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Questions of Practice: Choreographer and Performer Nora Chipaumire on Art and Advocacy

We asked choreographer Nora Chipaumire how her study of law has influenced her artistic practice. “I’m always in search of justice,” she says. Chipaumire describes her interest in the “discipline of reason” within the law, and the “constant dialogue” between the “reasonable” and “unreasonable” that her work requires.

Supported by a Center Advancement grant, the Philadelphia Museum of Art presented Chipaumire’s portrait of myself as my father in the fall of 2016 as part of Creative Africa, an exhibition and performance series centered on historic and contemporary African art.

Born in Mutare, Zimbabwe and based in New York City, Nora Chipaumire creates work that challenges and embraces stereotypes of Africa and the black performing body. She is a graduate of the University of Zimbabwe’s School of Law and holds a MA in dance and MFA in choreography and performance from Mills College. A 2016 Foundation for Contemporary Arts grant recipient, Chipaumire is a 2015 Doris Duke Artist, and the recipient of a 2012 Alpert Award in the Arts.