User:Nyeboah/sandbox/Maori Karmael Holmes

Maori Karmael Holmes (born 1978) is a curator, filmmaker, and writer. She is most known for founding the BlackStar Film Festival. Currently, she serves as the Chief Executive & Artistic Officer of BlackStar Projects which produces the annual film festival along with Seen, a biannual print and digital journal and Many Lumens, an interview podcast. Holmes is the 2023 recipient of United States Artists' Berresford Prize.

Early life and education
Maori Karmael Holmes was born in Los Angeles and grew up in both Atlanta and Los Angeles. Her mother is a playwright and painter.

Holmes is a 2005 graduate of Temple University where she obtained an MFA in film and media arts. She also studied costume design at the California Institute of the Arts and holds a BA in history from American University (Class of 1999).

Career
Holmes' filmography includes Scene Not Heard (2006), a 45-minute documentary about women in hip hop, and producer credits for films The Destiny of Lesser Animals (2011), Big Three (2022), and By Water (2023).

As a writer, Holmes began her career working for publications like Philadelphia Weekly and Washington City Paper. In 2013, it was announced that she and Jeff Chang were working with Black Thought to write his memoir.

Holmes has held leadership roles in various arts organizations, including the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia and Leeway Foundation. In 2018, Ava DuVernay welcomed Holmes as the executive director of ARRAY Alliance. Holmes has also independently curated arts programming including, the film program for the 2019 Whitney Biennial and events at The Underground Museum, Anthology Film Archives, and other institutions. In 2023, she curated Terence Nance's debut solo exhibition, Terence Nance: Swarm, for the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia.

Awards and recognition

 * 2019 — Essence Magazine Woke 100
 * 2019 — Soros Equality Fellow
 * 2021 — The Kennedy Center Next 50
 * 2022 — Philadelphia Magazine 100 Most Influential People in Philadelphia
 * 2023 — United States Artists Berresford Prize