I A.M. Arts

Non Profit Organization dedicated to:
Critical Dance Performance. (W)holistic Education. Community Development. I A.M. In Fall 2022 I A.M.

VISION

Now entering its 6th season, in 2022/2023, I A.M. Arts will support the development and commission of new dance works by Artistic Director, Alanna Morris. Arts is shifting its community-building model to being a hub space for the activation, protection, education, and preservation of Black embodied traditions in an ecosystem of cooperation and mutual support— connecting mid-career *women c

reatives, especially, with resources to thrive through artist talks, community conversations and workshops, as well as hosting bi-annual retreat/artist residency program that is part restorative practice and part professional development. Arts continues our mentorship/coaching program to support the training and careers of female pre-professional dancers of colour thanks to a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council.

*“women” and “female” are inclusive of trans women and those with gender-expansive identities.

04/02/2026

“Eat so God can love you.”
Origin: Brooklyn, NY.

My first site of excavation is Brooklyn. This work mines my early life. Within the Caribbean diasporic community and the grind culture of New York City, my early life was shaped by religious dogma and internalized scripts on the economy of care. The project’s title, “Eat so God can love you.”, emerges directly from a cultural context— spoken by elders at the dinner table, where nourishment, obedience, love, and worth were intimately entangled...

10/30/2025

Good morning All, I hope all is well.

I am moderating a virtual panel tonight, talking to some incredible people. Sponsored by the Network for Developing Conscious Communities (NDCC).

Building Black Arts and Cultural Cooperatives: Creativity, Ownership, and Community Power

It is free to attend. REGISTRATION LINK IN BIO.

This webinar will explore how Black artists are reclaiming cultural power and economic autonomy through cooperatives. We’ll dive into successful models of art and cultural cooperatives, how they empower creatives through collective ownership, and how they serve as vital tools for preserving cultural heritage, resisting displacement, and building sustainable artistic careers. Focus on artists, musicians, and cultural workers using cooperative models to sustain their work and resist gentrification.

✨Pre-registration: LINK IN BIO!

A Big thanks to Sister Leanna from Nexus Community Partners for bringing I A.M. Arts in touch with the world of Black cooperation. Here to listen, learn and grow!

It would be great to have you there!

Ayibobo!

(Photo from 2024 3rd National Conference on the Black Cooperative Agenda in Saint Paul, Minnesota)

06/18/2025

A place and a space to learn, to laugh, to play, to be.

I A.M. Arts is grateful for our donors this year, , , and the Minnesota State Arts Board for their financial support.

✨This year, due to the socio-political and economic climate, we have made the program donation-based. 💜

🌿 Ìwúre: A reclamation of our post-imperial imagination. It will include 6 days and 5 nights of professional development workshops and restorative practice led by renowned thought leaders. The retreat will take place at , a multigenerational Black-owned farm in Wadena County.

✨ Our retreat / residency program is in its third year. We serve leaders and artists who have a socially-engaged practice, who create and manage systems of support for others, and who need to be poured into through the praxis of mutual aid.

✨ Alanna Morris ( .and.wings.llc) is the Program Manager and Lead Curator (though our program is developed with input from community members).

✨ This is a queer-inclusive and body positive, liberatory space. Our program serves trans women, cis-gender women, and gender-expansive identities.

✨ If this opportunity feels nourishing to your spirit, apply today or share the application with a revolutionary near you!

✨ LINK IN BIO! Registration closes on June 20.

Apply now: www.iamartss.com/iwure2025

In Solidarity,
Alanna Morris, I A.M. Arts Artistic Director

05/09/2025

RETURNING HOME:

Today and tomorrow is the Spring concert at Hamline University!

In all my years as a professional dancer-choreographer. In all my years serving as artistic leadership for different organizations, I have never seen an alchemy quite like this.

These are truly gifted and special artists.

As Artistic Director of the Hamline Dance Ensemble I have restructured the program to serve deep exploration.

I invite all of you to come out this weekend (Fri and Sat 7:30 to the Ann Simley Theater in Drew Fine Arts Center) to experience what these students have done. It’s amazing.

I also made a choreographic offering to lift up Palestine and the dreams of all peoples struggling for human dignity.

Vie Boheme, our 2024/2025 guest artist, has crafted a groovy and heartfelt piece in collaboration with the ensemble that speaks to isolation and community in this over-stimulating social media culture. Original music by Vie Boheme. 💞

I hope you get to see this concert. I guarantee you will leave full.

Ticket link in bio.

Comps are available for I A.M. Arts “Inner Circle” members. Graduates of any Black Light Research programme as well (Winter 3023 and Spring 2024 cohorts). Please send a DM to request!

(Sneak Peak of images of some of the student work by Molly Jay!)

05/05/2025

I A.M. Arts Presents: Ìwúre: A reclamation of our post-imperial imagination | Women's Retreat 2025

A 5-night / 6-day retreat for mid-career *women creatives and artists who center social justice and healing in their practice. Professional development workshops and restorative practice are led by renown thought leaders on a multigenerational Black-owned farm in Minnesota to center sovereignty for black and indigenous peoples, land stewardship, wellness, joy practices, and social entrepreneurship.

*inclusive of trans women and gender-expansive identities

SAVE THE DATE! | JUNE 24-29, 2025

We lovingly welcome writer, independent scholar, poet, activist and educator, Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, as this year’s Key Note Speaker.

Dr Alexis is a beloved “Black Feminist Love Evangelist,” "Q***r Black Troublemaker" and "Aspirational cousin to all sentient beings.” She has been a friend of I A.M. Arts since inception and will ground this year’s excursion in poignant and majestic, revolutionary practice--a salve for our times.

More Information Coming Soon!

04/12/2025

Greetings! So we talking!

American bass-baritone Davóne Tines, “the must-hear singer of opera today” (Los Angeles Times) and his band The Truth make their Twin Cities debut on Thursday May 1 with RITUAL—a musical exploration of human connection and concern.

The concert is produced by Liquid Music in dialogue with Minneapolis Institute of Art’s exhibition Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys.

Dancer-choreographer, educator, and community organizer (and Liquid Music alum) Alanna Morris talks with Mr. Tines on Monday for Liquid Music's BLOG! (The link to the BLOG post will be shared in the I A.M. Arts bio when it publishes later this month)

The performance and admission to Mia is FREE and open to the public. The ‘Giants’ exhibition requires tickets for entry.

I hope you check out the performance and the GIANTS exhibit at the MIA!

More Info: https://new.artsmia.org/event/davone-tines-truth-performance

Photo courtesy of The Truth
Photo of Alanna Morris by Canaan Mattson

02/09/2025

LATE ANNOUNCEMENT! The Hamline Dance Ensemble is under new direction and leadership!

In 2024 I was invited to join the faculty at Hamline University, where I am now Adjunct Professor of Dance and the Director of the Hamline Dance Ensemble. Ms. Kaori Kenmotsu previously held this position for 17 years and so it is quite an honour, responsibility, and opportunity to design and shape the program in new ways. What I love about what Kenmotsu provided was a sense of community and have taken that and ran with it!

The Fall semester for the Hamline Dance Ensemble now begins with a deep dive into creative process, movement and choreographic research as guided by the praxis and methodology I steward called “Black Light Research: a methodology for ritualized living and performance practice.”

Following an intense first five weeks the ensemble is empowered with tools and a collective experience to begin to achieve further mastery and agency of their own creative voices through the audition process of student-led choreographic projects. We engage a highly transparent process with repeat check-ins, guidance and mentorship from myself and their peers.

In The Spring semester the ensemble continues developing student work; begins working with a guest choreographer from the Twin Cities’ highly robust arts scene, all under my guidance; and creates a new choreographic work or learns work from the Director’s repertory. The spring semester includes workshops with PPC faculty on technical theater, design and dramaturgy. Students also have the opportunity to participate in regional dance conferences like the American College Dance Association where they can take master classes and workshops and perform their work for adjudication. The spring semester culminates in a dance concert at the Anne Simley Theater in May 2025.

We ended the Fall semester with a potluck. I love this people. They are deep, sensitive, curious, intellectual and broad artistes. They’re also just really damn cool. I am having a fulfilling time and the respect is mutual.

Address

1530 West Taylor Avenue
Saint Paul, MN
55104

Website

https://www.iamartss.com/

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