We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kiana Nicole Washington a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kiana Nicole, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

It is the best feeling ever to be a part of a project that fuels me creatively, and there is even more satisfaction knowing that I am telling stories that make a difference. Last year, I had the great opportunity to work on this limited series called “Linked by Love.” The edutainment series is a story about love and second chances and explores a Black family going through a family member’s health crisis with kidney failure. The experience on set was so much fun and while working on the project, I learned more about the transplantation process, how I can better take care of my health, and how the African American community is disproportionately affected by kidney disease. It was such a beautiful story about family and really pulls on the heart strings, but it was also a great educational resource! I was super grateful to be able to help bring this story to life by playing Tracy Morris in my first SAG Series Regular role and even be Emmy-eligible for Best Lead Actress in a Limited Series, Or Anthology, Or Movie!

Kiana Nicole, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Kiana Nicole Washington and I am an actress, singer, and filmmaker in Los Angeles. I grew up in Watkinsville, GA and actually got my start in music. Growing up I wrote music with my two sisters and dad and loved to sing in church choir, show choir, and musicals. After performing live throughout my childhood, I slowly made a transition to the screen. My first role in a feature film was actually as a singer in Dr. Bird’s Advice by Sad Poets and from then on I knew that film was my passion. I went on to get a B.A. in Theatre and a B.A. in Entertainment and Media Studies from the University of Georgia. It was in school that I developed both my acting craft and my filmmaking style and I started directing and acting in my own projects. After graduating, I was able to dive into film acting full time and started working in film, television, and commercials! I made my move to California and was fortunate enough to book my first SAG commercial and a SAG Series Regular role in my first year out in LA and I was super proud of my hard work!

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Support human artists!! Right now it is super important for society to be aware of how AI is impacting the arts community in so many different ways. When I am not acting, I manage social media accounts and one of my clients is the amazing 9B Collective, the first Black-owned concept art studio. My first realization of AI disrupting the arts was within this collective that specializes in creating concept art and has helped develop many beloved characters we have come to know and love. Visual artists, writers, and even us actors are having our worlds shaken by AI-generated work, so I think it is important for non-artists to educate themselves on this subject and throw their support towards human artists rather than AI which is pulling from the work of the very artists needing protection.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have always been driven by the need to create and love to use film as a way to escape, but also embrace my experience. The past five years I have actually been developing a television series with my little sister and my biggest goal is to get this show picked up, made, and distributed! It pulls a lot from both of our experiences growing up. Further down the line, we would love to create a production company together where she would write our stories and I direct and star in some of our projects, likely in the psychological thriller and teen drama worlds!      

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kiananicolewashington.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiananicolewashington/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kiana.washington.908/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiana-washington-01441619b/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/kiananicolew
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/RSpTnmOA35k
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kiananicole30?_t=8XdvxqcXpsp&_r=1

Image Credits
The Art of Lens, David Muller, Elise Jonke, Eric Keitel, Ruben Ortiz