Shaina Lynn is a New Orleans-born, LA-based actress. She is also a writer, poet, Afro-Futurist, and multimedia artist that demands the healing of the Black woman’s experience in America. As the creator and a writer for Pursuit of Nappiness and contributor for HuffPost, Shaina cultivates spaces for analytical writing, love, and acceptance. Internationally, she has presented work at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Ludwig Foundation, and Fabrica de Arte. She is a RYT 200 yoga instructor offering private lesson.

Shaina has partnered with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for 4 consecutive years to host the Artist of Colour Meetup, an event that creates network and visibility for artists participating in the festival. She was the recent Curatorial Fellow at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where she presented her internationally-acclaimed one-woman show Bayou Blues at the Carolina Performing Arts Center. She is the 2016 recipient of The Puffin Foundation Theater Grant. Her interdisciplinary work Afro Futuro has been performed and exhibited at the Ludwig Foundation and Fabrica De Arte in Havana, Cuba. In 2015, Shaina was named the RAW DC Performer of the year. Shaina received her BA in Theater from Marymount Manhattan College.

Currently, Shaina is studying at the Drama Therapy Institute of Los Angeles to become a Registered Drama Therapist. She recently received her Masters of Acting from the California Institute of the Arts.

Her children’s book series The Cat and the Lion is now available for order.

All images courtesy of the artist