When Kwasi was 2 years of age his family moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles by train, arriving at Union Station in 1980. Growing up in the Hollywood, Mid-City, and Koreatown areas of the city during the nineties sparked an interest in the visual arts at a young age. He quickly became immersed in the booming skateboard scene of the era which taught him to view the urban landscape (and city life in general) in a new way. By high school that creativity had focused on graffiti art and underground hip-hop, two elements that became the foundation for his approach to making art. The death of his father at the age of 19 resulted in him receiving his first real camera, which was a turning point for his trajectory as a creative. This pivotal juncture opened up the medium of photography as a powerful tool to document the physical changes that Los Angeles was undergoing as a result of gentrification and displacement. Simultaneously, he continued to paint, draw, and study design, eventually graduating from Cal State Los Angeles with a BA in Graphic Design and exhibiting artwork in spaces throughout the LA area.

His current practice is multidisciplinary in structure. Kwasi works with different tools to produce work in various mediums that are part of a singular creative vision. Documenting neighborhoods in Los Angeles is the foundation of his photographic practice, using a camera to document the physical legacy of the city by recording architecture, topography, and daily life. As an artist, his work has evolved into abstract compositions that use color, line, and shape to visualize the infinite adjustments and spatial reconfigurations of daily life. This style can be directly traced to his early work as a graffiti artist, an artform which continues to guide and inspire him to this day. As a graphic designer, Kwasi publishes books and zines under Nonstndrd Creative while working as a visual design specialist in higher education.

In 2017 Kwasi was included on Time Magazine’s list of 12 African American Photographers to Follow and his project, The Public Work, was named one of the 5 Art Accounts to Follow in The New York Times in August 2020. He was also the lead photographer for the Netflix animation series “City of Ghosts” and is one of 2 inaugural 2022 Creators in Residence for the Los Angeles Public Library.

“What Will America Be?”, National Gallery of Art
September 13, 2022
Presenter | https://www.nga.gov/calendar/lectures/exhibitions/landscape-photography-climate-crisis.html/2022/09/13/1800

2022 Los Angeles Public Library Creator in Residence
https://lapl.org/residency

Street Week in L.A. 2021
April 18, 2021 - April 24, 2021
Guest Presenter | https://lacphoto.org/happenings/street-week-in-la-2021/

3rd LA, USC Dornsife
Guest Speaker, October 16, 2020 | https://dornsife.usc.edu/3rdla/events/

Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund
July 2020 Commission Recipient

The New York Times Portfolio Review
Accepted/Attended | 2018 NYT Portfolio Review

KCRW | Tongva Roots & LA Landscapes‍
‍KCRW | Black Space Los Angeles‍
Lenscratch | 3XLA‍
‍The New York Times | 5 Art Accounts to Follow Now‍
‍Lenscratch | New American Landscapes‍
‍The Black Shutter Podcast | The Black Shutter Podcast #8 - Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin‍
‍The Candid Frame | The Candid Frame #404 - Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin
Slate France | Hollywood life, off camera‍
‍Il Post | Hollywood senza Hollywood‍
‍The New York Times Lens Blog | The Real Hollywood, Without the Glamour‍
‍Time Magazine | 12 African American Photographers You Should Follow Right Now

Nomadency: Digital Artist-in-Residence
August 2023
Dunedin Fine Art Center | 1143 Michigan Blvd.Dunedin, FL 34698 - USA

2022 Creators in Residence Exhibition
October 16th, 2022 - Spring 2023
Los Angeles Central Library | 1630 W 5th St, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Folk Medic II: Panacea
December 11th, 2021 - February 20th, 2022
Subliminal Projects | 1331 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles 90026

On the Ground LA
November 6th, 2021 - December 18th, 2021
ArtShare LA | 801 E. 4th Place, Los Angeles 90013

"Say What You Want To Say"
August 12, 2020 - October 31, 2020
Online Exhibition | https://lacphoto.org/lacps-first-annual-say-what-you-want-to-say-exhibition/

The Dean Collection X Bacardi, Los Angeles
November 5th, 2018
Avenue LA | 1601 Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles 90028

Triangulate
June 08, 2018 - August 12, 2018
Dunedin Fine Art Center | 1143 Michigan Blvd.Dunedin, FL 34698 - USA

Northern Eye Photography Festival
Featured Photographer (Oct 9th, 2017- Oct 21st, 2017)

All City: A Photographic Portrait of Los Angeles
January 13th, 2017 - January 31st, 2017
Espacio 1839 | 1839 E 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90033

The Photographer’s Eye: North of the 101
February 15th, 2017
Los Angeles Central Library | Meeting Room A