…I AM
Isaiah Aladejobi, also known as PZay, is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, and educator based in Washington, DC. His work explores the intersection of culture, creativity, and play, using art as a means to reclaim the inner child and challenge the narratives of survival that often define Black male youth.
As a first-generation Nigerian American, Isaiah exists in a constant dialogue between two worlds—one rooted in the rich traditions of his parents’ homeland and the other shaped by the realities of growing up Black in America. This cross-cultural juxtaposition created a sense of duality, where expectations of resilience often outweighed the space for childhood wonder. Like many young Black boys, he felt the urgency to grow up fast, discarding playfulness in favor of survival. The lack of a long-term vision, the unspoken reality of not imagining life beyond early adulthood, deeply influenced his relationship with creativity.
His artistic practice is a direct response to this experience. Through Kole, a sensory-driven building system, Isaiah invites others to reimagine creativity as a space of possibility—one where childhood isn’t something to abandon but something to continuously rediscover. Merging cultural storytelling, hands-on design, and communal engagement, his work fosters connection across generations and identities.
Isaiah’s work has been exhibited at the United Nations HQ, the National Children’s Museum, and the Smithsonian Hirshhorn, and he has collaborated with The Kennedy Center and World Bank. With a BFA in Fine Arts (VSU) and an MID in Industrial Design (RISD), he continues to push the boundaries of how art, education, and cultural memory intersect, creating experiences that invite people to build, play, and reclaim the imagination that the world often asks them to leave behind.