Kibibi Ajanku

Kibibi Ajanku serves as a resident artist, researcher, and community connector in the Baltimore Natural Dye Initiative, part of the Natural Dye as Cultural Connector project in collaboration with the Maryland Institute College of Art. Ajanku works as an Urban Arts Professor for a small cohort of students at Coppin State University, and additionally serves as a Community Researcher for MICA. Through her work as an arts leader, an artist, and an educator, Ajanku works consistently and deeply as a social justice voice. She curates and guides the elements of the Urban Arts Leadership Fellowship for the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, where she serves as Equity and Inclusion Director; under her leadership, the Fellowship has increased racial inclusion within arts sector leadership and has positively altered workplace best practices through actively training, placing, and referring an annual cohort of emerging professionals. She also leads monthly equity conversations for the Alliance and is excited to administer the evolution of a new Urban Arts Field School project with Urban Arts Leadership fellows and community folklorists, recently funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. At CMU, Ajanku spoke with students about West African indigo dye traditions in Prof. Olivia Robinson’s courses on textiles and soft technology in CMU’s IDeATe program.