They are a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, SAG-AFTRA, and Actors’ Equity Association. Kiebpoli’s works received generous funding and support from Elizabeth Streb, Astraea Foundation, Asian Arts Initiative, and The New York Foundation for the Arts. While living out West, Kiebpoli nurtured film, stage, and literary relationships and in 2018, the concept of Queer & Trans Love Stories (“cuties”) was born at a writing residency in New Mexico’s Peñasco mountains. They were covered in Essence and contributed, “How It Feels… To Be An Aerial Acrobat” to Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine. Their social enterprise, Black*Acrobat, produces interdisciplinary programming sharing stories of, for, and with fringe communities, celebrating authentic visions and viewpoints through research, access, and collaboration.
Kiebpoli Calnek, a non-binary queer Black creative from NYC/Lenapehoking, has generated nuanced performances and creative direction seeped in poetic somatic elements for over two decades. This crucial work enriches the spirit of the performer with a platform for their truth and provides a unique window of reflection for the viewer.”
It is humbling to have the opportunity to engage with brave participants, helping them express their true stories, which capture the Black Trans narrative in all its raw authenticity and wisdom. “Working with TMI Project feels like divine guidance.