a Portland-based artist whose practice centers on light as a tool for ancestral connection and spiritual revelation. Through photography, film, and installation, they engage in a meditative dialogue with the unseen, drawing from diasporic traditions of divination, Afrofuturist methodologies, and Black Anarchist praxis. DeVivo holds an MFA in Visual Arts from the University of California San Diego and is an inaugural Google Image Equity Fellow. Their work has been presented internationally and is included in numerous public and private collections. They are currently preparing their first monograph, Tha Crossroads, a culmination of over a decade of image-making, slated for release in 2027. The Lunchtime Talk series is a presentation of the Portland Art Museum’sPhotography Council. Event link: https://portlandartmuseum.org/event/photography-councils-lunchtime-talk-nykelle-devivo/

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