Tysen Knight

**Tysen Knight** is an African-American pop urban artist. Tysen is well known for his street art, drawing inspiration from Buddha's teaching and pop art sense.

## Early life

Knight was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and moved with his family to New Jersey at the age of five. As a teenager, he received an NAACP ACT-SO Achievement Program Award of Merit for painting. He later trained as a barber and worked in the profession for nearly twenty years, including during major sporting events. In 2006, he relocated to California, where he began reworking second-hand paintings and selling them through consignment shops. By 2011, he had moved to Palm Springs, focusing more extensively on visual art and filmmaking.

## Career

Tysen is an international artist, muralist, and an award-winning filmmaker. He has a documentary titled _The Art of Hustle: Street Art Documentary_ which won the Best Feature Film Award 2018 at the Oregon Documentary Film Festival. Tysen was also an Artist Educator-in-residence for the Palm Springs Art Museum.

In 2018, Tysen partnered with the Palm Spring Unified School District and the Boys Art Mentorship (BAM) program in California.

His visual style blends street art and pop art influences, with works inspired by figures such as Picasso and Roy Lichtenstein. Public commissions in Palm Springs include benches and murals created after the premiere of his first documentary. He has also exhibited at Art Basel Miami and Artexpo New York, where he received the Visionary Award in 2023.

### Scholarship Fund

Tysen Knight Scholarship Fund established by Tysen, Tysen Knight Scholarship Fund is a self supported initiative aimed at assisting high school students intending to pursue education and careers in the arts.

## Awards

NAACP ACT-SO Achievement Program Award of Merit (age 15)
- Best Feature Film, Oregon Documentary Film Festival (2018)
- Best Director, Marina del Rey Film Festival (2019)
- Impact DOCS Award of Recognition (2018)
- Spotlight Award, Red Dot Miami (2019)
- CV Independent Best Local Visual Artist (2021–22)
- Visionary Award, Artexpo New York (2023)
- Best Documentary Short, Mars International Film Festival (2024)
- Best Documentary Short, Miami International Gold Awards (2024)
- Best Documentary Short, Madrid International Movie Awards (2024)

### Acting Credits

|Year|Title|Role|
| --- | --- | --- |
|2003|The Negro Zone (Short)|Everyday Brotha (as Cordele Taylor)|
|2005|Ski Trippin (Video)|Ski Tripper Victim #1 (as Cordele Taylor)|
|2005|He Got Billz (Short)|Friend (as Cordele Taylor)|
|2007|Epic Movie|Kanye West (as Cordele Taylor)|
|2007|Akira's Hip Hope Shop (Short)|Corey (as Cordele Taylor)|
|2007|Sharam Party All the Time (Video)|Eddie Murphy|
|2008|House Arrest (Video)|Dialo Jones (as Cordele Taylor)|
|2008|Nora's Hair Salon II|Suspicious Electrician (as Cordele Taylor)|
|2009|The Advance of Umbweki|Bushman #1 (as Cordele Taylor)|
|2010|Closer to Crazy (Short)|Thug #1 (as Cordele Taylor)|
|2013|Driven by Desire (Short)|Malcolm|

### Production Credits

|Year|Title|Role|
| --- | --- | --- |
|2013|Driven by Desire (Short)|Director, Writer|
|2017|The Art of Hustle: Street Art Documentary|Director, Writer|

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Tysen Knight
- **birth date**: June 29, 1976
- **nationality**: African-American
- **occupation**: Urban pop artist
- **known for**: Muralist, International art, and award winning filmmaker
- **website**: https://www.tysenknight.com/