Rashaad Newsome. Photo: Jeff Vespa

Johnny Symons. Photo: Luz Gallardo

Rashaad Newsome celebrates with the Assembly cast after a successful three-week run of the artists’ multi-experiential work at Park Avenue Armory in New York City, March 2022. Photo: Keenan Newman

Dancer Nekia Zulu navigates New York City streets en route to perform at Assembly. Photo: Keenan Newman

Assembly dancers at Park Avenue Armory, performing a piece choreographed by Maleek Washington. Photo: Stephanie Berger

Inside the Assembly exhibition, holograms and video-mapped walls pulsate with dancers and diasporic fractals inspired by the geometry within traditional African culture. Photo: Keenan Newman

Created by Rashaad Newsome, Being is a digital griot who functions as a performance artist, poet, educator and healer. Photo. Rashaad Newsome Studio

A tender moment backstage at the Park Avenue Armory performance between dancers Puma Camillê of Brazil and Koppi Mizrahi of Japan. Photo: Keenan Newman

Rashaad Newsome creates Being the AI in his studio. Photo: Keenan Newman

Being receives counsel from the ancestors whose wisdom shapes their natural language processing model. Photo: Rashaad Newsome Studio

Rashaad contemplates transforming the Park Avenue Armory Drill Hall. Photo: Keenan Newman

Rashaad consoles Kyron as he navigates a challenging moment from his past. Photo: Keenan Newman