shanina dionna

shanina dionna (she/they) is a West Philadelphia-based visual and movement artist, certified Person-Centered Expressive Arts facilitator, and founder of the non-profit youth arts program, ARTbuds Philly. Committed to mental health advocacy and social change through expressive arts, shanina piloted a tuition-free “Expressive Arts Healing” program at the Fleisher Art Memorial for BIPOC and multicultural communities.

Their collaborative partners include the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, the Barnes Foundation, Penn Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as well as national brands and universities like LIFEWTR and Moore College of Art & Design.

shanina’s impactful career spans painting, expressive movement, installation, photography, experimenting with glasswork, metalwork, and filmmaking. Philadelphia Magazine recognized them for “creating a positive space for mental health conversations.”

In 2023, shanina became a Black Artists Fellow with Mural Arts Philadelphia following an international presence including a virtual exhibition in Athens, Greece; facilitating workshops for the University of Southern California and the Philadelphia System of Care.

As a recent Temple University graduate with a focus on expressive arts and therapy, shanina continues to explore the intersections of arts, humanities, psychology, and social change, stating, “Art helped save my life. I simply desire to pay that forward.”