.about

ariella tai (b. 1987 queens, nyc) is an experimental filmmaker, artist and independent programmer currently based in portland, or. they are interested in the history of black performance and cultural vernaculars in film, television and media studies.

tai is one half of “the first and the last,” a fellowship, workshop and screening series supporting and celebrating the work of black women and femmes in film, video and new media art. They have shown work at Anthology Film Archives, Portland Institute For Contemporary Art, Northwest Film Center, Wa Na Wari, the Black Femme Supremacy Film Festival, MOCA and Smack Mellon, amongst others.

Recent exhibitions include the Portland Art Museum, Tufts University Art Galleries and “don’t let the money make you” at c3 initiative as part of Antidote curated by The Nat Turner Project. tai has attended residencies at Signal Culture, VTape and the Creative Exchange Lab with the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art. They have been awarded Golden Spot Residencies at Caldera Arts Center in 2021 and at Playa Summer Lake in 2022 and 2023.