We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Wi-moto Nyoka. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Wi-moto below.
Hi Wi-moto, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
I stay focused on why I’m in the room and use it as an opportunity to invite others like myself to the table. I look at these moments as temporary; I am here to make sure others can follow and have a path to do so. I am also here due to the labor of many others before and owe it to them to take up space, hold space, and shine.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I love horror and sci-fi, and believe that representation in genre work is essential. It is important to see many different kinds of folx triumph over a great evil, take up space in future timelines, and love across galaxies. I think this invites play and encourages people to use their imagination and cultivate a dream space; to see a world that isn’t there yet and work/move towards it. This is why I started Dusky Projects, where I create and produce horror and sci-fi works in audio, immersive theater, and short films for adult and young adult audiences. Our work and services focus on inclusive storytelling and equity through the production and celebration of BIPOC artists.
Just last year our podcast, Black Women Are Scary, won the Ignyte Award for Best Fiction Podcast which I am thrilled about. I’m proud of the work we’ve been able to do there and the many Speculative Fiction authors we’ve supported.
Right now, I’m in post-production on the short horror comedy film “Affordable Housing”. With the continued rise of the cost of living, the nationwide evictions and subsequent protests, we wanted to speak to this hardship in a way that is fun and entertaining but still captures just how weird and terrifying it all is. We’re all fighting evil on a budget and this campy take on a tragic reality is an excuse to process our shared terror together. Affordable Housing will screen at community centers, drag show events, and other culture spaces as a way to exorcize these anxieties through gore, fun, and cheap drinks.
The screening tour is set to start this summer and I’m really excited about it.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
My admin skills have really come in handy the most surprising ways. I think the narrative in a lot of creative spaces is that budgeting, contracts, and invoicing is not artistic and artists shouldn’t be concerned with learning how to do it. They should find someone else, not creative, to do that work for them. My advice would be to question that narrative and the vulnerable position that puts you in as an artist. I encourage folks to incorporate those skills into their creative practice and even approach it creatively. I have found that this has given me agency, which is essential in any room but especially the ones where I’m in the minority.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Taking a break and resting is so hard when you’re self employed but pacing will make or break you. Burnout is real and developing the skills to rest has been a lifelong journey for me. I make sure to have other interests and activities outside of what I do and I make them a priority because creating is hard, it’s a lot of output, and you have to refill your cup.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wi-motonyoka.com/
- Instagram: @duskyprojects
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wi-moto-nyoka/
Image Credits
Dusky Projects logo by Madelyn Hernandez Black Women Are Scary logo by Vicki Be Wicked Third pic by Casey Moreno
