The Artist

Kandace “KMesh” James is a poet-playwright, screenwriter, and painter. She creates stories centering Black, queer, masculine-presenting women. As a Black, queer, christian woman who's masculine-presenting, she reimagines and redefines how blackness is depicted. At times, her work feels like a eulogy. Other times, they feel like a baptism, a family reunion. But they always feel like coming home.

As a playwright her play, “This Is How You Capture The Light,” was awarded The Hip Hop Theatre Creator Award, One-Act, The Rosa Parks Playwriting Award, One-Act, and The Darrell Ayers National Playwriting Award, One-Act. She was awarded The National Finalist for the John Cauble Award for Outstanding Short Play, as well as The John Cauble Award for Outstanding Short Play for "This Is How You Capture The Light" at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Nationals (KCACTF). She is a current artist in residence at MacDowell and a Core Apprentice Fellow at the Playwright's Center.

James’ short screenplays won the Best Drama Screenplay Short at the 2020 Georgia Shorts Film Festival and the Overall Winner of the 2021 WIFM KC Screenwriting Contest. Recently, one of her short screenplays, “No Heartbeat,” was turned into a film and has won in the African American category at the Best Shorts Competition. Her screenplay "Stellar Collision" received the $25,000 First Place Award in the 2022 Alfred P. Sloan Script Competition at Carnegie Mellon University.

Her poetry/artwork has been published in Silk Hollows, Josephine Quarterly, the Brushfire Literature & Arts Journal, EX/POST, Quarterly West, Metonym Literary Journal, and Aunt Chloe.

Working with acrylic and ink, she paints with vibrant colors, contrasting with her often somber depictions of bodies. Her contemporary figurative artwork is a commentary on social and racial issues.

James is currently fascinated with the concept of Black Westerns centering queer women. What drives her is a belief that there are many ways to exist in this world. James received her MFA in Dramatic Writing at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama.

Full CV