Richard Kennedy

Richard Kennedy’s multidisciplinary practice is interested in relationships and navigating sexuality as it occurs at the intersection of class, race and gender. Considering opera through a language of African American experience — drawing on the oral histories told through spirituals and chain gang songs — Kennedy disrupts the tradition of Western theatre in order to generate new participatory modes of viewership. Through creating costumes and set design for opera, Kennedy was drawn to painting, sculpture and video – drawing on a process of layering, obfuscation and temporality (slowness) that contradicts his practice in live performance. Recent Solo Shows Include Acey-Deucey (Jeonnam Museum of Art), Libretto Accidentale (Peres Projects Milan), Awake in a Nightmare (Kunsthalle Winterthur). Recent Performances include : Black Swan’s Song (Creative Director, Performance Space New York Gala 2023), Zeferina (The Industry LA), Reverence , and Ever (Palais De Tokyo). Richard is a graduate of The Milton Avery Institute at Bard College (MFA)