​Ajani Brannum (they/them) uses performance - broadly construed - to explore meaning, relation, and belonging beyond the pale of 'belief' or 'doctrine.' Their practice salvages psychic material from the various histories they embody as a black, queer maker with Southern roots. Through an ongoing process of learning-in-public, they improvise a repertoire of movements toward liberation - honoring and extending the ancestral wisdom that animates their craft.

 

Ajani has created spaces of encounter with REDCAT, ODC, Human Resources Los Angeles, Materials & Applications, Highways Performance Space, Los Angeles Performance Practice, in classrooms, on tabletops and screens, and when no one is looking. Born in Anchorage, Alaska, they hold an AB in English and a Certificate in Dance from Princeton University, and a PhD in Culture and Performance from UCLA. They are also an alum of the Cecilia Weston Spiritual Academy, helmed by Jade T. Perry.