About Asia Rainey-Ani
Asia Rainey-Ani is a veteran creative with a resume spanning spoken word poetry, music, audiobook narration, theatre, visual arts, and film; she is just as comfortable working behind the scenes as an activist and community advocate, mentor to writers and performers, and as an entrepreneur. She has produced five festivals for spoken word poetry to further expand its reach into communities. Her publishing company, Nine Pages Media, has produced over 30 publications ranging from children's books to novels to poetry.
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As a spoken word artist and vocalist, she has been welcomed as a featured performer at numerous events, festivals, and educational institutions around the country. She is a published author of a children's book (Oshun's Book of Mirrors, first of series - Chin Music Press), a highly sought-after journal workbook for intense self-reflection, and several volumes of poetry. Asia is currently completing a new music and spoken word project with Rebel Scribe Publishing. As a visual artist, she has expanded her artistic footprint into sold-out gallery events and a demand for her rich, soulful images.
As a Master Teaching Artist and arts integrationist, Asia has served as founder and executive director of WordPlay, an organization dedicated to the preservation, education, and community support of creative writing. Through WordPlay, Asia built a creative writing curriculum for all age groups, connecting to global communities from New Orleans to Istanbul as an ambassador for the arts. Asia considers serving as the coach for the New Orleans Youth Slam Team (NOYS) for five years one of her greatest accomplishments. Also through this work, she was instrumental in building a now-thriving adult spoken word community in Tupelo, MS (Link Centre), and has served as a consultant and facilitator for arts integrations programs throughout Louisiana and Mississippi. With a desire to make the exploration of art available and accessible to all, she is committed to bringing the aggregate of her creativity to places in need of access, education, and inspiration.
