UMI IMAN SIFERLLAH-GRIFFIN

Umi IMAN (meaning faith/magnet) is an Emmy nominated dancer/movement artist based on Mvskoke Creek and Tsalagi lands Atl, GA. She is a walking manifestation of a Black American, Caribbean, and Tsalagi (Cherokee) bloodline and a practitioner of various Black vernacular and Native American dances. Her artistic practice is rooted in embracing dances (folklore and Vernacular) in her repertoire and aligning them with healing modalities as medicine for joy and liberation. IMAN nurtures and shares her artistry across many different spatial contexts. She’s collaborated with many global communities and organizations such as Core Dance in ATL, I.M.A.N in Atlanta/Chicago, SpringBoard for the Arts in MN, Each One Teach ONE in Berlin, Volcano Arts Center in Hawaii, SE.S.TA in Prague, The Facing Race Conference, The Nobel Peace Prize Forum, and the MN Secretary of State’s 50th Voter’s Rights Act Celebration, and many more. She is also the co-creator and dancer of Al Taw’am, a multimodal dance ensemble composed of Khadijah Siferllah and herself. Her role in her communities is a healing facilitator and indigenous arts curator. Alongside Khadijah Siferllah she is the co-founder of Sequoia Ascension; Sequoia Ascension cultivates the wellbeing of Atlanta’s Black American & Native American communities by way of movement and healing practices. They are developing a new residency/fellowship program to support Atlanta-based artists.