.png)
About Nykieria Chaney
Nykieria Chaney is a singular creative voice moving across mediums to shape and document cultural narratives.
An award-winning playwright and author, her theater work excavates American history to illuminate the complexity of contemporary life. As a Getty Images contributor, her photography builds the visual record of defining moments and creative processes. Through her podcast, Black Art Is Lit, she expands literacy and invites intentional engagement with new books.
Anchored by the belief that storytelling uplifts, educates, and strengthens communities, Nykieria's multidisciplinary practice leverages the power of narrative to create transformative experiences and push culture forward.
The Chairman
A stage work examining power, legacy, and the cost of resistance, The Chairman centers the life and political impact of Chairman Fred Hampton. The production brings historical memory into sharp focus, inviting audiences to confront the unfinished conversations of justice, leadership, and community responsibility.

Zora! Let the People Sing!
Inspired by the life and spirit of Zora Neale Hurston, this production celebrates language, folklore, and the power of Black cultural expression. Blending performance, history, and literary homage, the work invites audiences to engage deeply with voice, place, and the preservation of story.

Altar Call
Rooted in Slave Songs of the United States (1867), Altar Call is an immersive performance that affirms the intellectual and musical brilliance of enslaved composers from the very beginning. The work traces how faith functioned not only as devotion, but as strategy, structure, and sustenance through unthinkable conditions. Through layered song and performance, Altar Call reclaims the sound, authorship, and sacred memory embedded within these compositions.


about the podcast
Black Art
is Lit
Podcast
Black Art Is Lit is a literary podcast hosted by Nykieria Chaney with a clear mission: increase literacy and introduce readers to new books. Each episode highlights a selected text, offering thoughtful context that encourages deeper reading and sustained engagement with literature.
Through the podcast, Nykieria Chaney connects story, reflection, and readership in a way that supports growth, curiosity, and lifelong learning.
Nykieria Chaney