22 Facts About Kalup Linzy

Kalup Linzy was born on July 23,1977 and is an American video and performance artist who currently lives and works in Tulsa, OK.

Kalup Linzy was raised in Stuckey, Florida, in a close-knit rural community by his late grandmother Georgianna Kalup Linzy, a seamstress, who was deaf, and by his aunt Diane McMullen, an evangelist and domestic worker, and his uncle Isaiah McMullen, who was a minister, and is retired from the railroad.

Kalup Linzy spent weekends and summers with his father, who lived a few miles away in Center Hill, Florida.

Kalup Linzy has a sister, Athia Linzy-Isom, who was born to the same parentage and five half-brothers and a step-sister by his father.

Kalup Linzy considers his aunt and uncle's six children to be his siblings.

Kalup Linzy attended South Lake High School in Groveland, Florida, where he ran track and was involved in many student organizations including the Student Government, where he served as President his senior year, Future Homemakers of America, where he served as a state officer, and Future Business Leaders of America.

Kalup Linzy's relatives taught him how to play the piano by ear.

Kalup Linzy then followed that with a MFA from the same school University of South Florida in 2003.

Kalup Linzy has described his childhood and place of upbringing has thematically influential for his well-known video and performance work.

For example, Kalup Linzy has produced a series of soap opera video works, and has described soap operas as having been a key social component for his family and community.

Kalup Linzy has said that shows such as Guiding Light were a part of daily life when he was growing up, and he often includes soap opera stereotypes in the characters and plot of his videos.

Kalup Linzy pushes the boundaries of gender in his work through dressing himself and other characters in drag, using pre-recorded voices or manipulating voice through video editing, and playing with different dialects.

Kalup Linzy uses friends with little or no acting experience for some parts.

Kalup Linzy went on to receive numerous awards, recognition, and opportunities.

Kalup Linzy has been honored with awards and grants include The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, a Creative Capital Award, an Art Matters grant, The Jerome Foundation grant, The Harpo Foundation grant, and The Headlands Alumni Award residency.

Kalup Linzy's work is included in many private and public collections.

Kalup Linzy has lectured at universities and colleges across the country including New York University and Harvard University.

Kalup Linzy has worked and collaborated with many well known artists, celebrities, and fashion designers.

Kalup Linzy's work has been featured at numerous film festivals that include Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, and Outfest.

Kalup Linzy has been featured in numerous magazines including New York Magazine, V, W, Out, Interview, which featured an interview with his friend Chan Marshall, Artillery Magazine, in which he was the cover story, and in May 2014 he was featured in a six-page spread in Harper's Bazaar, Hong Kong.

In 2012, while teaching a performance studies course at New York University, Kalup Linzy appeared with butoh artist Edoheart in an art reality show.

Kalup Linzy's work was featured in the 2016 Atlanta Biennial curated by Daniel Fuller, Victoria Camblin, Aaron Levi Garvey, and Gia Hamilton.