Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, ImaniNia Bahtye comes from a creatively inclined family that helped cultivate her artistic vision. With a background in fashion, photography, and collage art, she draws inspiration from music, poetry, literature, and her own life experiences. As a devoted student of the African spiritual traditions of Isese and Hoodoo, ImaniNia intentionally incorporates old candid photographs of spiritual elders and sacred objects that reflect her cultural lineage. Her work is a celebration of the world she grew up in—a world her ancestors once had to hide for their safety, now reclaimed and honored through her art.