About | Brandt Maina

Shirt Biology

PROLIFIC

Brandt Maina | RIOA wa ROE (They/He/Her) is a Portland-based queer abstRact artist and absuRdist writer and performer from Nairobi, Kenya. In 2016, they moved from Kenya to rural Indiana at 19 years old, a seven-year Crash Course on everything America has to offer a Black queer immigrant.

With a background in the arts, and fresh memories of being homeless in downtown Portland, Brandt documents and abstracts his autobiography into pastel drawings, surreal poetry, absurdist plays, particular photography, genre-fluid music, and Presencing™ performances
which shape sacred spaces –

yes,

experiences for everyone to slow down,

breathe in deeply,

and joyously exhale our collective traumas.

RIOA has had two staged readings at Portland Center Stage and shown their photography and drawing at Blue Sky Gallery, P:EAR, Past Lives Gallery, and Gallery 114. He has works in private collections in Portland including SERA Architects, and has been commissioned to write and perform poetry by Trinity Episcopal Church and Theodicy Jazz Collective.

In his advocacy and social practice work,
Brandt works with PUSH Movement as a creative program designer for their after-school work within the Portland School Districts and with at-risk and homeless youth in our city. In 2023, Brandt also completed a training course and community project with Oregon Health Equity Alliance where he co-wrote and designed a financial planning resource book for African Immigrants and Refugees. And he just started a data justice community leads contract with SmartCity PDX.

LONGer BIO (but wait there's more vision2020's)

Currently,

right at this very moment,

1.

RIOA wa ROE is editing the collection of 9 short plays they wrote this Summer2023. They are slowly sharing this collection, Succinct Suppositions, with his artist community and subscribers

Following the 2 staged readings at PCS this summer, he is working on 3 staged readings scheduled in Winter/Spring at CoHo Theatre and Shaking the Tree Theatre

Brandt is also working to produce a tv pilot

for a series on their experience of the postmodern American dream

as an international student studying in rural Indiana.

They are editing the first two plays they wrote,

Occasionally Other People Come In (2021)

and

The Blooming CHAOS if a Hot Summer (2022)

And composing and developing an ethereal tri-lingual wailings on a 5 string guitar for an album titled, “she broke my G string”,

all the while

Meticulously cataloging and finding gallery spaces for more than 8 collections/series of drawings documenting their experience as an immigrant applying for asylum status over the past two years,

July 2021 to…

HERE,
NOW

RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW

6.

And of course, there’s all the photography and video documentary – lordy me oh my
With more to come, me oh my,

And, and

She’s hoarding, HOARDING, 16 rolls of 35mm film from these same past two years
Some developed, some undeveloped

All of it
JUICYYYYYYYY!!! Girl, JUICY!

Anyway, girl

Andy Worhol is a whale, girl

Once more
Right Here

Rye Tear, Rai Music is pretty good actually

Brandt Maina
RIOA wa ROE

Is a Prolific Artist

And And And
the Confidence in the calm of Her smile is Her charm

the Crystalline Clarity and Certainty of His vision

9.

LAVA MOVING AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT

Brandt also goes by the name RIOA wa RIOE

[Ri-Oh-Ah wah Ri-Oh- Ei]

RIOA for short.

The name means “Sun from the River” in Kikuyu.

🌞🤲🏽

I also identify as an absurdist clown and would remind us all that we need not take ourselves too seriously. Formalities are for fools and egos for Kanye.

Welcome to my digital journal
Delve as deep as you wish
All who return must leave an offering for the unknown gods
Good Luck

- All my love and light

oil pastels

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