Merikai Studio is the collaborative artistic pursuits of Kailani Dobson. Kailani, who has her background in Dance and movement-based works, believes that art is a very community-driven endeavor that benefits greatly from the conglomeration of multiple different artforms. She aims to create a space in which various artists can come together and create new bodies of work that not only elevate their own practice but shine a light on the other the art forms present. By combining these different creative expressions we create a multi-layered installation that highlights each artist’s strengths while testing their limits in a new environment they may not be comfortable with.
Kailani Dobson is a choreographer, installation artist, and photographer based in the Colorado Springs region. With dance as her main creative pursuit, she also dabbles in needle-work, pottery, tailoring, sound design, and film-making. She uses all of these separate practices to influence her work. Her main goal is to portray current issues in an abstract way in order to not only bring attention to the problem but also make it more bearable for the audience. Her creative endeavors have become her way of coping with the world and inspiring change throughout her community.
Kailani has produced a couple short dance films called “Persistence” about the refugee crisis and the effects war has on the people and “Petrified” which touches on the need for women to acknowledge their strength and come together, which she re-edited as commissioned by Ormao Dance Company for their Company Salon Showcase in 2017.
She most recently took part in ArtPOP which supplied grant funding from PPAC and COPPR to local artists in the front range and Kailani was lucky enough to receive funding two years in a row. For ArtPOP 2018, she has created a dance installation that consists of 4 movement solos happening simultaneously while each dancer is tethered together by a large amount of yarn. For ArtPOP 2017 she created a 15-foot tall glass structure with running water that she maneuvered throughout for an hour inside of the Manitou Art Center. Kailani continues to create work with other artists locally and is always looking for more grant opportunities. In 2017 she applied for a grant for her project “Reverie Array” that made it into the finals for Peak Arts Prize.
Kailani is constantly looking for new ways to bring the art community together. For the past couple of years, she has spearheaded a community event at Ormao Dance Company called Open Stage that is held every year for Arts Month. This event brought in 20 different artists from all over El Paso county together for a night that included; dance, visual art, spoken word, and short films. This donation-based event brought in enough to send the community outreach group, Mathtastic, to two more local schools. Art needs to be more accessible to our entire community and Kailani hopes that her creative prospects will help influence that change.
If you are interested in a collaboration please visit my contact page!
Or email me at: merikaistudio@gmail.com
Merikai Studio 