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Miki Conn is an artist, storyteller, poet and author and resides in Schenectady, NY.
Born in Brooklyn, NY in 1944, Miki's African and Native American heritage inspired an interest in indigenous arts and multiculturalism. Her travels and independent studies prompted her exploration of the myths, legends, belief systems and arts of many lands. These influences can be seen in her artwork as well as in her approaches to education and training projects. In her work, Ms. Conn strives to increase understanding between races and cultures, foster reading among children and is an ordained Iyanifa in the traditional African Yoruba Ifa belief system..
Miki’s poems reflect her everyday and spiritual life. She jokingly calls them her “kitchen sink poems” because many of them reflect the beauty and blessings found in an ordinary day. For example, the poem “the Day the Drier Died” ends with a kiss from God, and the poem “The War Between the States” is actually about the regional debate about how to make cornbread.
Miki’s paintings have been exhibited in Africa, Upstate New York, Long Island and Boston. She has also curated a number of exhibits featuring the work of black artists. Several of her essays are published in the anthology “Sacred Waters” and she edited and helped her mother to self-publish “Integrating Delmar 1957, the Story of a Friendship”.
Retired for more than 12 years, Conn was executive director of the Hamilton Hill Arts Center, a multi-arts center that focuses on the arts and culture of the African Diaspora, in the inner-city of Schenectady, NY. She is a founding member of Black Dimensions in Art and the Capital District Kwanzaa Coalition. She founded an annual drumming festival (In Women’s Hands: The Beat of the Drum) which served her region of NY for seven years. Miki teaches art, tells stories, and facilitates workshops in team building, creativity, writing and African spirituality. She organizes the Juneteenth and Kwanzaa celebrations in her region. A student at Howard University during the 60’s, Ms Conn has often been invited to speak about her experiences in the Civil Rights Movement.
Three of Miki's children's books (Oshun's Pumpkins, Drumming for Ogun and Yemaya Queen of the Ocean) are part of her Living with The Orisha series. This series is designed to introduce and familiarize children (and adults) to the West African Ifa or Yoruba Faith Tradition which was brought to the west in the hearts and minds of captured and enslaved Africans and has spread all over the world.
In perpetual movement, the active side of Miki's life includes camping, skiing, bike riding, tai chi, hiking, zumba and cardio dance and she is a proud owner of a rescue cat and a big red hen.
Miki Conn is the daughter of the late Margaret and Dr. James Cunningham, mother of four adult children, grandmother of four and great grandmother of one.
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