WORKING ACROSS MYRIAD DISCIPLINES, DETROIT BASED MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST, PERFORMER, FILMMAKER AND HARPIST. AHYA SIMONE’S MANY PRONGED PRACTICE IS BOUND BY AN EXPLORATION OF BLACK IDENTITY, AESTHETIC, AND COMMUNITY BUILDING. SIMONE’S ENGAGEMENT WITH MUSIC STEMS FROM A CHILDHOOD SPENT IN THE BLACK CHURCH, WHERE SHE LEARNED TO SING. IN HIGH SCHOOL, SHE BEGAN TO PLAY THE HARP AND BECAME PRINCIPAL HARPIST FOR THE WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY WIND SYMPHONY UPON HER GRADUATION. SIMONE IS A FEATURED ARTIST FOR SHOWING UP, SHOWING OUT- A FILM DEDICATED TO MOTOWN’S LEGACY AND ITS FUTURE IN COLLABORATION WITH CARHARTT, DAZED, AND NTS RADIO. HER UNIQUE ARTISTRY LANDED HER A SPOT ON KELELA’S TAKE ME A_PART, THE REMIXES AND RECOGNIZED AS A 2018 SUNDANCE/KNIGHT FOUNDATION, 2017 DETROIT NARRATIVE AGENCY 2.0, AND 2018 KRESGE ARTIST FELLOW. SHE IS ALSO CREATOR, CO-WRITER, AND DIRECTOR OF UPCOMING FICTIONAL WEB SERIES, FEMME QUEEN CHRONICLES, , A STORY OF 4 BLACK TRANS WOMEN IN DETROIT. INITIALLY EXPLORING FILM THROUGH SCORING LOCAL SHORTS, (TREASURE: FROM TRAGEDY TO TRANS JUSTICE MAPPING A DETROIT STORY,2015), SHE USES FILM AND SOUND TO EXPLORE IDEAS AROUND IDENTITY, VULNERABILITY, LANGUAGE, AND EXISTENCE.

Ahya Simone is a Detroit-based harpist, singer, artist, and organizer. She earned her degree from Wayne State University, where she was the principal harpist for the Wayne State University Wind Symphony in 2011. She has performed extensively in Detroit, and internationally in Scotland and Canada. Simone’s versatile approach to harp and vocal artistry includes classical, jazz, and soul. She is also an emerging filmmaker, and was awarded a Knight Sundance Fellowhip in 2018. She is in the midst of developing “Femme Queen Chronicles,” a web-series sponsored by the Trans Sistas of Color Project and the Detroit Narrative Agency 2.0.