Li Sumpter

Li Sumpter

Degrees

  • Ph.D., Mythological Studies, Pacifica Graduate Institute

Li Sumpter is a multidisciplinary artist and independent scholar who applies strategies of worldbuilding and mythic design toward building better, more resilient communities of the future. Li’s creative research and collaborative design initiatives engage the art of survival and sustainability through diverse ecologies and immersive stories of change. Li is a cultural producer and eco-arts activist working through MythMedia Studios, the Escape Artist Initiative and various arts and community-based organizations in Philadelphia, PA, and across the country. Li has taught courses on Myth and the Media, Film and Ecology, and Afrofuturism at Haverford College and Moore College of Art and Design. She also teaches special topics for youth and adult courses at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Barnes Foundation, and Fleisher Art Memorial. Li was a recipient of the Sundance Institute and Knight Alumni grant, a 3-time recipient of the Leeway Art and Change Grant, and a 2022 nominee for the distinguished Pew Fellowship.