Kevin Spicer has taken workshops with Jim Boyle, Ayofemi Folayan, Michael Kearns, Rachel Rosenthal, Tim Miller, Doug Sadownick and Mehmet Sander. He was featured as a throng member in Rachel Rosenthal's 1993 production of "Zone." "The Baby with Emmett Till's Eyes," Kevin's first solo effort at HIGHWAYS, premiered in June 1994 as part of "Signifyin'," the first ever month-long festival of African-American lesbian and gay performance art.

 

Spicer created a Special Edition of the piece to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Emmett’s lynching, which was performed at Highways in August 1995. "Revolutionary Act," a coming-of-age performance piece exploring Kevin's fascination with the Black Panther Party, was performed at Highways in February 1995. The piece was selected for the Barnsdall Park "Up On Mondays" series in February 1997. Kevin was a featured performer in two performance works created by Ayofemi Folayan -- “An Eskimo in the Sahara” (Highways, October 1995) and “Terrorism Begins at Home” (L.A.C.E., March 1996).

 

After a hiatus from performance work—in August 2005, Kevin curated and performed in "The Murder of Emmett Till – 50 Years Later,” a series of works commemorating the 50th anniversary of Emmett’s murder at Highways. That experience remains a personal highlight. In August 2010, Spicer curated and performed in “The Emmett Till Project,” which brilliantly explored Till’s killing with another round of performance and visual art themed around the murder.

 

After the death of Gil Scott-Heron in 2011, Kevin gathered a group of artists to mount “All/Us/We,” a tribute to the pioneering musician that included Scott-Heron’s daughter Gia (also performing this year in "From Emmett Till to SNCC & Beyond: Words + Music + Art").

 

Having lost two sisters and his mother over the past decade and a half, Kevin is thankful to be alive and healthy + grateful for the opportunity of co-curating another performance/visual arts series, and working with the amazing talents—both "alumni" and those joining for the first time...