Shani Jamila
Shani Jamila is a conceptual artist & cultural worker who explores ancestry and identity formation in African American and African diasporic communities. She utilizes her family’s genealogical records as a primary source and her travels to nearly fifty countries deeply inform her practice.
Shani is the creator and host of Lineage— an archive of intimate, in-depth interviews with contemporary socially engaged Black artists. Her meditative film We Hold These Truths, produced with the Park Avenue Armory, features inspiring reflections on ancestry from a multidisciplinary cast of history shaping artists. Named “One of the 35 Most Remarkable Women in the World” by ESSENCE magazine, her portrait and quote are featured in “A Choice to Change the World,” a permanent installation at her alma mater Spelman College. Her work has been supported by the Aspen Institute, TED, MASS MoCA, Brooklyn Arts Council, National Arts Club, and the J. William Fulbright Foundation.