Kiyan Williams

In addition to Unearthing, Williams has created other performances such as Where Do The Poor Go (2016), The Pretty Nigga Bitch (Work in Progress), and Growing Pains. Where Do The Poor Go is a site-specific, public performance that investigates gentrification in the Bushwick and Harlem neighborhoods of New York City.They have also worked collaboratively with other artists such as Rashaad Newsome, Nia Witherspoon, and Ann Carlson.

Kiyan Williams works across multiple disciplines, including performance art. In addition to creating their own performance based works, they have collaborated with and participated in other artists performances pieces that deal with similar issues of Queerness. William's longest ongoing project is Unearthing, which began in 2014. In an interview in Paper magazine, Williams said that for them, "performance is a very useful way to understand power and identity."

Unearthing: "Unearthing an ancient, genderqueer griot sits in a waist-high mound of dirt sourced from an unrecognized burial ground of enslaved Africans in New York City. The griot is both human and spirit; neither man or woman; of the past, present, and future. The audience witnesses the griot transform their body into an alter of protection for Black people – living, deceased, and yet-to-be born. During this ritual performance, the griot covers themselves in dirt, glitter, paint, and rum while unearthing stories of Black queer resistance and liberation." - Dixon Place Unearthing Performance Description.

Kiyan Williams (born 1991) is an American gender non-conforming, multidisciplinary artist who explores Black Queer Subjectivity. Their practice involves various media including video, sound art, installations, and performance that are informed by autoethnography, an investigation of archival materials, and social intervention. In addition to being a practicing artist, Williams is a cultural writer. They have contributed to publications such as the Huffington Post and The Feminist Wire. Williams lives and works in New York City, New York.

Kiyan Williams was born in 1991 in Newark, New Jersey. Williams moved to California to attend Stanford University. Williams has focused on comparative studies in Race and Ethnicity, which they also focused on as a Gates Millennium Scholar recipient in 2009. In 2014, Williams moved to New York City to develop their performance Unearthing.