King Coal, Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Arts + Culture Documentary, Cinematography & Direction, 2025.

“Some of the sounds that you heard throughout the film, sparrows, ocean waves, overtone breath, thunder, maybe some crickets, I recorded them as stems at the Monongahela National Forest with Elaine and her team,” reveals Talifero at the film’s post-premiere Q&A before asking everyone in the room to close their eyes. What followed was a succession of sounds — wind, water, crickets, birdsong — all produced by Talifero’s own breath." - The Sundance Film Festival. Film still by Curren Sheldon.
https://www.pbs.org/pov/films/kingcoal/ 

Special Jury Prize at the Seattle International Film Festival, 2023. 

"Two excerpts from KING COAL featuring performers, Shodekeh Talifero (breath artist), Lou Maiuri (flatfoot dancer), Jesse Milnes (fiddle) and Emily Miller (vocals). Shodekeh records a library of breath art for KING COAL at Gaudineer Knob in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. His work is used throughout the film as part of the sound design and score. Lou, who has been flatfoot dancing for most of his life, performs with old time musicians, Jesse and Emily, in Lost Creek, West Virginia." - POV / PBS.
https://soundcloud.com/wort-fm/shodekeh-talifero-gives-a-master-class-on-breath-art  
 

Created in collaboration with the Social Impact Initiative of the Kennedy Center, 2023.

"Ideations of Hope, a 60-minute concert testimonial and master performance, is about Dominic Shodekeh Talifero’s personal and professional journey through time. A survivor of ideation trauma from when he was at the age of nine years old, hip hop entered Talifero’s world as a form of cultural intervention and saved his life. Now as an adult, Sho’ is using his platform as a professional Beatboxer, Vocal Percussionist, and Breath Artist to share his story, with the goal and lifelong mission of hopefully inspiring those who may be struggling." - The Kennedy Center.

Shodekeh's past performances at the Kennedy Center includes collaborative work for "Witness" with VT Dance (2008), Shen Wei Dance Arts (2009), Prudence Mahbena (2010), the REACH Center Opening Festival with Baltimore Boom Bap Society (2019) & the 18th annual Page to Stage New Play Festival (2019).

"Live Tonight on Millennium Stage: Ideations of Hope, a 60-minute concert testimonial and master performance, is about Dominic Shodekeh Talifero’s personal and professional journey through time. A survivor of ideation trauma from when he was at the age of nine years old, hip hop entered Talifero’s world as a form of cultural intervention and saved his life. Now as an adult, Sho’ is using his platform as a professional Beatboxer, Vocal Percussionist, and Breath Artist to share his story, with the goal and lifelong mission of hopefully inspiring those who may be struggling." - The Kennedy Center.

"Virion Breaths is a “Breath Art” / creative breathing compositional exercise of myself exploring all of the possibilities of when the human breath becomes isolated as a musical instrument for Rebecca Kamen’s Silent Spread. As defined and described by the National Institutes of Health, “The virion, that is the complete infectious virus particle, includes a genome comprising one or a few molecules of either DNA or RNA, surrounded by a morphologically defined protein coat, the capsid. While attempting to understand better a musical world of “Breath Art,” and recording 28 unique micro-compositions at the recording studio of Dr. Erik Spangler for each and every Silent Spread sculpture, I also find myself trying to imagine a more illuminated zeitgeist and understanding of “Breath Culture,” where many of our “social virions,” from economics and politics to education continue to persist even as they are impacted by the virus in a world that has been so greatly challenged by the ongoing pandemic." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.
https://www.american.edu/cas/museum/2021/reveal-scientific-discovery-kamen.cfm 

"In experiencing the musical breath pieces while taking in the visual representations of the COVID-19 virus, you may find yourself on a linear timeline from when the pandemic first emerged in late 2019 or early 2020; or you may find yourself in a more non-linear timeline reflecting recent developments; or perhaps, you’ll find yourself at a place of a much larger “time sphere,” when a larger convergence of tragedies began to manifest, following the death of George Floyd. No matter what your aural experience may be in this exhibition, allow your relationship to your own “breath narrative” serve as your guide. See yourself, or maybe a part of yourself, in the breath compositions that you hear. Whether it’s wind, ocean waves, an inhalation, an exhalation, or a more extended, experimental typology of creative breath, the air that I live with is yours just as much as it is mine." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

"After almost 20 years of being told "no," tomorrow I begin teaching my very first class, a "Breath Art" course here for two departments simultaneously, Theatre + Dance & Music at Colorado College, not as a guest instructor, not as a co-teacher, but as the lead professor of the overall experience. I promise to give this way over 100%, my absolute very best. I can't wait to get into this sustained deep dive with the young Jedi students here over the next two months. I have so many ideas that I can barely keep track of them all, but despite my overwhelming sense of "creative urgency," in the end "educational curation" will be the name of the game." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.
https://www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/registrar/Block-7-Room-Assignments-WEB.pdf

"Vodalities" was supported by the Towson University COFAC Special Projects Award, 2021.

"SANTA MONICA, Calif. — It sounds like such a simple thing. Breathing. In fact, Breath artist Dominic Shodekeh Talifero, who goes by Shodekeh, says it’s something most people don’t even think about. “And I think that’s a reflection of a larger dynamic,” he explained. “I think we live very disembodied lives.” It’s something he’s actively trying to change." - Spectrum News 1.
https://wp.towson.edu/cofacblog/2020/11/03/breathing-is-universal/

Jury Award for Best Documentary Short Film at the Houston Latino Film Festival, 2025.

"Two years ago, I received the news that my abuelo’s fifth cancer had returned, and that it would ultimately end with a procedure that removed his ability to speak. The last thing I wanted to do was film something so painfully personal. Still, I knew that this is what I had to offer as a filmmaker. That I could try to preserve the memory of his voice. I sat with Abuelo for hours to hear everything he wanted to tell me while he still had his voice. It began only as an interview I would share with my family—a gift. Originally, I was hesitant to continue, to make a film. I didn’t think that I had the strength to capture it. But I thought of my Abuelo’s own strength and wanted to show up for him. I began to understand the powerful story that could be shared. “When There Are No Words” (“Cuando No Hay Palabras”) is a personal short documentary about my abuelo’s journey as he loses his voice. It’s a story of loss and love, and what it means to care about people as they age, and watch the things that define them fade away." - Gabriella Canal. 

"De Indias" Award at the Cartagena Film Festival in Cartagena, Columbia, 2024.

"Now on Spotify and Apple Music, this soundtrack EP for my sister’s film “When There Are No Words” will probably be one of the most personally and spiritually significant bodies of music I’ll ever release. When I wrote this music, he was still with us, now with the EP releasing, he is no longer here. This music, particularly the closing track, is my way of maintaining that ethereal connection with him. We were lucky enough to have “Breath Artist”, Shodekeh Talifero, record sounds connected to nature, emotions, and meditations for the score. Within that pool of recordings, I discovered and curated the specific moments I knew would uplift moments of pain and healing in our grandfather’s story. This could include the ocean, or even the sound of stillness and prayer. It was an honor to coalesce his breath art into my music." - John Paul Canal. 

"Ashley Todd-Diaz, assistant university librarian for Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA), has been working with Talifero on his collection. The archives staff usually doesn’t get to work closely with a donor, but Talifero was ready to collaborate. “Shodekeh has been very involved and invested in the development, organization, description and promotion of the collection,” Todd-Diaz says. “This lays the foundation for a richer collection since it allows us to combine our archival expertise with his subject expertise.” - Towson University.
https://www.towson.edu/news/2021/shodekeh-talifero.html

"Dominic Shodekeh Talifero is entering his last term as the College of Fine Arts and Communication's innovator-in-residence. In that time, the professional beatboxer has provided music for hundreds of classes and is the first Maryland hip-hop artist with special collections archive. Now, on December 11, 2021, he makes his debut at Carnegie Hall." - Towson University.

"When presented with the opportunity to create a collection for Shodekeh Talifero, a multi-faceted beatboxer and musical scholar, we knew that a traditional finding aid couldn’t properly convey the gravitas of his work. By reimagining naming conventions, organization, and creating a nexus site for his oeuvre, we were able to realize his vision as a cohesive whole. This poster will discuss the issues we identified and the solutions we implemented." - John Esh & Allison Fischbach.
https://archives.towson.edu/collections/ideations-of-potential

"The collection also lets the library continue adding diverse and unique viewpoints to its archives. And what better way to celebrate the upcoming  50th anniversary of the creation of hip-hop than to host the first archive in Maryland dedicated to a hip-hot artist. “Our department has been looking to diversify our collections and Shodekeh’s partnership with TU makes us ideally suited to host his body of work and to provide access and reference for students, researchers and the public,” says John Esh, processing archivist for SCUA. “His collection will exist as a living entity and we can’t wait to see what we can accomplish in collaboration, outside of the traditional archival model, to showcase it for the world.” - Towson University. 

"Do you or your community have cultural heritage items that you don’t know how to care for? Do you want to ensure their longevity but don’t want to give up control? This webinar presents shared stewardship, a collections management model in which communities and individuals can ensure the long-term care of their cultural heritage items and retain control of those materials. Lumbee community artist and scholar Ashley Minner and Hip Hop artist Shodekeh discuss with archival professionals Beth Saunders (UMBC) and Ashley Todd-Diaz (Towson) how shared stewardship has made their respective archival collections possible, ensuring cultural heritage items receive long term care while being maintained in their community contexts." - Maryland Traditions of the Maryland State Arts Council.

"The Maryland Traditions Folklife Area & Stage will feature 16 performers and craftspeople from the Maryland State Arts Council’s Maryland Traditions Apprenticeship Awards Program. The Maryland Traditions Folklife Area will open at noon on both Saturday, Sept.8, and Sunday, Sept. 9, and continue until early evening each day along Salisbury’s downtown Riverwalk. The Chesapeake Traditions program will feature: Shodekeh & Ian Hesford of Baltimore (Tuvan throat singing) with special guest Bady Dorzhu Ondar of Alash." - The Maryland State Arts Council / Maryland Traditions.
https://lib.guides.umbc.edu/c.php?g=939866&p=6978157 

"They are also gathering up physical artifacts (CDs, books, etc.) that evidence Talifero’s artistic endeavors. Once all of that’s squared away, the next step is to start assembling it on SCUA website. At just 43, Talifero wants it to grow with his career. He will be constantly adding materials as he continues to perform at Towson University and beyond." - Towson University. 

With support from the Alice M. Ditson Fund Recording Program Award @ Columbia University, 2021.

"Shodekeh Talifero's Vodalities: Paradigms of Consciousness for the Human Voice was composed orally and transmitted to Sō Percussion through recordings. He originally sent us the three movements as completed performances and also as individual stems for transcribing each part. We then translated his vocal percussion sounds into physical percussion. The skill, creativity, and range of colors in Shodekeh's practice is astonishing. The only way to fully grasp this is to hear him perform, which is why it is essential to listen to the accompanying mp3s before building your own interpretation of the piece. e building your own interpretation of the piece. The notated score included here serves as both an archival document of Shodekeh's creation, and also as a reference for each group's unique performance." - Dr. Adam Sliwinski of Sō Percussion.

"I've always wanted to help create one of these READ posters. If you didn't already know, I have a thing for books & libraries as an autodidact, & a healthy pre-occupation with reading & learning, particularly if a constructive feedback loop can be cultivated between my practice as an artist, researcher & avid collector of literature. I'm so happy about this I can barely contain my curiosity about the universe & all of its mysteries. The journey continues..." - Shodekeh, Innovator-in-Residence of the Towson University College of Fine Arts & Communication.

"Breaths Along the Potomac" was commissioned by "The Music of Early Black Virginians" of the Sound Justice Lab in collaboration with George Washington's Mount Vernon, with grant support from 4-VA: Advancing the Commonwealth.

"As an artist he has had a transformational impact on George Washington’s Mount Vernon with his unique voice, compelling perspective, and effective ability to communicate. I don’t know anyone else who has so successfully navigated this space between the past and the present by isolating the shared human experience of taking breaths. He successfully achieved what those of us in the public history field strive to do daily, with such grace and beauty and starkly expressed truth."
- Allison Wickens, Vice President of Education, George Washington's Mount Vernon.
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/fellowships/fellows-program/fellows/class-of-2023-2024

"Dominic “Shodekeh” Talifero, a professional beatboxer and vocal percussionist, introduced himself through his vocal chords, not only with their speech and sound, but also with intimate images of his larynx, contracting and expanding while he performed. Apparently, even the otolaryngologists who imaged him had never seen anything so amazing. This is the way audiences often feel when listening to him beatbox. Shodekeh can imitate a drum kit with his mouth, often producing more than one rhythmic element at time. A legend in his hometown of Baltimore, he has collaborated with artists, musicians, and orchestras around the world. After all these years, Shodekeh says that he still needs butterflies in order to improvise. During his performance, he never stops moving, his hands stirring invisible records, his body dropping with every downbeat. Shodekeh spoke about diversity of responses to his work, the fact that every audience member will hear sound differently.

"Dear Mr. Talifero, Congratulations on your selection to the 2023 - 2024 class of fellows for the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. We are able to offer you a one-month residential fellowship, which you can complete between September 1, 2023 and August 31, 2024. You will receive a research stipend and can reside at the Library’s DeVos Scholars’ Residence. The fellows selected for this class represent a broad range of scholarship on the life, leadership, and legacy of George Washington as well as the broader mission of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. We are honored and excited to have you as an integral part of this community of scholars. Over the coming weeks we will be in conversation with you regarding logistics and arrangements of your fellowship and targeted dates of residency, and I will introduce you to our Library staff, who can begin facilitating access to our resources in the Library and across the Mount Vernon estate." - George Washington's Mount Vernon. 

"For Whom It Stands: The Flag & the American People" was supported by the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission.

"Using a touchscreen, visitors can play clips of a variety of performances, including Jimi Hendrix’s famous 1969 instrumental version of the national anthem, which he played at Woodstock. Visitors can also watch a television interview with Hendrix, explaining why he didn’t feel the performance was controversial or wrong. Shodekeh says he wanted to build on that legacy by linking other performances together in the exhibit. “Most people don’t know that there is a link to Jimi Hendrix playing the anthem and then to Michael Winslow doing it all with his voice as Jimi Hendrix played it, almost note-for-note exactly,” he says. “It’s just my way of saying that there’s a much larger conversation to be had regarding the national anthem.” - WAMU 88.5 FM American University Radio.

"During my fellowship residency @ George Washington's Mount Vernon earlier this year, I had a few unique experiences with the foodways program that allowed me to observe historical cooking demonstrations on site. It was a transportive experience to say the very least..." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero, 2023.

"In their limited personal time, enslaved people kept fruit and vegetable gardens, raised poultry, and foraged for wild plants. Some of this produce and meat supplemented their rations. They also sold items at the weekly market in Alexandria to earn small amounts of money. Washington himself purchased melons, honey, chickens, ducks, and other items from them. "Enslaved people hunted, fished, and trapped wild animals to supplement their diets and to sell. Animal bones, excavated from the cellar of the House for Families slave quarter, reveal many different species, including deer, opossum, and turkeys." - George Washington's Mount Vernon. 

"This program celebrated the way copyright inspires adventure and how adventure promotes copyright. While copyright might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about taking an adventure, copyright and adventure actually go hand in hand. There was a focus on the impact copyright has on photographs, travel books, music, television and movies. Guest lecturer Shodekeh is a beatboxer, hip-hop vocal percussionist and breath artist." - The Library of Congress.

"A dear friend & unique confidant of mine once told me that I'm the kind of artist who's obsessed with the truth. Yes, this is definitely true, which also means that I'm quite sensitive to the truth as well. This dynamic certainly manifested on the day of the Slave Memorial & Commemoration that I was invited to share a "Breath Art" invocation for on October 5th, 2023 during my fellowship. I went out to the burial site that early morning & saw that there were colleagues placing flowers on the specific burial site locations of the enslaved human beings of the estate that were identified by the archaeology division. So I asked, or rather politely insisted that I also partake in this tradition, & helped with placing flowers on the burial grounds of these enslaved women, men, children, families & ancestors." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

"For moments when spoken words proved not enough to express the gravity of the day, performances filled the space. Djembe drumming opened the ceremony, providing a heartbeat that gave life to the day's events. George Washington Presidential Library Fellow Dominic Shodekeh Talifero performed an original piece during the ceremony that marked the culmination of his fellowship, exploring the histories of the enslaved community through breath."
- "Slave Memorial Commemoration: Teaching America's Story / 2023 -2024 Research Fellows: Dominic Shodekeh Talifero's "Breaths Along the Potomac," Mount Vernon Ladies Association 2023 Annual Report, pgs. 30 - 33.
https://www.mountvernon.org/about/annual-reports/2023-annual-report

"Welcome to the second print issue of the Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés! We are so excited to put forward an issue that uplifts marginalized voices, questions the status quo, and explores the intersection between art and law. In addition to valuing diversity of thought, our journal also places importance on diversity of format. For that reason, our issue includes—in addition to a formal law review article—poems, artwork, and collections of letters and songs.  Through these unique approaches, we aim to provide various modes of access to our readers to connect with the material. We end our issue with a piece by Dominic Shodekeh Talifero, a breath artist. Utilizing letters and artwork, he explores the history of racism and slavery in the United States. He thoughtfully approaches each recipient and topic to create an “art gallery” for readers to walk through as they simultaneously walk through history with him." - Laya Reddy, Editor-in-Chief, Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés. 

"Rohulamin Quander, a founding member of the League of Descendants of the Enslaved at Mount Vernon and who is a direct descendant of Nancy Carter Quander (born into a state of slavery at Mount Vernon in the late 18th century)101 was also a very big fan and supporter of my legacy cards, and there can be no greater validation than his. Even though this was quite the challenge, towards the end, it all came together pretty naturally for me. You know, when I think about our conversations regarding constructs as paradigm-extensions of multi-dimensional concepts, so many flashes race through my mind: art, philosophy, game-based learning (which is of course your jam)." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.
https://nljr.law.northwestern.edu/

Painting image of "Washington's Kitchen" courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association.

"Dear Reader, Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés, a law journal dedicated to uplifting the voices of the thinkers and schools of thought that the canon of legal scholarship has rejected for too long. Rejection is at once a deeply individual and inextricably institutionalized experience. Whether based in cultural, academic, or social norms, the process of assessing, accepting, and rejecting defines how the world operates and is understood. But more than that, it influences (in one direction or another) our sense of self, our sense of self-worth, and the relative strength of our contributions to society." - The Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés.

"Instead of feeling forced to default to the knowledge-distribution modalities of a typical dissertation or academic book (no shade, I always have a new book in my hands), I felt very strongly that it would be important for myself and my colleagues at Mount Vernon to explore alternative and experimental channels for what I was learning and experiencing during my fellowship." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

Illustration of Edmund Parker courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association.

This is brilliant on so many levels!

• Channeling his research into a medium that doesn’t strip away his process, voice, enthusiasm, & personality. SO much more engaging than a research paper
• Pursuing something creatively when it can’t be pursued historically (looking for his own great grandparents’ records at Mt. Vernon)
• Addressing the emotional labor of archival research and demonstrating his way of coping through different colors in text
• Using his work as a platform to dive into other artists/curators/archivists’ work
• Phrasing his research as a series of questions, opening up further conversation
• Wrapping it all up in the scope of a law journal in a way that actually makes sense (and also Hip Hop? mind blown)
  • “Can an argument be made that Hip Hop exists as one of the most advanced forms of scholarship?” PLEASE. - Sam Bessen, JHU Sheridan Libraries.

"Special Bioacoustic Note: This series of letters is not just literary but also visual and “bioacoustic” in nature. What on Earth does that mean? For example, each time you read in all caps BREATH*, that’s a cue for the reader to either hear the sound of that term internally, or to even produce that sound vocally for themselves or a group of listeners. These are “BREATH* letters,” another dimension of this “epistolary art gallery” through which the reader can engage with the overall work." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

"A very important development has recently occurred in the continued evolution of my "Breaths Along the Potomac" article as a living, interactive document. My friend Tonika Berkley, the recipient of letter #3, who holds the title of "Africana Archivist" at the Sheridan Libraries of Johns Hopkins University, has responded brilliantly to my "breath letter" by adding her own creative + scholarly annotations to what I originally wrote and designed. Not to mention the fact that all of the "digital easter eggs" I embedded into the article were retained within her additions to my letter." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

"I remember once on an educational tour during a brief visit to Mount Vernon, I asked the tour guide if Washington’s legal emancipation efforts within his will could also be perceived as one of Washington’s “great relinquishments,” along with stepping down from leadership after the Revolutionary War and only serving a two-term presidency.64 I honestly don’t remember the tour guide’s response, I sorely wish that I did, but nonetheless, his power to “legally” enslave was never given up while he was alive and in good health.65 But also, what were the intergenerational and legal limits of his will within the context of state vs. national boundaries during a time in which slavery was still cultivating gross momentum throughout the new nation?" - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

Painting image courtesy of the MET.

"Join Dominic Shodekeh Talifero, Breath Artist and recently published writer and designer in Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law's exciting new journal "Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés" to discuss the emerging field of the Legal Avant Garde. As a reflection of this new field, this journal provides a dynamic platform for scholarly outliers, "legal rejects" and visionary voices looking to synthesize concepts of Art and Law within the same creative spaces. By deconstructing Shodekeh's overall writing and design process for this law journal, this open discussion provides a unique opportunity to learn about and consider the legal, artistic and philosophical possibilities and discourses of these new field evolutions."
- Colorado College.

"Regarding the idea of an “epistolary art gallery,” I wanted to use as many pieces of art, photographs, and visualizations as possible to create the feeling of being immersed in an art gallery showing, and to further blur the lines of creativity expressed in the paradigms of research, art, and law. The main anchor concepts and images of this article are from my prototype deck of “legacy cards,” which I designed and created for the Juneteenth festival at George Washington’s Mount Vernon as a 2023-2024 research fellow." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

Photograph of Tom Quander courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association.

"Dear Shodekeh, On behalf of the Butler Center, the College’s student-facing office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, we would like to extend an invitation to work with, partner, and collaborate on our collective antiracism commitments for the benefit of not only the CC student community, but the college community as a whole. In the coming weeks, we would like to work with and collaborate with you as an Antiracist Artist-In-Residence for the CC campus community. This letter serves as an acknowledgement of your gifts as a creative force on this campus, a research-based performance artist, and as a program creative." - The Butler Center of Colorado College.

"Breath Garde" (a term conceived of by Dominic Shodekeh Talifero in December of 2025): The curated applications of "Breath Art" which are maximized explicitly through the lens of Franz Fanon's concept of "Combat Breathing" in the name of fostering a diversity of creative, philosophical, experimental and musical efforts to counter institutionalized racism, white supremacy, colonialism and systemic oppression." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

"Dave Daniels Jr has been a Fitness Professional for over 40 years and is Certified by NASM & various other organizations. Instructor Daniels is very experienced in various training modalities & is a Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu Instructor and student under Master Keith Mazza. Dave has been studying Traditional Wing Chun for over 20 years. Dave is always a student 1st & always trying to improve for his Clients & Students to best prepare them and help them get in the best shape of their lives." - Human Anatomy In Symmetry. 

"Ng Mui had been using her time in seclusion in the White Crane Temple to synthesize a new fighting system out of the Snake and Crane styles of Shaolin Kung Fu to better suit a woman or other fighter who did not have the advantage of size and strength. She began to train Wing Chun in this new style, concentrating only on the essential elements that could be absorbed in a few months instead of a few years." - Wing Chun Concepts.

"Through my new ARAIR residency at the Butler Center, one of my main focuses is creating new community connections for the division of Institutional Equity & Belonging centered in cultural identity + artistic advocacy. Tomorrow's event featuring Dallo Fall will be an extraordinary example of that kind of new momentum." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

"Dallo has been dancing since she was a very young girl. In her rural village in the Casamance region of Senegal, every major event in a person’s life is celebrated with music and dance. Dallo enjoys sharing the vibrant beauty of her culture through traditional percussion rhythm, dance movement, and song. She is an attentive and challenging teacher who works well with dancers of all levels. Dallo teaches African Dance at The Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO. Together with her drum and dance ensemble,”Jamoral” she offers workshops and performances throughout Colorado’s Front Range." - Peak Radar.

"Next week I'll be leading a very unique Breath Art master class experience tailored specifically for the staff & students of the Butler Center (Anti-Racism + DEI) of Colorado College, & I can't wait to go deeper into it's many creative possibilities in terms of personal restoration & empowerment." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

"Join Shodekeh, professional Breath Artist here at CC, in an immersive master class experience of "Breath Art + Water Drumming" on Tuesday, October 7th at 2:00 pm at the Schlessman Natatorium. Pulling deep inspiration from not only his Hip Hop / Beatbox-based cultural approach to artistic breathing methods, but also from the ancient traditions of African / Baka water drumming known as "Liquindi" found in the regions of Cameroon, Gabon and the Congo, Sho's upcoming class will illuminate the endless creative possibilities that exist between breath, music, air, water and movement." - The Butler Center.

"This upcoming film screening & discussion of "Get Out" will be one of my main programs this Fall semester through my new ARAIR residency at the Butler Center, & I absolutely can not wait to lead this experience. As I'm currently studying this film in preparation, the countless layers & dimensions continue to reveal themselves, & attending the New York Film Academy as a college student back in 2001 continues to pay off." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

"Hosting this film & leading the post-screening discussion as a "legal avant garde lab," inspired by my work earlier this year with "Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés," will be my responsibility next week, & I do not take it lightly. There's much to prepare for..." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

"Clemency is the fictional story of Bernadine Williams (Alfre Woodard), a prison warden in an unspecified death-penalty state, as she grapples with the emotional and psychological toll of facilitating and overseeing executions of prisoners on death row. The film quietly traces the devastating effect that presiding over more than a decade of executions has had on her marriage and mental health as she prepares the prison for another scheduled execution—this time, of a man who may be innocent of the murder for which he was sentenced to death." - The American Bar Association.

"One of the leading research inspirations of my "Anti-Racism Artist Residency" this semester has also turned out to be one of the most impactful in recent years, which is "The Hiroshima Library" created by professor Brandon Shimoda, a colleague of mine here at Colorado College. I first experienced this collection & "emergency library" through my collaborations with Eiko Otake in the Theatre + Dance Department last year during my Breath Art Residency, then took a deeper dive this year through Shimoda's contextualizations." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

"The Hiroshima Library is an itinerant, sometimes spontaneous reading room/collection of books on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and their ongoing afterlives, as well as the environments and situations in which the collection either publicly or privately exists." - Counterpath.

"This new residency is an ultimate challenge & dream come true on multiple levels, & I'll have so much more to share in the coming days, weeks & months through this new position. With everything that's going on in the world right now, & with the sustained racial trauma I've had in my life since I was a child, this is something that I absolutely must do..." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

Post - Residency Innovation Capstone & Emergency "Anti-Racism Time Capsules" coming in 2026...

Voyages: Chapter 1 was supported by the Marjorie Lynn Bank Endowment at the National Aquarium.

"Our maiden voyage—Chapter 1 in this new series—was developed in partnership with Baltimore beatboxer, breath artist and vocal percussionist Dominic "Shodekeh" Talifero. The auditory adventure of Voyages: Chapter 1 led guests through the Aquarium's array of aquatic habitats for an interactive, after-hours experience designed to inspire and intrigue. After months of research at the National Aquarium, Shodekeh created a unique breath art soundscape that emulated the sounds of the natural world and served as the underpinning to a narrative about the intersection of the biodiversity on display within our buildings and conservation bioacoustics—the study of the many layers of sound present in any ecosystem." - The National Aquarium.
https://aqua.org/stories/2022-09-20-embarking-on-an-epic-voyage

"The National Aquarium is excited to announce Voyages, an original immersive event series for adults that inspires connection to nature and celebrates Baltimore. Each event of the series will feature a deconstructed science lecture rebuilt into an immersive experience by Baltimore artists, culminating in a community celebration with local food and beverage brands." - NoPixAfterDarkPodcast. 

Shodekeh's "Vymatics" was composed and performed at the Maryland Institute College of Art Sound Art Program. Recorded & mixed by Dr. Erik Spangler. 

"Shodekeh's six-movement composition for the event was entitled "Vymatics," applying the "v" in "vocal" to "cymatics." Cymatics are intricate pulsing designs generated by sound vibrations on water and seen through a cymascope, which was developed and executed by Voyages: Chapter 1 artist Erica Hansen. As the track played through the headsets, voyagers encountered these beautiful, kinetic cymatics light displays projected onto Aquarium walls. Each light projection represented a real-time responsive projection of the biodiverse communications found within the "Vymatics" composition that Shodekeh and Hansen created for guests. The mandala-like animations created an ambient experience combining lights, sounds, and the sights and sensations of our underwater world, allowing voyagers to experience the National Aquarium like never before in a multi-sensory immersive event." - The National Aquarium.

Science Communication narration provided by Ashakur Rahaman and Dr. Aaron Rice of the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology. Narration was extracted from a series of responses in an interview conducted by Dominic Shodekeh Talifero. 

"By working with Baltimore beatboxer, breath artist and vocal percussionist Dominic "Shodekeh" Talifero, I am finding ways to visualize the dimensional structure within sound through cymatic images in relation to their vibrational frequency. For this I created a series of videos, working with a cymatic viewer that creates images in water and other viscous materials. Each projected video is a real time responsive projection of the bio-diverse communications between Shodekeh and other species as they take place in the aquarium setting." - Erica Hansen.  

"I'm currently setting up a second meeting with "Dolphin Watch" @ the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, based on my second enrichment activities session for the dolphins which took place just before the premier of "Voyages" at the National Aquarium. This included vocalizing for them from a "Breath Art" perspective, a "vodality" / construct of vocal communication that may be potentially less anthropomorphizing than vocal percussion or beatboxing, as it could be argued that "music," as universal at it may be within our own species, may also exist specifically as a human concept." - Dominic Shodekeh Talifero.

"The youngest members of our dolphin colony, Bayley and Foster, were part of a multi-year study published earlier this month in the PLoS Scientific Journal. The study demonstrated that dolphins can recognize themselves in a mirror earlier than children. This is a significant finding for a variety of reasons. First, it helps to further contextualize the sophistication of dolphin cognition. Bayley began exhibiting self-recognition at seven months, five months earlier than children and 17 months earlier than chimpanzees. Second, it creates a pathway for researchers to better understand how this level of cognitive function effects a breadth of other developmental and social milestones for bottlenose dolphins." - The National Aquarium. 

"With Talifero onboard, Community Programs Manager Sarah Doccolo served as a gateway to the Aquarium and connected Talifero with relevant experts. Doccolo utilized the Aquarium’s platform and networks to find external scientists in bioacoustics." - The Association of Zoos & Aquariums.

Voyages: Chapter 1 program partners included the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics @ the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Dolphin Watch @ the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the Maryland Institute College of Art Sound Art Program & Black in Marine Science. 

"After months of planning, the National Aquarium searched for their first event artist-in-residence, seeking reputable local talent with experience working with large organizations. Staff thought of musician Dominic “Shodekeh” Talifero, who had previously wanted to collaborate with the Aquarium to study how and why animals communicate. The Voyages community advisory board agreed that Talifero had the innovative spirit to create something new alongside the Aquarium." - The Association of Zoos & Aquariums, 2025.
https://www.aza.org/connect-stories/stories/journey-into-the-deep-transforming-an-event-series  

The Golden Dart Frog / Movement V of "Vymatics" features special guest vocalist Jezie Zhunio.

“This first chapter of Voyages is focused on biodiversity, as a theme and an overall point of advocacy,” says Talifero, who recently completed a months-long research stay at the aquarium, in which he mastered themes like animal communication and spoke at length with Voyages’ scientific lead Ashakur Rahaman. When asked to arrive at an artistic conceptualization of what biodiversity is, Talifero remembers thinking, “That might be unrealistic, because that’s a whole phenomenon, a whole lifetime, of study. But understanding vocal diversity as a bridge between my world and the world of biodiversity that exists at the aquarium, I [realized I could] synthesize the paradigms.” - Baltimore Magazine.
https://aqua.org/stories/2022-12-20-2022-recap-national-aquarium-news 

"Artists and scientists are cut from the same cloth: inquisitive, truth-seekers, rule-breakers. When combined, experiencing scientific content through music, dance, prose, and fashion can evoke emotion and spark action. Join staff from the National Aquarium to explore the case study of how Voyages, an artist residency and adults-only event series, reimagined a 25-year-old legacy program into an initiative that connects Baltimore artists with expert staff and scientists from around the world. Learn how the program’s manager used community listening, co-design, and connection to broaden the Aquarium’s audiences and inspire hearts and minds for ocean conservation."
- The American Alliance of Museums.

Homo Sapiens / Movement VI of "Vymatics" features special guest vocalist Dr. Erik Spangler.

"An apt example of such a soundscape is the call-and-answer patterns of many avian—that's bird-centered—ecosystems. Voyagers learned about the orchestral nature of an ecosystem's bioacoustics via a narrative track including featured scientist Ashakur Rahaman and his colleague Dr. Aaron Rice of the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology. Their engaging explanation of the field of bioacoustics played over Shodekeh's mesmerizing breath art, recorded and mixed by local artist Erik Spangler, creating a layered, holistic audio experience." - The National Aquarium.