Participants

The Atelier addresses early career artistic directors, programmers and curators working for art organisations or festivals, as well as those working in a programme related department in a festival.

25 emerging and expert festival leaders, cultural activists, and artists from Belgium, Burundi, Egypt, Ethopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe have been selected to participate. You can find their bios below. 

A full list of participants for the Atelier Kampala can be found here.

Abdoul MUJYAMBERE

Abdoul MUJYAMBERE is a young multidisciplinary artist and entrepreneur born and based in Kigali. Abdoul holds two diplomas in Modern Languages and Performing Arts, and is recipient of the Africalia, African Cultural Fund, and Prince Claus Seed awards for the Emerging Young African Artists 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Anton Vanderhasselt

Anton Vanderhasselt, 32, lives in Brussels, Belgium. He was born on the countryside around Brussels, so it was always a mythical, dangerous big city to him. In 2013 he went to live there after living in Antwerp and Avignon for his studies. He studied art history and did his masters in cinema-science, and afterwards did a year of French in Avignon. When he got back, he got a job as a Box Office agent at BOZAR, a big cultural centre that he knew of. Selling tickets was very fun, but he was also bummed out that he could not land a better job with his 3 diploma's. Nevertheless, he worked hard and after a while got promoted a few times, and now after 8 years he is the Head of Production of the music department. His dream has always been to move over to the artistic and become a curator/programmer, and with this big basis that he has now (going from Box Office, to production, to programming) he feels confident that he is ready. Actually, there is a programmer retiring in the summer and he will take his place, so at the moment he is being groomed to take over his programming. If all goes well, he will sign the contract in May 2022 and will have reached his ultimate dream job at 32, which is scary and exciting at the same time. Next to his life at BOZAR he spends practically every spare minute of his time listening, making and recording music. Together with his best friend, their band "Zyfa" is a passion project that got way out of hand, but they both feel that it keeps them sane next to their "more than full time" job.

Byamukama Brian

Byamukama Brian, an Ugandan, holds a Bachelors degree in Film and Drama from Makerere University. He is an actor/theatre practitioner now desiring to be a festival manager. He has performed at the National theatre of Uganda with Silent Voices Uganda in their festival of 48 hours in Harlem, and in over 100 primary schools in Uganda in a product placement play of fresh dairy yoghurt. He has performed in Cologne, Düsserdolf, Oberhausen, in their play Romeo and Juliet in Kampala.

72Hours in Makerere would be his first festival to manage as a festival manager if it ever happens.

Christine Nangobi

Christine Nangobi is the Coordinator of Uganda's annual Celebrating Womanhood Festival, a five day event held during the International Women’s Day Celebration week with an aim of complimenting gender equity efforts through providing a platform where women’s stories are told from a woman's perspective.

With three years’ experience in Arts management,  Christine sought to  further the cause of amplifying Women’s voices by embarking on Production and presentation FeminArt a Celebrating  Womanhood Festival  online television  program showcasing women artists works, which will be launched beginning of April when post – production of  the first thirteen episodes will be accomplished. 

A Journalist by training having acquired a Bachelors in Mass Communication from Ndejje University and a certificate in technical aspects of filmmaking, Christine recently discovered her acting passion when she starred in the twenty five Anti – Corruption audio – visual dramatized skits and the DSTV film project where she is featuring as a support actor in the First eleven movie where she acted as the girlfriend to the manager of the Football club.

She also coordinates Native Voices International’s Film Club activities a venture she is so passionate about given that it enables her to contribute to building capacity of young people particularly rural based with multi - media skills. To this end, Christine selects the film they watch, works with management to identify trainers as well as development of the film club general activity programming.

Christine worked as a campaign monitor with Alliance for Campaign Finance Monitoring (ACFIM) during 2021 elections, an umbrella body hosting sixteen member organizations across Uganda.

Christine is also a member of the Rotaract club of Kololo.

Henry Mubiru

Henry Mubiru is a playwright and performer from Uganda. He derives his inspiration from social processes and interrogates them with theatre. Play titles to his name include; _Pursuit of Fairness, Colors of Pain, Truth or Dare, The Riverbed. Henry is a 2018 graduate of Makerere University with a BA in Drama and Film, and attained a diploma in Documentary filmmaking at Africa Movie Academy in Kigali, 2018. He also took part in the 2017/2019 Tebere Arts Foundation Playwrights Mentorship Program and in 2020 he was one of the international artists of Watch&Talk Artists Residency of Zürcher Theater Spektakel, Switzerland. He is currently working with Obuntu Arts Center, producing theatrical works for social change.

Isima Ssemujju

Isima Ssemujju is a professional sound recordist and mixer who switched from acting. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in drama and film from Makerere University department of Performing Arts and Film. He also holds a Diploma in Documentary and Audio-Visual Storytelling from Africa Movie Academy in Kigali-Rwanda. Isima has worked as a sound recordist on several projects that include The Campus TV series, The Surrogate, The Bad Mexican, Sixteen Rounds, MTN MOMO nyabo campaigns (2018 and 2019), The Fly Uganda Campaigns, among others. He has also worked on Tv shows like The Honorables, Mixigo Express, Mpeke Town, Mistakes Gals Do, Sanyu, Mama and Me , Second Chance, Jangu Tulye and several documentaries and reality TV shows. Isima is also passionate about Production Management, Producing for film and Tv, Stage Management, acting and music. In his free time, Isima will either be dancing to good music or cracking jokes with friends about the betterment of the performing arts sector in Uganda. Seeing performers deliver their roles in a comfortable way makes Isima smile because as a performer and now doing artists management on several theatrical shows and festivals, he wants performers to go on stage or in front of cameras ready to deliver.

John Mukeni Namai

John Mukeni Namai is a talented storyteller/curator & festival organizer from Kenya. His stories reach back into Kenya African folklore and he weaves them back to the present day, with current regional and world issues. John is also mentor and trainer to young people and active member of Zamaleo ACT,  an East African artiste founded and managed performing arts and culture organization. Recently, adapting to COVID-19 restrictions, he has been active hosting and organising storytelling festivals and events online and offline.

 John works as a storyteller, festival producer, arts educator and community organizer in Nairobi Kenya. With Zama Leo ACT, he helps organise the annual Sigana International Storytelling festival to promote the art of storytelling. Together with the organization TICAH (Traditional indigenous culture and heritage), he has been using storytelling to disseminate knowledge at the National Museums of Kenya and wider community through various workshops. He is an award-winning recipient of the Awesome Foundation Grant 2015 to transform Nairobi using  stories. 

Joshua Alabi

Joshua Alabi is a theatre and film Director, Content/Concept Creator, creative strategist, producer, playwright, teacher and Consultant. He has been invited to the Fratz International festival 2022, Berlin to stage his new show 'KOLOFU' for children on the topic of colourism, bleaching, toning and identity. He was invited as one of Africa’s rising director alongside Jade Bowers from South Africa and David Kono from Cameroon to the Festival of the World (Theater Der Welt) Dusseldorf, Germany to talk about his work and join the Equity Forum panel session (where he also premiered his new work ‘SKIN’). Joshua has also been selected among several young global storytellers to train at the catalyst Story Institut and Join the HBO, Jada and Will Smith Foundation and US Department of State-Innovation Centre Funded project where he would be producing his television series. The writer/director of SNIPER, a play on mental health, depression and suicide in partnership with the Lagos State ministry of Health, SURPIN and the Goethe Instiut Nigeria. He co-produced/directed ‘Queen Moremi- the musical Reloaded 2019/2020 for the House of Oduduwa Foundation of The Ooni of Ife, ‘Talk N do’ for the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption Program of the European Union/British Council on issues of Anticorruption, criminal justice system and Sexual and gender based violence. In 2017, Produced/Directed 2 different play project for the British Council/UKAID program and United Kingdom’s DFID touring 10 Nigerian states about troubling issues such as insurgency, domestic violence, unemployment, corruption, impunity etc. same with ‘ImaginationTV’ created/directed in collaboration with ‘Junges Schauspiel, Dusseldorf (Dhaus) inspired by Chimamanda Adichie’s speech “Dangers of a Single Story and the film “Beast of No Nation’.He is also the Producer/Founder of KIFT- Kininso International Festival of Theatre, the largest international children’s theatre festival in Nigeria. Joshua is looking to take his new show 'Cream Body' for a UK tour in Summer 2022. 

 He was part of the Next Generation Theatre Makers to present a solo and ensemble curated show at the Starke Stücke Theatre Festival in Frankfurt, Germany in a One-year residency 2017-2018. Same year his piece ‘SANDCSAPE’ was hosted as the Major work in the same festival. He is Founder/Director of Kininso Koncepts, a creative/Cultural hub established with the aim of inspiring greatness and making relevant statements through storytelling and deep roots in research, culture and tradition. We are geared towards creating a unique storytelling technique and innovating new performance styles. As storytellers, we do not only entertain, we inform, educate, challenge and transform the intellectual, social and cultural perspective of our communities. We are an inclusive hub that utilize creativity, technology, stories, and design innovation to tell authentic African and contemporary stories, challenge the status quo and shift perception. Also, an advocacy organization that utilizes performance art, documentary and theatre as a tool for social positive change. Over the years, we have served as a catalyst for social orientation especially as it concerns young people, and the effect of our performances have created an enlightened community of responsible and responsive populace. He is writing historical plays about The first African Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther and another about Funmilayo Ransom Kuti who led the women to revolt against tyranny in Abeokuta as well as a Kudirat Abiola story. Joshua owns a B.A (hons) and M.A in Theatre Arts from the Creative Arts Department, University of Lagos and other certificates in Leadership, management and business courses and trains other creatives in the same field. Joshua has worked in Nigeria, Egypt, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Angola, Germany and the United Kingdom

Kimberley Kute

Kimberley Kute is a Zimbabwean woman with a background in Psychology and currently works in the Energy and Events Sectors in Zimbabwe with particular focus in Administration, Event Production and Management as well as Sports Marketing. Her wide and growing portfolio makes her a force to be reckoned with. She is passionate about the Arts in Industry in Zimbabwe and beyond and has worked as the co-ordinator for Shoko Festival for 4 years and recently has been engaged with Culture Curatives, a movement that seeks to educate and expose Zimbabweans to all things Visual Arts and aims to bridge the gap between Artists and Art Collectors or aspiring Art collectors.

Leul Shoaferaw

A culture producer at heart, Leul Shoaferaw’s creative portfolio includes music management, film-making and curation. His interest in the creative industry was sparked by European and American creative movements and the urge to tell stories contextual to his African identity. Steeped in a passion and thirst for knowledge in film and music, he made his first professional steps in cinema with his first short film Plumes Blanches which won him recognition across many festivals and an official award Best Film on African Cultural Issues at Lake International Pan African Film Festival in Kenya. However, the journey to reach there was filled with unnecessary challenges and lacked basic structural support, that’s why Leul decided to pivot and establish WAG, a talent management and creative agency that aims to represent creative professionals and build an ecosystem that is inclusive of growth and empowers professionals that joins it. WAG’s portfolio of services include music management, event curation, media production and corporate communications. WAG runs liaison operations between Accra and Lagos.

Massira Toure

Massira TOURE has ten years experience in art, culture and community engagement in Mali. She holds a master's degree in fine arts from the “Conservatoire des arts et métiers multimédia Balla Fasséké KOUYATE in 2015” and a bachelor degree in English in the “Faculté des lettres et des sciences du langage” at University of Bamako. Massira got a scholarship to participate in the Mandela Washington Fellowship YALI 2017 in Business and entrepreneurship at Lehigh University, Bethlehem Pennsylvania in the USA. 

 While creating art pieces as a painter, she also organizes exhibitions to promote visual arts in Mali. She participated to several exceptions, workshops and art projects in Mali, Senegal, Benin, France, Congo Brazzaville etc.… She worked as the administrator in charge of grant and loans for the Fonds Maaya, an institution that aims to support artists and cultural actors in Mali. 

 Massira created in 2017 a website called AGANSI (www.agansi.com). This platform aims to promote young African artists by providing an online space of the exhibition so that they can show their works to a wider public and get opportunities to sell them. From its creation to now, the platform Agansi.com gave opportunities to more than 25 artists in Mali and highlighted almost 300 artworks. She teaches drawing and painting at the “Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers Multimedia Balla Fasseke KOUYATE” and works as independent consultant for institutes and NGO as the National Museum of Mali, UNESCO, World Bank, SAVAMA-DCI etc.… 

 Massira is a pioneer in providing development opportunities for youth and particularly women in educational training, art and culture.

Moustapha Diop

Moustapha Diop is a cultural manager who made his start in cultural environment in 2014.He began by managing artists whith friends. Then the young Zaf as the closest call him begins training to depeen his knowledge in management,cultural project management,creative business and marketing.This allow him to gain power in community by designing many cultural projects for actor in urban cultures in Sénégal. In 2020,he created a cultural compagny called Keur Massar Productions to officially implement the first hip hop and urban culture festival in the locality of Keur Massar. In addition,Moustapha Diop works on many festivals in Sénégal and keep on to purses studies in cultural administration.

Mphatso C.M. Chidothe

Mphatso C.M. Chidothe is a Malawian creative consultant, talent/artist manager, events manager cultural custodian, community mobilizer and children/youth activist who was born in 1983. Her life objective is to contribute to efforts of improving socioeconomic development of mankind especially in the fields of community mobilization, children/youth and women empowerment, career guidance, counselling, education, health, social justice and other social issues as appropriate through ministry, leadership, arts, media, and culture. As an artist who majored in drama and minored in fine art at University of Malawi, Chancellor College in 2007 she possesses skills on creative writing, community mobilization, theatre, and film and media production. Through her theatrical studies and theatre for development experience with different organizations, she had the opportunity to travel across Malawi and study different cultural practices and expressions from different tribes within a period of 4 years (2003-2007).

Soon after graduating in 2007, she worked as a script writer for an International organization called Education Development Center that was implementing an interactive radio instructions program for lower primary school in Malawi called Tikwere. After working for two years she became a producer and was digitally recording and editing these radio programs that aired every school day all year round for 3 years. Whilst working on this project she was a consultant for other organizations such as Pakachere Institute for Health and Development where she co-authored the After the Honeymoon short film under “One Love” project, after being trained in film making by Pakachere Institute for Health through Soul City in South Africa. She also worked as a resident playwright for Nanzikambe Art Development for a year and she adapted Ngugi Wa Thiongo’s I will Marry When I want, a play that toured in Europe (2010).

In 2010 she was invited at the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at University of Malawi, Chancellor College to be a part time lecture in drama. August 2012 saw her shifting her career to fulltime ministry focusing on children and youth simultaneously volunteering for Royal Rangers, a children and youth mentorship and empowerment initiative. In an effort to deepen her understanding on social issues affecting societies so as to effectively contribute towards community initiatives by addressing such issues, she pursued a Masters of Arts in Community Psychology (2014) from Malawi Assemblies of God University.

She worked as a Station Manager for a local TV and Radio media house called Channels for all Nations (CAN) from March 2014 to March 2016, where apart from leading the administrative aspect of the organization, she presented and produced programs. She also worked as a creative consultant for Zathu project by Girl Effect for from September 2016 to February 2018, where she was part of the talent search and talk show production crew. Her passion for arts and culture pushed her to pursue more training in art and cultural management with Music Crossroads on Event and Cultural Management through its Creative Training Campuses in Malawi and Zimbabwe in 2016, 2017 and 2019. This compelled her to attend one semester of Music School at Music Crossroad Academy Malawi. She was also compelled me to volunteer for different festivals such as Blantyre Arts Festival in 2010 and 2019 and Lake of Stars Festival of Ideas for Youth in 2017.

In her desire to influence the next generation toward the Malawian indigenous culture appreciation she has attended ethno workshops in Malawi in 2018 and 2019 to deepen her understanding of Malawian Culture. She is currently managing the first ever female band in Malawi called The Daughters Band. She is also a collector of different ethno instruments from Malawi and the different countries she gets to visit. She has a total of 10 different instruments form Middle East, Western, Eastern and Central Africa.

April 2020 saw her embark on an intensive three months children music project where she recruited 12 children between the ages of 9 to 17 (3 girls and 9 boys) who had no prior knowledge of music as a way of keeping them engaged and focused during the Covid 19 Pandemic that forced a closure of schools. By the end of those three months the children had not only learnt how to play musical instruments, but they learnt basic music theory such as music reading, music composition and choir. These children formed three bands that performed on different stages and are still performing to date. This music education and practice journey led her to become a TIVETA’s Trade Advisory Committee member for Music and Dance. Since 2020, she has also been facilitating workshops on Artistic Freedom, Talent and Events Management supported by UNESCO and US Embassy.

She led the children team for Love Malawi Festival 2016 and 2021 and SOS Adventure with over 500 staff. She has also served as the Camp Coordinator for Tiwale Camp, a non-profit organization that provides safe spaces for fun, adventure and life skills for children and youth through over-night camps, retreats, family camping, fun fairs, and picnics. She will be facilitating the Pamchenga Kids Nature Adventure under the Roots Cultural Restoration Campaign Project during the Pakhonde Ethno Music Festival from 27th to 29th May 2022 at Chingalire Cultural Village in Lilongwe in Malawi.

Currently, she works as the General Manager for Assemblies of God Press, a printing house that was established in 1948 which she joined in December 2019.

Olga Drygas

Olga Drygas is a curator of the New Europe International Festival and the Generation After Showcase at NOWY Teatr in Warsaw, Poland and a jury member of the Perform Europe international granting program. She is also a guest lecturer at SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, and a PhD candidate at the Art Institute, Polish Academy of Science.

Nassy Konan

Nassy Konan is a Creative Producer working across Theatre and Live Art. At the heart of her practice, she specialises in producing new work and introducing it to diverse audiences. She’s a recipient of Live Work Fund 2021 supported by Jerwood Arts and Arts Council England (Developing Your Creative Practice fund). 

Nassy’s has extensive expertise in touring work to mid-scale venues and festivals around the UK and internationally. She has produced work for The Old Vic, Battersea Arts Centre, Young Vic, Brixton House (formerly Ovalhouse), Southwark Playhouse, Greenwich & Docklands International Festival.

She is currently a producer for Dropped Tea Theatre - making work that celebrates and amplifies London's lost voices through multidisciplinary forms of storytelling in gentrified communities. As well as, producer for Swiss Selection Edinburgh with Pro Helvetia.

Career highlights include the development and touring of the award-winning BAC Beatbox Academy production of Frankenstein: How To Make A Monster and the touring of Touretteshero's Not I by Samuel Beckett to international & UK festivals/venues such as The Under the Radar 2018 Professional Symposium, Sophiensaele - Berlin, Grenzenlos Kultur Theaterfestival Mainz (2018), Southbank Centre, Albany Deptford & DaDaFest (2018).

Nassy recently was an Associate Producer For Soho Theatre; producing Nouveau Riche’s Queens of Sheba and Producer for Horizon, an international showcase platform for artists based in England and programmed as part of Edinburgh Festival. Funded by Arts Council England and led by a consortium made up of Battersea Arts Centre, Dance4, Fierce Festival, GIFT, MAYK and Transform.

Nassy was previously an Assistant Producer for Sadler’s Wells and an assessor for the (2019) Total Theatre Awards in which recognize and honour work by professional artists creating innovative theatre and performance.

Rashid Nadhir

Rashid Nadhir is a graphics designer, photographer, and event organizer with a passion for art, creativity, and the environment. He lives in Arusha Tanzania and works with many arts organizations and festivals like Okoa Mtaa foundation projects, Marafiki Music Festival and Haba na Haba Dance Festival, Sauti za Busara Zanzibar, etc. Currently, he is focused most on event management and coordination, graphics designing, and photographs

Reem Allam

Reem Allam is the Executive Manager and Artistic Programmer of the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF), Egypt’s largest international multi-disciplinary arts festival that takes place in Downtown Cairo, presenting theater, dance, music, film, and new media arts. D-CAF also hosts a biennial Arab Arts Focus (AAF) showcase during the festival, where international delegates fly-in to attend a dense program of the latest in contemporary performances by Arab artists.

Over the years, Allam has been selected to be a juror on international jury boards of several festivals such as Switzerland’s Zürcher Theater Spektakel festival, Poland’s Boska Komedia Theater Festival, Brasil Cena Aberta showcase, and Egypt’s Nahdet El Mahrousa Garage Growth programme. She has also worked in several international festivals including London's Shubbak Festival, Edinburgh's Just Festival, and Edinburgh Fringe Festival - Arab Arts Focus Showcase. Currently, Allam is a curatorial advisor for Theater Der Welt festival in Germany.

In 2018, Allam led and managed the first international classical music festival at Cairo’s Manial Palace. In 2020, Allam was on the Planning Committee for ISPA New York Congress 2021, and is now on the Pitch New Works Committee and an ISPA fellow for the years 2022-2024. She has also given a training in Cultural Management at AUC Tahrir Cultural Center.

In 2016, Reem Allam has been awarded with distinction a UK Master’s Degree in Arts, Festivals, and Cultural Management from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland. In addition, Allam has been awarded the 2015/2016 UK Santander Scholarship Award and the 2018 Finalist Stage - Social Impact Award of British Council's UK Alumni Awards.

Samuel SkySam Matengu

Samuel SkySam Matengu is owner of and photographer at SkySam Photography. He was born in Windhoek and moved to the United States and then Belgium as a child. After spending some time in Zambia, later in life he chose to become a chef and took on photography. He returned to Namibia and worked in the hospitality industry pursuing a love for food. Along with his passion for food, he had a keen interest in photography, and pursued the development of this skill in 2015. In 2016, he set up SkySam Photography and experimented with photography in various lighting conditions such as specializing in ultra-violet photography. Finding a particular interest in UV light photography, he explored this technique substantially. In 2017, with his partners, he decided to form the Namibian Arts Fair which he has served as Chief Operations Officer until now.

Shabani Ramadhani

Shabani Ramadhani is a musician, bass player, songwriter and festival organiser. Shabani got started learning music when he was 15 years of age, and remembers taking classes of drums, rhythm guitar and bass guitar that thus became his favourite musical instruments up to now. Having completed the training, Shabani then participated in a wide range of bands where he got an opportunity to demonstrate his performance in various musical concerts in Tanzania and other countries.

In addition to that, Shabani has also been a teacher of music in Tanzania especially in House of talents (THT). After that, he founded Marahaba Music Expo in Bujumbura and this latter allowed him to serve as an ambassador of Visa for Music in Morocco and in a range of music events throughout Africa as well as in Europe.

Shadrach Teryila Ukuma

Shadrach Teryila Ukuma is a cultural performance researcher, an actor, a Festival Director and University lecturer based in Makurdi, Nigeria. In 2015, he teamed up with Revd. Fr. Solomon Ukeyima, a Roman Catholic priest to start the Kyegh Sha Shwa Cultural Festival as a platform for cultural celebration targeting, reconciliation, community building, peace and cultural sustainability. In December 2021, Shadrach worked with the Masters students of Cultural Management at the Heilbronn University, Germany to organize the project “Festival of Cultures” where cultural experiences from Africa, Asia and Latin America were shared in a hybrid (onsite and online) format with the University community and guests. Shadrach current interest is working on projects and researching avenues that use the arts and culture to foster understanding and cooperation in the world.

Photo credit: Mark Bolk

Shane Burmania

Shane Burmania (1984) is a music programmer based in Amsterdam. He studied Musicology at the UVA, followed by a Masters in Music Programming at ArtEZ. Since 2011, he has been working as a music programmer at Muziekgebouw and since 2015 also at Korzo theater in The Hague. At Muziekgebouw he programs the biennial Minimal Music Festival and initiated The Rest is Noise, a concert series for genre-free, outspoken and adventurous music which has been running since 2012. At Wonderfeel, annual outdoor festival for classical music, he has been part of the artistic team since its inception in 2015. Main theme in all his work is to make connections between genres, generations and audience groups.

Sowedhi Uthman Kiwanuka

Sowedhi Uthman Kiwanuka is the artistic director/c.e.o of Jabulani Arts Hub. Sowedhi is Ugandan, aged 34, and holds a training certificate in Cultural Management of Arts and entrepreneurship as well as a diploma in Business Administration. Sowedhi has been at the helm of running and growing Jabulani, starting as head of marketing and manager to the overall roles of doing oversight and management of the different activities of the organisation. Sowedhi has a team of creative supportive staff in the different department or artforms within the organisation, and leads the strategic team that drafts and implements major objectives and goals of the organization.

Tatenda Kanengoni

Tatenda Kanengoni is a writer and visual storyteller who strives to tell stories that authentically portray the African continent. She works as a freelance multimedia Journalist and communications and PR consultant for arts organisations namely AfriKera Arts Trust overseeing documentation and coordinating The Arts Gathering, an annual multi discipline arts festival. 

 Her portfolio includes communications work for The DevDispatch platform, documentation for a female led project on sustainable fashion titled 'Fashion Futures,' in collaboration with Chenesai, British Council and Nataal Media, and multimedia reporting for bird storytelling agency. Additionally, she contributes to, and manages the blog for AfriKera Arts Trust. This has largely influenced her recent writing, which is centred on chronicling the experiences of dancers in the industry. Through her platform CL MEDIA, she documents cultural moments through short video. In November 2019, she was part of the opening panel at African Crossroads Mombasa, Kenya, exploring Africa’s rapidly urbanising cities. 

 Tatenda holds a Master of Arts in International Communications from the University of Nottingham and a Video Editing and Filming qualification from CCOSA, Zimbabwe.

Thabiso Montse

Damo Mokgatla AKA Thabiso Montse is a multi-ethnical instrumentalist who has been learning and exploring different ethnical musical instruments, sound, and researching about the history of sound therapy. Since early years He was inspired by his mother who is deeply rooted in the Setswana culture and She has influenced his love for indigenous music through old tales she used to tell and ancient songs she would teach him. Since then, Damo Mokgatla took a route of healing through music instead of making music for entertainment. He has in the past performed in many stages in the city of Johannesburg including Born to be famous competition where he came first and won the most authentic act award. He is currently practicing as a sound journey facilitator at Damo foundation wellness Centre and he hosts music exhibitions every now and then. Damo has a dream to one day own a music museum where he will showcase and play different ethnical instruments from across the world. On the 7th of December 2019 He performed at the Salon De la Culture in Reunion Island and subsequently went on a residence project in Bassano Del Grappa in Italy. Damo sees himself as music medicine man than just an entertainer.