.png)
About Nykieria Chaney
Nykieria Chaney is a writer, creative director, and cultural storyteller whose work moves across mediums.
An award winning playwright and author, Chaney develops productions rooted in American history while exploring the complexity of contemporary life. Her photography, licensed through Getty Images, contributes to the visual record of cultural moments and creative practice. Through her podcast, Black Art Is Lit, she encourages literacy and invites readers to engage new books with intention.
Nyk work is grounded in one belief: that storytelling is a way to uplift, to educate, and to strengthen the communities it serves.
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