Dem Lashawn Keilu’s current interest is in telling Black stories within a diverse range of artistic disciplines, while also giving a platform for other artists to express their own experiences through their work. Keilu works as a filmmaker, designer, painter, writer, and furniture designer. He holds a BA in Architecture from Morgan State University, an MA in Social Design from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and a MFA in Filmmaking, also from MICA.

Keilu, of New York City, is a 2013 Artscape Student Awardee, a 2013 AIA Emerging Design Professional Awardee, a 2015 Gensler Architecture Impact Awardee, a 2015 Johns Hopkins Social Innovation Lab Fellow, a 2016 Rose Fellowship Finalist, a 2016 Winter Warnock Baltimore Social Innovation Winner, and a 2021 AICAD Fellow. See more of his work at petelephants.com.