ABOUT
After nine years of dancing, Aaliyah discovered photography and became captivated at the age of eleven. Inspired by a deeper understanding of form and rhythm, these foundations were amplified by the American landscape of her childhood and heritage. Growing up in Nashville, touring the South as a dancer, and having family in Chicago, her performances extended beyond the stage and into contemporary narratives. Emphasizing field theory and movement studies, Aaliyah's experimental analog methods harness the potential of the lens. By expressing individualism within universalism and the absurd within reality, her work focuses on the distilled, stoic Black body to explore how (non)rhythms reflect the past, present, and future of the Afro-Latin Diaspora. Along with her foundation in modern, contemporary, and classical dance training, this framework guides her expansive practice of photography, printmaking, painting, sculpture, and performance and video art. Her work has been recognized nationally in foundations such as YoungArts, as well as her roots and local environments in Nashville, Chicago, and New York City. Aaliyah lives between Harlem, New York, and South Side Chicago. She is graduating from New York University with a concentration on Afro-Surrealism and minoring in Art History and Studio Art. In her free time, you’ll catch her biking the Central Park Loop, on the phone with Grandma, or meal prepping.
CV
2019
Scholastics Honorable Mention, Photography
2020
Scholastics Goldkey Award Portfolio, PhotographyYoungArts Merit Winner, Photography
2021
YoungArts Anthology Publication, 2021
2023
openEARTHstudio Award for Artistic Activism Cheekwood Botanical Gardens, Black Arts Bash, Printmaking
2024
Cheekwood Botanical Gardens, Black Arts Bash, Printmaking