Dr. Marques Redd
A multimedia artist, independent scholar, and traditional African cosmologist, Marques Redd is the co-founder of Rainbow Serpent, a nonprofit that seeks to advance Black LGBTQ culture through the exploration of emerging technologies, advanced healing protocols, multimedia art, and traditional African cosmologies. He has led multi-day retreats and workshops on African ritual around the country; published scholarly essays on figures such as the jazz musician Sun Ra, novelist Ishmael Reed, and art collective Women of Visions; and co-directed Obi Mbu (The Primordial House), a 30-minute film which presents a choreographed dance performance exploring the movement of illuminated Black dancers as they reenact an Igbo myth of creation. He is currently working on a book called Myth-Science of the Gatekeepers, which will accompany his series of 16 glass sculptures of queer African deities that will be exhibited at the Pittsburgh Glass Center in May 2024.