KhoKhoi (aka KK/kkdelavida/mary alinney villacastin) is a movement-based media artist and plant, body & cultural heart worker. Raised in Seminole swamplands of South Florida, KK swims between unceded Lenape-Canarsie-Munsie lands (New York City) & Bantayan, Visayan Sea, Philippines. KK is a migrant proudly descended from fisherfolk & healers of Bantayan island, in the heart of the Philippine archipelago.
KK holds a BA in Anthropology (Barnard College of Columbia University & an MA in Media Studies (The New School of Public Engagement). In 2018-2019, KK received an Asian Cultural Council Fellowship in Dance to study local festivals & media cultures of the Visayan islands.
Alongside academic studies & artistic co-creations, KK is a traveler of Mexico, India & Philippines, learning about Ayurveda, Hilot, plant medicine, bodywork, hatha yoga, performance, dance, somatics, kalari/martial arts & freediving.
KK channels its healing arts practice through Kalami Spirit Arts @kalamispiritarts offering bodywork, islayoga, herbal elixirs, cultural handcrafts, curated gatherings, and Visayan language learning immersions through Baba Bisaya.
3 years ago, I didn’t know how to speak my native language – Bantayanon (a mix of Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Waray & other islander languages). I ended up back in Bantayan just two weeks before the pandemic began. In that time, I reconnected to my native language & discovered so many seeds of wisdom growing in my understanding of our islander cultures. Honored to conjure & hold space for this lifetime process of language learning & the journey home, in the body & in the community.
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