Shani Jamila is a conceptual artist & cultural worker whose work explores ancestry, identity and the importance of place. She utilizes her family’s genealogical records as a primary source and her travels to nearly fifty countries deeply inform her practice. Her work has been presented at the Manifesta European Contemporary Art Biennial, Reginald F. Lewis Museum, Centro Provincial de Artes Plásticas y Diseño, Corridor Gallery and Harvard’s Cooper Gallery.
Shani is the founder and host of the Lineage podcast + portrait project— a series of intimate, in-depth interviews with contemporary artists. She also hosts live talks with artists, writers and scholars at organizations like the Brooklyn Museum, Aperture Foundation, Lincoln Center, Schomburg Center and New York Live Arts. Her portrait and quote are featured in “A Choice to Change the World,” a permanent installation of socially engaged artists and advocates at her alma mater Spelman College. Jamila’s work has been supported by the National Arts Club, TED, the Aspen Institute, MASS MoCA, and the J. William Fulbright Foundation.