Miki Vale

 ABOUT MIKI VALE

MIKI VALE is a sonic storyteller, an award-winning Hip Hop artist, Old Globe-commissioned playwright, sound designer, educator, author, U.S. State Department Cultural Arts Ambassador, and founder of SoulKiss Theater— an arts education, performance and community engagement initiative centering and celebrating the voices of Black queer women. Her work moves across music, theatre, storytelling, and participatory practice, creating spaces where people use voice, rhythm, and narrative to explore identity, healing, justice, and belonging. She appears on over 70 recordings and is the author of in lieu of flwrz: a memoir. . . kind of, a companion book to her Hip Hop musical of the same name, honoring the spirit of grief and loss.

She has performed, spoken, and taught at landmark venues and festivals across the U.S. and around the world, including Egypt, India, France, Chile, and Suriname.

For her contributions to Hip Hop culture, Miki has received the San Diego Hip Hop Honors Award, the Female Perspective Award, and the 2021 San Diego Music Award for Song of the Year for “Bad Wolves", a collaborative piece confronting anti-Black racism. For her work within LGBTQ+ communities, she was honored with the 2017 Bayard Rustin Civil Rights Award.

 LEADERSHIP & PRACTICE

Miki partners with universities, arts organizations, mission-aligned brands, and communities to design participatory performances, workshops, and residencies tailored to the needs of each room.

Rooted in Hip Hop and theatre, her practice uses voice, rhythm, narrative, and performance as tools for education, connection, and creative expression. Her work explores race, class, gender, identity, and belonging while inviting participants to move beyond witnessing stories and into shaping their own.

Her work has been commissioned and supported by more than 30 institutions and organizations, including The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Diversionary Theatre, The Monarch School, San Diego Pride, San Diego Housing Federation, New Village Arts, Jason Mraz Foundation, Taco Bell Foundation, and San Diego Black Artist Collective, among others.

Whether performing on stage or leading a room, Miki creates processes that build trust, encourage creative risk, and transform individual voices into shared expression.

 IMPACT

Miki’s workshops and performances have engaged youth, professional artists, educators, cultural workers, and community members across classrooms, theatres, festivals, and international residencies. Her work creates accessible entry points for people of all experience levels to build confidence, connection, and creative agency.

Beyond her own practice, Miki is committed to advocacy and opportunity-building for Black artists. Through SoulKiss Theater, she has created space for Black queer women to be centered, celebrated, and supported as artists, storytellers, and cultural leaders. Her work expands access, fosters shared authorship, and strengthens creative community through art that is rooted, collaborative, and alive.

 FELLOWSHIPS & SUPPORT

Miki is a Far South Border North Fellow and Dea Hurston Professional Fellow.

Her work has been supported by the San Diego Rising Arts Leaders, Dramatists Guild Foundation, William Male Foundation, and Cali Catalyst.

Interested in bringing Miki into your school, organization, festival, retreat, or community space? 
Get in touch to explore performances, workshops, speaking, and collaborations.