Austin Peay State University art alumni Khari Turner catches eye of Hulu, Zendaya, The Roots

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) art alum Khari Turner has had a summer he won’t soon forget.

He was one of 10 featured Black artists during Hulu’s Woke Art Fest on September 14th, 2020 spending an hour taking viewers on Hulu’s Instagram TV through his art process and New York City studio.

But that’s only one in a string of successes Turner – who graduated from Austin Peay State University in 2019 and is in his second year as a grad student at Columbia University – has had recently.

Earlier this summer, Turner’s work appeared in an InStyle magazine photo shoot of famed singer and actress Zendaya (you can see the photo here). Zendaya used Black artists and designers for her clothing and decorations in the shoot.

Turner also has art featured on The Roots member Black Thought’s latest EP “Streams of Thought Vol. 3: Cane and Abel.” You can see that art here.

His work also appeared on the cover of APSU’s Zone 3 literary journal spring cover.

Turner also announced a solo art show on October 5th at Nō Studios in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has several other national shows scheduled through the fall.

During September 14th’s Hulu appearance, he guided viewers through his process of painting Black people, including his inclusion of various types of water (such as sea, river and lake water) from notable locations (such as the tip of Manhattan) in the painting.

Turner started on a painting in which he used abstraction inspired by the work of artist Keith Knight. The Woke Art Fest occurred in concert with Hulu’s new show “Woke,” a social justice comedy that explores identity and culture and is inspired Knight’s story.

To learn more about Khari Turner

You can follow Turner’s work on Instagram at www.instagram.com/khari.raheem/ (@khari.raheem).

You can also check out this GovLive profile of Turner at www.apsu.edu/govlife/students/khari-turner.php.

To learn more about the APSU Department of Art + Design go to www.apsu.edu/art-design/.