Hi, my name is Amina Kai and I am a photographer and visual artist from Baltimore, now living in Tokyo. I have been making art for as long as I can remember; painting, film, and photography are my main mediums.
In 2018 I attended Art Center College of Design for 1 year where I studied photography. When the pandemic hit in 2020 I moved to Cotonou, Benin for nearly a year. During that time, I photographed daily life and created two short documentary films.
I returned to California in 2021, but continued moving in between places. After being accepted into an artist residency in Yokohama, Japan, I spent three months working on 'Childhood Joy', an ongoing painting series exploring the relationship dynamics between narcissistic parent(s) and the effects it has on kids well into their adulthood.
Between 2022 and 2024, I worked on film sets in Los Angeles as a background actor, Personal assistant, and as a freelancer. I also returned back to school, this time at Irvine Valley College, studying painting and drawing. In 2025 I transferred to my current university, in Tokyo, to complete my fine arts degree. Photography and painting and film still remain my main focus.