FORMATION
Who are we without a mirror?
HI! My name is Alanna Morris. I am a transdisciplinary artist and cultural worker whose practice synthesizes movement, care, relational inquiry, Black feminist thought, spiritual ecosystem knowledge, and embodied research into frameworks that support personal and communal transformation.
When I founded I A.M. Arts in 2017 (then Alanna Morris-Van Tassel Productions), it was an umbrella for all my “pet projects.”
My life and creative practice were forged in Minnesota. (Minnesota! STAND UP!) My training, orientation, and values were forged in Minnesota’s landscape of healing justice, Nonviolent Communication, and Afro-Indigenous epistemology.
I entered the space at 21. (I am 40 now, having celebrated my 40th on April 28.) Uri Sands told me in 2009 to “fill up my dance card,” and I did.
I interned, apprenticed, and volunteered. I sat at the feet of elders and in silent meditation. I contributed, created, stewarded, facilitated, and produced. When times were hard I reached down into myself and pulled out Might. Ultimately discovering who and what I am by observing what was needed, listening to what is trying to be known, and then bringing into material form ideas from the infinite. Minnesota gave me the opportunity to step forward into my original blueprint and intelligent human design.
I A.M. Arts became one of the primary laboratories for that becoming…
STEWARDSHIP
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP & OPERATIONS
I founded and led a multidisciplinary arts organization, establishing our mission, vision, values, program and brand identity while overseeing operations and annual initiatives. I launched with the money I had in savings. By 2023 I was managing a $40K annual operating budget and overseeing financial systems. I managed a 3–5 member advisory board; designed hiring and onboarding systems; and directly oversaw staff and program personnel. We produced an average of three interdisciplinary arts programs, employing approximately 20 artists, and served up to 300 participants annually via live and virtual programs.
I A.M. Arts sunsetted in December 2025. A sunrise will soon come.
INFRASTRUCTURE
This post looks back at infrastructure. People are infrastructure.
SEA THOMAS was I A.M. Arts’ first Administrative Assistant, serving from 2020–2022. Sea changed my life and contributed profoundly to our ethos of care and sustainability through an anti-capitalist, anti-patriarchal, and decolonial lens.
Sea was hired on the heels of the pandemic. After our first meeting, we worked together remotely for two years.
Our collaboration provided the foundation for what was to come…
