Ka Oskar Ly—Community Voice
Ka is a HMong artist and cultural producer rooted in community power. Their practice explores and manifests innovation and futures inspired by ancestral lineage with an understanding that culture is dynamic even without words for “art” and “queer” in the HMong language. For nearly two decades, they have worked at these intersections to mobilize communities by transforming conversations, shows, festivals, and more to address system-change initiatives towards gender, racial, and queer justice.
Today they continue this work both as a cultural worker and as a creative consultant. They bring experience working at the intersection of economic and community development, food systems, creative and cultural place tending, and philanthropy. They are committed to a practice of shared liberation by centering Indigenous, Black, and People of Color cultural bearers and artists through relationship, movement-building, and a spirit of abundance.
Ka is a co-founder of Ua Si Creative, a Hmong womxn artist collective that spun out of ArtCrop, creating and playing in the public and community realm. Ka has received fellowships from Springboard for the Arts (20/20 fellowship), the Intercultural Leadership Institute (ILI), Forecast Public Art, the Center for Performance and Civic Practice, McKnight Textile Fellow (Textile Center), Jerome and Jerome@Camargo Foundations.