Artist Profile: Markeith Wiley

Markeith Wiley, the 2014 City Arts Future Lister and Artistic Director of the dance group The New Animals, has been in Seattle for just short of a decade. The works of the group and Wiley have been seen at On The Boards, Velocity and several other theaters in Seattle. Wiley conducted two residencies in 2012, one at Cal State San Luis Obispo and Riverside Community College (CA). With three tours to Sun Valley, ID and one to Riverside, CA, Wiley and the group plan to cross over to the east coast in 2015.

There is Markeith The Effeminate, The Lover, The Public Speaker, The Shadow, among other characters. 31 & Counting takes place in a corner of a living room, incorporating music composed by Seattle artists and samples from Southern California rap artists. Markeith explores the various parts of himself, while asking questions about what it means to be a black man in America, and more specifically, the Northwest.