Emily Hooper Lansana
Storytelling
Chicago, IL
Emily Hooper Lansana is a storyteller who creatively curates spaces for stories to be experienced in community. For more than thirty years she has performed and led projects in diverse venues locally and nationally including the Mississippi Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, Southern Foodways Conference, National Storytelling Festival, and the National Association of Black Storytellers Festival. She has received numerous honors including: 3 Arts, 3Arts Next Level, and Illinois Arts Council Awards.
As a performing artist, she is most known for her work with Performance Duo: In the Spirit. She has taught storytelling in a variety of venues from community spaces such as Free Street and Beyond Prisons to universities including Chicago State, DePaul, Northwestern and University of Chicago where she serves as the Senior Director of Programming and Engagement at the Logan Center for the Arts. Her work seeks to give voice to those whose stories are often untold, especially those of the African diaspora.