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)

 Filmography 

 Acting Credits 
+YearTitleRole2003The Negro Zone (Short)Everyday Brotha (as Cordele Taylor)2005Ski Trippin (Video)Ski Tripper Victim #1 (as Cordele Taylor)2005He Got Billz (Short)Friend (as Cordele Taylor)2007Epic MovieKanye West (as Cordele Taylor)2007Akira's Hip Hope Shop (Short)Corey (as Cordele Taylor)2007Sharam Party All the Time (Video)Eddie Murphy2008House Arrest (Video)Dialo Jones (as Cordele Taylor)2008Nora's Hair Salon II Suspicious Electrician (as Cordele Taylor)2009The Advance of UmbwekiBushman #1 (as Cordele Taylor)2010Closer to Crazy (Short)Thug #1 (as Cordele Taylor)2013Driven by Desire (Short)Malcolm 

 Production Credits 
+YearTitle Role2013Driven by Desire (Short)Director, Writer2017The Art of Hustle: Street Art DocumentaryDirector, Writer

 References 

Category:Pop artists
Category:African-American people
Category:Filmmakers
Category:1976 births
Category:Living people