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bio

Home is where the Heart is

as a coping mechanism.

b 1989 Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA | (they/them)

As a human rights organizer who has experienced houselessness, altruistic dreams pervade nik rye's practice  –  solidarity, radical love, & future joy. Collaboration is integral to nik rye's projects which tend to ironically oversimplify solutions  – for instance, community vs alienation  – to reveal abusive systems of power that are complexly woven into our daily lives. They investigate communication in relation to the spectacle as a pathway to empathy. An air of absurdity is present in their emotionally-heavy work as both a coping mechanism and a post-conscience societal criticism. 
 

nik rye is an activist, artist, and curator who previously belonged to a collective for whom the Broward New Times headlined as Activists Prank Fort Lauderdale Commissioners to Protest Homeless Hate Laws. In 2014, nik rye was arrested for sharing food in a public park -  a catalytic moment in which they equated protest and performance. They currently organize a mutual aid collective in Tallahassee, FL.

In February 2023, nik rye will be presenting at the Art + Social Justice Symposium at Florida State University. In June 2023, they will be exhibiting their curated show, Aquarius Pluto. nik rye has also performed spoken word and puppeteered in artistic and political spaces.
 

nik rye is an MFA candidate and fellow at Florida State University. They received a BA and an AS from FSU and Broward College, respectively. nik rye was awarded a Civil Disobedience Medal from the ACLU and is the recipient of the FSU Legacy Fellowship. They have been interviewed by numerous media outlets, including CNN and HerCampus. 

cv

(in brief)

download full CV

EDUCATION

2023    MFA Participatory Art, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

2020    BA Ceramics & Printmaking,  Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 


FELLOWSHIPS, HONORS, and GRANTS

2022    Academic Leadership Award, Florida State University Student Organizations & Involvement

2020   The Legacy Fellowship, The Florida State University Fellows Society (2020-2023)

2019    Silver Addy, American Advertising Federation of Fort Lauderdale

2015    Excellence in Civil Disobedience Medal, American Civil Liberties Union of Broward

 

PERFORMANCES

2022    We Can House Ann, Tallahassee, FL
             Butterfly Defect (play), Indaba Theatre, Tallahassee, FL     

2021    Keith Stafford Was Murdered, Gaines St  & Railroad Ave, Tallahassee, FL
             7 Days a Diamond, The Plant, Tallahassee, FL

2020   Tally Community Aid, Tallahassee, FL

2018    A Queer Goodbye, L Mercado Studios, Hollywood, FL

2013    Flower and The Kingdom of Fort Lauderjail, Broward Homeless Coalition, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
 

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2021    7 Days a Diamond Archive Show, The Plant, Tallahassee, FL

 

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2021    Thresholds, Working Method Contemporary, Tallahassee, FL

             Members Exhibition, 621 Gallery, Tallahassee, FL

2020    QuAR(T)antine, Performance Køkkenet, Copenhagen DK

2017    The Hive with Stephanie McMillan, Forward Spiral, Fort Lauderdale, FL

2016    Hang Your Bra, Little Haiti Cultural Center, Miami, FL

SELECTED CURATORIAL

2023    Aquarius Pluto: Aesthetics of Revolution, 621 Gallery, Tallahassee, FL

2022    re/fract, Carnaghi Arts Building, Tallahassee, FL
             Co-curated with my students in Contemporary Art Foundations
             All About Love, Working Method Contemporary, Tallahassee, FL 
             Co-curated with Camille Modesto    

2021    I think you should leave, Phyllis Straus Gallery, Tallahassee, FL
             Co-curated with my students in Beginning Ceramics


RECENT PRESS

2022    Bryan, Susannah, Fort Lauderdale may face $1.5M legal bill over public feeding crackdown, South Florida
             Sun-Sentinel, May 11. 

2021    Benoit, Marena, FSU Grad Student Advocating for Houseless Through Art, HerCampus, October 29.

             Bailey, Karah, Activist Creates Art to End Houselessness, ABC 27 WTXL Tallahassee, September 13.
             Ruane, Don, Gaines St memorial reminds us to do better for our houseless neighbors, Tallahassee
             Democrat, August 21. 
             Schneider, Tori Lynn, 'Helped me heal in a lot of ways:' rye reflects on living in a box for a week, Tallahassee
             Democrat, February 15.

             Dobson, Byron, In This Box: Artist Highlights Isolation, Tallahassee Democrat, February 8, p. A1

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