liana conyers

Liana Conyers, M.F.A., is an artist and educator in the mid-Atlantic region. She currently serves as the Associate Dean of Studies and Performing Arts Faculty at Bard DC. In the Bard College Network, Liana teaches Black Aesthetics in Mass Media, Performance Art, and Movement Studies. She is an Engaged Liberal Arts and Sciences grant recipient and Bard Faculty Fellow. Most notably, she is a recipient of the Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching and conducted arts integration research in Singapore 2022, where she was a guest teaching artist at Singapore School of the Arts, LASALLE College of Fine Arts, and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Liana is the founder of LICO Arts Program, offering core professional development opportunities for businesses, community organizations, and academic programs. As a wellness coach, she provides participants with creative and therapeutic tools for personal and workplace wellness, productive flow, and expression.

Liana has performed several pieces for Movement Research at the Judson Church. She conceived I Invited Oprah, 2017 as part of Dance and Process at The Kitchen. Liana was a 2018-2019, New York Live Arts Fresh Tracks Resident Artist, where she performed Androids & Pearls and #MeAndDaveChappelle. In 2020, she premiered her full-length solo #ImFxckingFunny at New York Live Arts Live Artery and held a creative residency at The Chocolate Factory Theater. Liana has performed with Keith Thompson, Jhon Stronks, Wayne Smith, Habib Chester Iddrisu, Masankho Kamsisi Banda, and CORE Performance Company. As a movement practitioner and academic, she has presented at Emory University, Spelman College, U of O, ACDF NW Conference, Big Range Festival, and Philadiction Movement.

I view the arts as a means to connect with myself and the world around me. During my investigations, I am interested in how people form a sense of self, and I explore how identity and autobiography influence artistic practice and performance. In my work, I focus on the depth of the human experience. I believe that we are all complex creatures with unique, untold stories. I am interested in bringing these narrative moments into performance as a means to share the interconnectedness of human nature – what it means to be flesh, bones, lovers, friends, black, white . . . .

I am a multi-disciplinary artist utilizing collage, found objects, text, movement, sound, textiles, and film in my creative process. I am most interested in visceral experiences and physical nuances. The work I create provides me with space to bring the lived experience to live performance.