Malcolm Davis

Malcolm Davis (he/him) is a musician and oral history performer based in Eastern Kentucky. “I create one-man theatrical performances that utilize original music inspired by the Affrilachian cultural blend of the region of my birth,” Malcolm explains. His work explores the history and experiences of his ancestors, African American and Indigenous Kentuckians.

“History has been alive through art in my home for as long as I can remember,” says Malcolm. He follows in the footsteps of his grandmother and his father, storyteller and 2020 In These Mountains Folk & Traditional Arts Master Artist Fellowship recipient Hasan Davis. “The most important thing for me to achieve artistically is to fit into this familial and cultural tradition of storytelling, this lineage of artists ensuring the voices of our ancestors and the world we work to build are widely heard and cherished.” Malcolm also studied theatre at Grinnell College and has taught youth poetry and theatre classes at Berea College’s Upward Bound program and the Hindman Settlement School.

Malcolm plans to use his Emerging Traditional Artists Program award to study bluegrass banjo. He hopes to integrate banjo music, its cultural origins in Africa, and its contemporary place in Central Appalachian culture into his performances.

“My goal is to bring these narratives from the back, to the front, to ensure that the beautiful people of my family, my community, and this region are respected and seen with dignity and culture,” Hasan says. “The only way we can control the narrative is by creating our own.”