NNEKA KAI
Atlanta, Georgia
Nneka Kai is an interdisciplinary artist from Atlanta, Georgia. She received her MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago in 2019. Additionally, she finished her BFA from Georgia State University in 2017. Kai’s work is a fluid material exploration of a black radical feminine identity through quotidian gestures and minimalist aesthetics. In her practice, she uses abstraction to reimagine an existence that expands ideas of self, site, and time.
Her practice is rooted in the exploration of personal and archival narratives through the material of hair. At the Art Institute of Chicago, she explored the history and conservation aspects of textiles within the Fiber & Material Studies collection. Not seeing herself represented in the objects, she decided to research the peripherals of textiles, in hopes of uncovering Black women’s material sensibilities throughout the diaspora.
Currently, Nneka’s studio practice explores these findings through performances and fiber works, emphasizing methods of abstraction and opacity.
She has performed and shown her works in Chicago, Atlanta, and North Carolina. In 2019, Kai had her first solo exhibition at Material Gallery in Chicago.
In 2021, Nneka exhibited in the Hair Stories Exhibition at The Newport Art Museum in Rhode Island.
She is currently a substitute teacher in Atlanta, while also co-curating an exhibition in the Textiles Department at The Art Institute of Chicago for Fall 2025.
2021 Swan Coach Gallery Edge Award Finalist Atlanta, GA 2020
Jean Alexander Artist Grant Recipient Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Contemporary Nexus Award Recipient Atlanta, GA
Works on Display
Feel Like Church on Sunday, 2021, found wood, found mechanical piece, kanekalon hair, and found plant, 14" X 13" X 30"
Speakerbrick, 2020, found brick, radio speaker, and paint, 3 1/2" X 3 1/4" X 7 1/2"
Hair Rug, 2017-2020, kanekalon hair, thread, 86" in diameter, installed: 89" X 51"