Niama Safia Sandy’s work spans the written, visual and performing arts, education and beyond. 

Through her years of collaborating with artists and institutions across the globe building projects, she has amassed amazing once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Her organizing, producing exhibitions, music and community events and now her own art, her life and work belies the power of art and people to create lasting change.

Across her interventions, justice, activism, creating visibility are at the center. Through her work she creates dialogue by elucidating connections where most had not thought to make them. The lifeblood of Sandy’s work is about making art, history and ideas—and the change they can bring—accessible. This is activated by leading with care, compassion, a collaborative spirit, and expansive thinking. Niama builds multidisciplinary contemporary interventions that challenge, reconcile or reframe what we know to spurs culture and the world around us forward toward something new and more equitable for all.

As a visual artist, Sandy’s oeuvre spans painting, performance, photography, sculpture and beyond, building worlds offering portals to a higher vision. As a curator and producer, she has presented exhibitions and projects across the United States, the United Kingdom and internationally with institutions like TED, SummerStage, and others. As an organizer, her work has created pathways toward equity and opportunities for artists and cultural professionals across the globe.

In Spring 2024, Niama was awarded ArtTable’s annual New Leadership Award. Sandy has taught undergraduate and graduate students at Columbia University, School of the Arts and Pratt Institute, School of Art. At Pratt, She has been awarded the prestigious Faculty Development Fund Award, as well as the Dean’s Innovation Fund Prize through the School of Art. 

Sandy and her work have been featured in The New York Times, Monopol, Teen Vogue, The Washington Post, Hyperallergic, Camera Austria, OkayAfrica, CultureType, and other publications.