Events

Usifu Jalloh is an award winning storyteller, percussionist and educator from Sierra Leone. With a career spanning over twenty years, he has performed and led workshops in Argentina, Mexico, UK, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Nigeria, India, Bahrain, Germany, Jordan, France, Italy, Spain, Peru and Colombia. In 2011, Usifu established the Maambena Fest, a storytelling and music festival that is focused on motivating young people to educate themselves within the context of their culture. He regularly speaks at universities and in 2010 co-wrote the epic play Sweet Peter about the experience of slavery, colonialism and war in Sierra Leone.

Khanyisa Sigwanda is a South African storyteller and playwright. She is currently studying Drama Therapy and Applied Theatre at Witwatersrand University and has a diploma in Performance Arts and Theatre. Her play, Rooted to the Soil, was recently featured as one of three plays selected from Africa to be performed at the Women’s International Playwrights Conference in Chile. Her work has been staged at the ASSITEJ New Vision and New Voices international conference, and she has collaborated with Ethnikids to create plays from themed children’s books.

Lillian Rodrigues-Pang is an internationally acclaimed bilingual storyteller. Based in Australia she has performed on a range of national and international festival stages – Singapore, India, Colombia, Peru, Iran, and Malaysia. Lillian is a full-bodied, expressive performer and delights in sharing the magic of stories, percussion, movement and improvisation. When she is not on stage she is sharing story love in the community as a connective, teaching and healing art. She has over 20 years experience working in mental health, with refugee communities and youth at risk

Alim Kamara is an African storyteller and hip hop artist. As a child in Sierra Leone he listened to Griots (storytellers) and admired the way they weaved lessons through tales. He graduated with a first class degree in Creative and Media Writing, and the Edna Fuller Prize for community. He has performed on stage and delivered storytelling workshops in Dubai, Holland, Canada, Sierra Leone, Gambia and the USA. Like the Griots from his past, Alim captivates his audiences and leaves them craving to learn, relate and elevate.

Usifu Jalloh is an award winning storyteller, percussionist and educator from Sierra Leone. With a career spanning over twenty years, he has performed and led workshops in Argentina, Mexico, UK, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Nigeria, India, Bahrain, Germany, Jordan, France, Italy, Spain, Peru and Colombia. In 2011, Usifu established the Maambena Fest, a storytelling and music festival that is focused on motivating young people to educate themselves within the context of their culture. He regularly speaks at universities and in 2010 co-wrote the epic play Sweet Peter about the experience of slavery, colonialism and war in Sierra Leone.

Lillian Rodrigues-Pang is an internationally acclaimed bilingual storyteller. Based in Australia she has performed on a range of national and international festival stages – Singapore, India, Colombia, Peru, Iran, and Malaysia. Lillian is a full-bodied, expressive performer and delights in sharing the magic of stories, percussion, movement and improvisation. When she is not on stage she is sharing story love in the community as a connective, teaching and healing art. She has over 20 years experience working in mental health, with refugee communities and youth at risk.

Nomsa Mdlalose is a folklorist and social entrepreneur. She is a published author of five children’s books and is the founder of the storytelling company, Zintsomi and a founding member of Kwesukela storytelling Academy. She currently works at Freedom Park Heritage as a storyteller and designing storytelling programs. Mdlalose has also published in academic journals, titles: “Storytelling as a Method for Acquiring Mathematic Understanding and Skill; Synthetisation of Storytelling and Technology; And Storytelling at Freedom Park: Hapo Interactive Space Case Study. She drew her initial cultural knowledge from her mother, S’bongile Dlamini who has a gift in African spirituality and healing.

Jawad Elbied is a storyteller and the manager and a founding member of Hikayat Morocco, an organisation that preserves and promotes the art of storytelling. He is a trainer and organiser of collaborative storytelling events, and has worked with the Peace Corps, Project Soar, Dar Si Hmad and Café Clock.  He has also participated in the Scottish International Storytelling Festival in Edinburgh. A qualified English language teacher he performs in Arabic and English.

Adil is a storyteller, rapper and musician. He is the president of the Fazi storytelling association and organizer of them Nozhat Al Hakawati festival in Fez, Morocco. In collaboration with Café Clock, he manages a storytelling program in which older Moroccan storytelling masters mentor young apprentices on traditional stories, which are also translated into English and French.

A seasoned storyteller, Wangari has experience telling stories to audiences both locally and internationally. Her performances are interactive, using a variety of participatory approaches that appeal to the young and the young at heart. She is also a big advocate on nurturing the love of reading and is a published author of two children’s books.

Leonidah Nanjala began her journey as a professional storyteller in 2012 under the mentorship of ZamaleoAct. She currently performs in schools across Kenya and in festivals. Her performances are peppered with songs she composes herself. Leonidah is currently exploring the use of storytelling as a tool for healing emotional trauma and creating societal change. Listen to her tell tales in Kiswahili

Ernest Wamboye is a storyteller thespian, author, origami artist and award-winning blogger. He had been actively involved in theatre since university, where his passion for storytelling came alive. He featured among the top winners in Storymoja’s Master Storyteller competition. He has authored three books: The Human Temple, Lust and the City & Holy Joe. Ernest is also a gifted origami artist, a craft that he learned online via YouTube. His creativity and skill in delivery while on stage sucks his listeners to imbibe every single word he says. You can keep up with Ernest’s writing on his award-winning blog (courtesy of BAKE- Bloggers Association of Kenya): Pen Strokes: www.penstrokes.co.ke  Follow him on Twitter @ewamboye

Chomba Njeru has been telling stories since childhood. “I was fascinated by the characters such as the clever hare, the philosophical tortoise and of course, I was scared out my wits by marauding hyenas and ogres” he says. He has worked with Zamaleo Arts telling ‘Fireside Tales’ every month, a project that culminated into a TV show, and works as an arts educator, teaching and entertaining kids from 1 to 99 years!

Alumbe Helen Namai is a storyteller and educator. Founder of ZamaleoAct, an organization dedicated to the promotion of the creative arts in Nairobi, she and her crew have performed on stages across East Africa and beyond, including at the Sibikwa Storytelling Festival in South Africa, Bagamoyo Festival in Tanzania, The Swahili Festival in Mayotte-Reunion, Jukwani and World of the Indian Ocean Festival in Kenya, Gothenburg Storytelling Festival, Fabula Storytelling Festival and Theatre Biennale in Sweden. The group also pioneered the first family storytelling television series Sigana Moto Moto.

Betty Vanetti is a Kenyan fashion designer who has been in the business for ten years. She has worked as a costume designer in the film industry, and currently collaborates with schools, fashion labels and theatres.

Nena Burugu is a GCSE student at Braeside school. She has been drawing and painting since she was a child. This is her first professional artistic collaboration.

Antonia Kihara is the founder of Soulfood Café, an organisation that works at the intersection of social innovation, tech development, and youth trade. She also curates cultural, spiritual and musical events. On occasion, you can find her with a paintbrush in hand, creating powerful portraits of women and representations of life around her.

Neno Kali is a recording engineer, producer and sound designer. As artistic director for arts and media company Positively African, he has designed the sound for a series of storytelling shows including the adaptation of Lola Shoneyin’s “The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives” and “Shela’s Journey”.

Vivian Awuor Olang is a singer, songwriter, recording and performing artist. Her sultry Jazz, R&B and Soul sounds are infused with Afro and electro influences, creating a unique vibe. In 2016 she released her debut EP and a year later, released a second EP entitled ONE.  She founded The Jazzy Souls band in Mombassa and has 13 years industry experience.

Patrick Gachie is a musician, composer and dancer. He has been performing alongside storytellers for over 15 years. He plays the drums, marimba, flute and a range of other traditional East African instruments. He has performed in schools and festivals across Kenya, including the Sigana Festival, Somali Heritage Week, Night of Tales and Rusinga Festival.

Sanjally Jobarteh is a Kora virtuoso. Born into one of the five principal kora-playing Griot families from West Africa, he picked up the 21-stringed lute-bridge-harp as a young boy. In 1983, he started touring Europe with his father, the Master Griot of his generation, Amadou Basang Jobarteh. He has performed with different jazz and folk musicians in festivals around the world, including at the Brave Festival in Poland and the Bergen International Festival. In 2017 he released his solo album, Tutu.

John Namai or Titi as he is fondly known is a professional storyteller with a love of travel and sharing stories. John has toured and performed in international storytelling festivals in Sweden, Denmark, Romania, India, South Africa, Ethiopia. This year he participated in the 20^th KANOON International Storytelling Festival in Tehran and achieved third rank in the storytelling festival competition. He is a founding member of Zamaleo Acts, an organization dedicated to the promotion of the creative arts in Nairobi.

Maïmouna Jallow is storyteller and journalist from Gambia. She has performed and led workshops around the world, including in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Uganda, Sweden, Singapore, UK, Chile and Poland. As co-founder and director of Positively African, she is the editor and curator of the Story Story, Story Come anthology and audio-books. Her short fiction and poetry have been published in the Fresh Paint and Fifth Draft anthologies.

Sayo Ajetunmobi is a Nigerian self-taught fine artist and the illustrator of Story Story, Story Come – Re-Imagined Folktales from Africa. From the initial exploration of self, Sayo Ajetunmobi began to take on themes that explore the human nature, the earth’s nature and the history of connection between them. In 2015 and 2016 she exhibited her mixed-media art at a number of art shows around Nigeria. She works as a digital illustrator and has illustrated two children’s books.

Chief Nyamweya is a self-taught Kenyan writer, illustrator and educator best known for his masterfully illustrated Graphic Novels such as Emergency (2010), and Art of Unlearning (2018). His work addresses history, science and most recently, the future of education. He has been described by the Goethe Institute as “an autodidact who borrows from a wide palette of influences and an expansive suite of mediums.”

Wangũi wa Kamonji is a researcher, environmentalist, poet and dancer from Kenya. She has travelled the world investigating the intersection between community innovation and environmental issues. Africa, ancestral knowledge and the environment are central to her storytelling. She is the author of “The Giraffes of the Desert” in the Story Story, Story Come anthology.

Muthoni Garland has published over forty books for children, two novellas for adults and several stories published in literary journals. Her anthology, ‘Helicopter Beetles’ is available on Amazon as an e book. She is also a storyteller and has appeared on stage in several countries. Muthoni regularly runs workshops, incorporating storytelling, to help writers develop stories for children and teenagers. She is one of the judges for the annual Morland Writing Scholarships, and has also judged the Caine Prize for African writers. Muthoni is a founder member of the writer’s collective, Storymoja, which publishes books for ages 4-16 years that can be purchased online at www.storymojaafrica.com

Mshai Mwangola is a talented performance scholar, storyteller, and oraturist. She has performed, conducted performance workshops, researched and worked with and for diverse performance ensembles and individuals in four continents and has a career stretching over 25 years in acting, directing and storytelling. She is the chairperson of the Governing Council of the Kenya Cultural Centre.

Gugulethu Radebe is a teacher and currently works at the Durban Holocaust and Genocide Centre as an education facilitator. She is the author of  “When the Moon Learnt to be Kind” in the Story Story, Story Come anthology.

Ayuma Michelle is a Pan-African storyteller who believes in a world where African stories break barriers. She’s on a mission to awaken confidence in African Women, Youth and Brands by using authentic Storytelling for Leadership Strategies. She does this through her storytelling-consulting brand called LetS, with services like Coaching, Workshops, Content Creation and Women Roundtables. Ayuma is changing the world one African Story at a time.