Born in 1986, Silvana Imam is an award-winning multi-disciplinary creative with roots in Lithuania and Syria. She grew up in Prague and Kiruna before settling in Jakobsberg and rose to fame in 2013 as a musical artist with unparalleled lyrical ability and energetic live performances. A diverse and devoted fan base embraced Silvana’s vibrant personality and socially conscious music, and her art has become a voice of an entire generation. With her subversive lyrics, she fostered a broader debate about injustice and discrimination, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential and forward-thinking Nordic artists of the last decade. Silvana saw her breakthrough in 2013 with her debut album Rekviem. The album was followed by the EP När Du Ser Mig Se Dig in 2014, and her second and equally critically acclaimed album Naturkraft from 2016. The same year, she won a Swedish Grammy (Grammis) in the Artist of the Year category, and has also received P3 Guldgalan’s award Guldmicken for Live Act of the Year, as well as the Swedish Music Publishers’ Award for Songwriter of the Year. In 2017, the documentary Silvana - Wake Me When You Wake Up premiered in cinemas nationwide. The picture was awarded with a Guldbagge (Swedish Oscar) in 2018 in the Best Documentary Film category, as well as Best Documentary Film at the Oslo Pix film festival in Norway. In 2017, she hosted her inaugural museum exhibition Nonsense Warrior Gallery at Scenkonstmuseet in Stockholm. The installation focused on honouring contemporary “nonsense warriors” and was a dynamic exhibition at a perpetual state of change during the month it was on display. In 2018, Nordstedts published her first book Silvana. The book is a photo-based self-portrait of her creative character and universe. In 2019, she released her third and critically acclaimed album Helig Moder. In 2022, she made her acting debut in the feature film Dogborn. The film was directed by Isabella Carbonell and was awarded at the Venice Film Festival.
Silvana has been featured in the New York Times, High Snobiety, ELLE, Vice, i-D Magazine, Vogue, and has collaborated with artists in the likes of Adam Tensta, Thomas Stenström, Jelassi, 070 Shake, Unge Ferrari, Erik Lundin, Eva Dahlgren, Molly Hammar, and Benjamin Ingrosso. In the fall of 2023, she made her theatrical debut playing the lead role in Hamlet at Stadsteatern in Stockholm. Directed by Sunil Munshi, the critically acclaimed rendition of Shakespeare’s classic also featured Isabelle Kyed, Leif Andrée, Annika Hallin, Shebly Niavarani, and Peter Andersson. In addition to playing Hamlet, Silvana also co-produced and co-wrote the music for the play alongside Nils ‘Nisj’ Svennem Lundberg. Silvana is currently in the process of finalising her fourth album, slated for release in January 2025.