Biographies
Nathalie Handal
Nathalie Handal is described as a “contemporary Orpheus, and an urgent and singular voice in contemporary poetry.” She has lived in four continents, worked in over 20 theatrical productions, and is the author of 10 award winning books, translated into over 15 languages, including Life in a Country Album; and The Republics, winner of the Virginia Faulkner Award for Excellence in Writing and the Arab American Book Award. Among her many honors, Handal is the recipient of awards and fellowships from the National Endowment for The Arts, PEN Foundation, Lannan Foundation, Fondazione di Venezia, Centro Andaluz de las Letras, and Africa Institute. She is Professor of Literature and Creative Writing at New York University Abu Dhabi, and writes the column, “The City and the Writer” for Words without Borders.
Wole Soyinka
Nobel Prize Laureate Wole Soyinka, is a towering figure in world literature. A multifaceted artist-dramatist, poet, essayist, musician, philosopher, academic, teacher, human rights activist, global artist, and scholar. He has won international acclaim for his verse including the International Humanist Award, and the International Poetry Award, Trieste. He is the author of numerous books namely, The Interpreters (1965), Idanre, and Other Poems (1967), Poems from Prison (1969), The Man Died: Prison Notes (1972), Myth, Literature and the African World (1975), Ogun Abibiman (1976), Aké (1981), Mandela’s Earth and Other Poems (1988), and Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth (2021). His recent dramatic works include, The Beatification of Area Boy (1996), Document of Identity (1999), King Baabu (2001), Alapata Apata (2011) and Thus Spake Orunmila (2011).
Awam Amkpa
Awam Amkpa is a renowned practitioner-director, filmmaker, playwright, actor, theatre scholar, and global curator of visual and performing arts and film festivals. He has directed and/or written over 100 plays, and numerous films, most recently, The Man Died (2024), inspired by Wole Soyinka’s prison memoir. The film has won many awards including Best Scriptwriting Award at AFRIFF, Best Audience Choice Award at ENIFF, and Best Film That Tackles an Important African Issue’ at the Luxor International Film Festival. Among the numerous visual arts exhibits he has curated globally are Black Portraitures; ReSignifications; Africa: See You, See Me; and AfroEuropa: Incontri. Amkpa has also published articles on representations in Africa and its diasporas in theater and film. He is Vice Provost for the Arts, and Dean of Arts and Humanities at New York University Abu Dhabi.
Claudia Rankine
Claudia Rankine is the author of five books of poetry, including Citizen: An American Lyric and Don’t Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric; three plays including HELP, which premiered in March 2020 at The Shed, NYC, and The White Card, which premiered in February 2018 at ArtsEmerson/American Repertory Theater. Her recent collection of essays, Just Us: An American Conversation was published by Graywolf Press in 2020. Rankine co-founded The Racial Imaginary Institute (TRII). Among her numerous awards and honors, she is the recipient of the Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry, the Poets & Writers’ Jackson Poetry Prize, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, United States Artists, and the National Endowment of the Arts. A former Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, Rankine joined the NYU Creative Writing Program in Fall 2021.
Sir John Akomfrah
Sir John Akomfrah is a well-known British artist, writer, film director, screenwriter, theorist and curator of Ghanaian descent. He founded the Black Audio Film Collective in 1982, and made his début as a director with Handsworth Songs in 1986, winner of the Grierson Award for Best Documentary. With Lina Gopaul and David Lawson, Akomfrah co-founded Smoking Dogs Films in 1998. The Guardian writes, “he has secured a reputation as one of the UK's most pioneering film-makers [whose] poetic works have grappled with race, identity and post-colonial attitudes for over three decades.” He received honorary degrees from the University of the Arts London, Goldsmith, University of London, and University of Portsmouth; and the Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the Arts. Akomfrah was chosen to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2024.
Yolanda Castaño
Television presenter, poet, essayist, editor and curator Yolanda Castaño has directed cultural projects—poetry translation workshops, poetry festivals and readings series—with Galician and international poets since 2009. A poetry multimedia artist, she has performed and produced shows in over 40 countries. Castaño has published five poetry books for children, and seven poetry collections in Galician and Spanish, namely Libro de la Egoísta; Profundidad de Campo, and La segunda lengua. She is the winner of the Spanish National Award for Poetry 2023, Spanish Critics’ Award, Galician Culture Award or ‘Galician of the Year,’ among many others. Her poetry has been translated into numerous languages, has been awarded international fellowships globally.
Wale Ojo
Wale Ojo is a Nigerian-British actor who played the lead role in The Man Died (2024). He became a child star working on drama series and television soaps with Africa's first television station, WNTV Ibadan. His acting career in the United Kingdom began in 1986 where he played Othello in the east end of London, and since then has performed at most theaters in the UK. He was nominated for Best Comedy Actor at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards in 2018 for his comedy series Meet the Adebanjos and won Best Actor at the Nigeria Lite Entertainment Awards for his role in Phone Swap. Some of his recent film and television credits include: a refugee doctor in Black Earth Rising (2015) directed by Hugo Blick; and Professor Arren Sorn in Apple TV's new sci fi series The Foundation (2021).
Andrea Cote
Andrea Cote is the author of three poetry collections, En las Praderas del fin del mundo; La Ruina que nombro; Puerto Calcinado; and two selected works, Chinatown a toda hora and Desierto Rumor. She has also published three books of prose: A Nude Photographer: A Biography of Tina Modotti; Blanca Varela or Writing from Solitude; and edited a Colombian women’s poets anthology, Pájaros de Sombra, winner of the International Latino Book Award. Cote has received The National Prize of Poetry, Struga International Poetry Prize, and the XXIV Premio Casa de América de Poesía Americana (2024), among others. She has translated into Spanish the poets Gibran Kahlil Gibran, Tracy K. Smith, and Jericho Brown. Cote is a Professor of Creative Writing at the Bilingual M.F.A. at UTEP.
Anthony Joseph
Anthony Joseph is a Trinidad-born poet, novelist, academic and musician. His collection Sonnets for Albert (2022) won the T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Poetry. He is the author of five poetry collections and three novels including Kitch: A Fictional Biography of a Calypso Icon, which was shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize, the Royal Society of Literature’s Encore Award, and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Fiction. As a musician, he has released eight critically acclaimed albums and received a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Composers Award in 2020. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Lecturer in Creative Writing at King's College, London. His Selected Poems was published in 2024.
Abínibí Groovy Band
Abínibí Groovy Band is a vibrant Afrocentric music group led by Abbey Trombone, a renowned Nigerian trombonist and composer. Established to celebrate African rhythms, the band blends indigenous and contemporary sounds, creating a unique fusion of Afrobeat, Highlife, and Jazz. Known for their energetic performances and innovative compositions, the band features a dynamic mix of traditional African instruments like talking drums and shekere with modern brass and string elements. Abínibí Groovy Band has captivated audiences at major festivals, cultural events, and film productions, including soundtracks for the award-winning film The Man Died. Their artistry reflects the richness of African music and culture.
Herve Samb
Herve Samb is a visionary Senegalese guitarist, composer, and arranger who first gained acclaim at age 15 by closing the Saint-Louis Jazz Festival after legends McCoy Tyner and Jack DeJohnette. Pioneering the distinctive Jazz Sabar style (a fusion of Senegalese rhythms, jazz, and contemporary influences), he has collaborated with luminaries such as David Murray, Salif Keïta, Meshell Ndegeocello, Pat Metheny, and Marcus Miller. His acclaimed discography, including Cross Over (2009), Time to Feel (2013), Teranga (2018), Benn (2021), and Jolof (2023), showcases his boundary-pushing creativity, while his production and direction credits range from Lisa Simone (All Is Well, My World) to Omar Pene (Climat). Recognized for his work on Somi’s Grammy-nominated Holy Room, Samb continues to captivate audiences worldwide with his innovative sound and unwavering passion.
Otis Brown III
Grammy-nominated drummer Otis Brown III is committed to honoring tradition while pushing the boundaries of the genre. In his stellar career as a first call musician, he has recorded and toured with the likes of artists such as Herbie Hancock, Somi, Joe Lovano, Esperanza Spalding, Terence Blanchard, Robert Glasper, and many others. Having played with a literal “Who’s Who” in the music world, he has also been a frequent collaborator in the world of modern dance. He has most recently collaborated with the Alvin Ailey American Dance theater for the premiere of a new work titled Finding Free. Otis is also a bandleader in his own right. He released his critically acclaimed debut album The Thought Of You on the Revive Music/Blue Note record label, and the highly anticipated follow-up will be released in 2025.
Somi
Somi Kakoma is a Grammy-nominated American-born vocalist, composer, actor and playwright of Rwandan and Ugandan descent. “A true renaissance woman, she is known simply as Somi.” Her fifth studio album, Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba, is a companion project to the critically acclaimed original musical Dreaming Zenzile that Somi wrote and starred in Off-Broadway as a tribute to the great South African singer and activist. Somi’s live album Holy Room, featuring the Frankfurt Radio Big Band earned her a 2021 Grammy® nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album and made her the first African woman ever nominated in any of the Grammy® jazz categories. She is the founder of Salon Africana, a boutique cultural agency and record label. Last season, Somi made her acting debut on Broadway in the TONY Award winning play Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.
