SAGE NI’JA WHITSON (They/Them/Theirs)
Associate Professor
Sage Ni’Ja Whitson is a Queer & Trans anti-disciplinary artist and writer. Whitson is a Herb Alpert/MacDowell Fellow, United States Artist Fellow, NEA Awardee (with Fathomers of LA), Creative Capital and two-time “Bessie” Awardee, recognized by Brooklyn Magazine as a culture influencer and recognized by Park Avenue Armory as a trailblazing XR artist to know. They engage transdisciplinarity through a critical intersection of the sacred and conceptual in Black, Queer, and Transembodiedness. Whitson is an 18th St. Artist in Residence (Los Angeles), 2021-2023 New York Live Feed Artist in Residence, featured choreographer of the 2018 CCA Biennial, and invited presenter at the 2019 Tanzkongress international festival. Residencies and fellowships include Jerome at Camargo, Dance in Process at Gibney, Hedgebrook, Movement Research, Bogliasco Fellowship with commissions including EMPAC, California African American Museum, St. Mark’s Church at Danspace, American Realness and Vision festivals. Whitson received an M.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a second M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Goddard College, receiving merit and artist awards at both. They are a sought-after speaker, presenter, masterclass facilitator and conversationalist whose offerings have been shared among notable institutions and arts organizations: Princeton, Cornell, LAX Festival, Movement Research, 2020 keynote speaker at the Collegium for African Diasporic Dance conference, and UNESCO.