Rachel Nyakaana Blair
M.A. Arts Politics Class of 2022
B.A. Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park
Rachel is a gospel singer and performer from the DMV metropolitan area. Rachel strives to be a part of the proliferation of positive social norms through creating and performing popular music that seeks to show how the secular and religious are intertwined. Alongside her performance, her pen and theoretical analysis both provokes and further highlights powerful outcomes both in art and in social issues.
Rachel has performed at various venues ranging from low-key club open mics to onstage with Sara Bareilles at the White House for Former President Barack Obama. Rachel has also sung for President Elect Joe Biden.
What drew you to the MA in Arts Politics?
The alumni blew me away and inspired me... Their stories made clear that APP was the right program for me, as the program embraces art interdisciplinarians that surpass the limitations of the stark, either/or commercial focus and/or educational focus typically placed on art and artists alike.