About
Myshell (Ritual) is a Black, queer multidisciplinary artist, designer, facilitator, and healer with a background in dance and acting. They are the co-founder of Lix, a collective that curates transformative intimate experiences and methods for sexual liberation.
An Ifa practitioner, Myshell is the proud product of a Gullah-Geechee paternal line (Savannah, Georgia) and a root working maternal line (Lafayette, Louisiana). They are intuitive and have a remarkable ability to hold an empathic container. Myshell is disabled and lives with a chronic illness that has no cure. All of their work is trauma-informed and pleasure-centered. As clients progress on their healing journey, Myshell also undergoes a continuous process of healing, mirroring their growth and transformation, fostering a dynamic connection between their shared experiences.
Myshell’s background in organizing and activism includes working with Black Lives Matter (Los Angeles), Into Action, Dignity & Power Now, Recharge Teens, and We Rise. They have spoken on Art and Disability at Dartmouth College and Africana Studies in Praxis at California State University, Los Angeles. Myshell has also led and facilitated several sold out Healing Through Hip-Hop workshops at the California African American Museum. They have experience as a panelist on various mental health topics — from joy to grief. Myshell holds a degree in Africana Studies with a minor in Theatre Performance. They also studied film at Chapman University. Myshell is an anti-capitalist, anti-racist, intersectional feminist, who enjoys reading, doll making, traveling, sex and pleasure.
on gender
I identify as both a Black woman and a non-binary person, and it makes perfect sense to me.
My life is an intricate dance between embracing the rich culture of my ethnicity and challenging societal norms that seek to confine identity within rigid constructs. As a Black woman, my identity is deeply rooted in the resilience and strength forged through a history of triumphs and tribulations. The world often perceives me through a lens that carries historical weight, laden with both the beauty and burdens of my racial identity. Yet, in the realm of gender, I yearn to transcend conventional expectations.
My non-binary identity serves as a declaration against the limitations imposed by societal gender norms. Striving to remove gender from not only clothing and household tasks but also from sex, challenges the preconceived notions that seek to box me in. This dual identity, as both a Black woman and non-binary person, allows me to navigate the complexity of my existence, finding comfort in holding space for the multifaceted layers of my authentic self. This is a celebration of the beauty found at the intersection of my race and gender, and a rebellion against the limitations imposed by a world eager to confine and categorize. My pronouns are “They/Them” and “She/Her.”
Workshops
2018 — Healing Through Hip-Hop Workshop, California African American Museum
2018 — Flash Mob Co-Producer — Street Dance Activism, Into Action Art Festival
2019 — Move Dance 90’s, California African American Museum, Los Angeles
2021 — Street Dance Activism Workshop, We Rise, Los Angeles
Speaking Engagements & Appearances
2016 Spoken Word/Actor — Through The Looking Glass, Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles
2017 Red Carpet Correspondent — NAACP Image Awards, Black Girl Nerds
2017 Panelist — Black Speculative Arts Movement, Los Angeles
2018 Keynote — Africana Studies in Praxis, California State University, Los Angeles
2018 Panelist — Radical Joy and Street Dance Activism, Into Action Art Festival
2018 Curator — 38th Annual Black Doll Show, Los Angeles
2019 Keynote — Black Feminism in Praxis, California State University, Los Angeles
2020 Keynote — Art and Disability, Dartmouth College
2020 Panelist — Mental Health Radical Dialogues, Future x Sounds
2021 Featured Artist — LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of the Art) Portraits of Radical Generosity
2021 Panelist — Global Dance Meditation
2021 Poet — Reproductive Justice Conference, Black Women for Wellness, Leimert Park, Los Angeles
2022 Panelist — We Rise, Los Angeles
2023 Poet — Wine and Poetry
2023 Poet — Wine and Poetry
Awards & Honors
Choreography Award, Links Inglewood Pacific Chapter