Ahdri Zhina Mandiela
Ahdri Zhina Mandiela | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 10, 1953 |
| Occupations | Theatre director, producer |
| Children | Jajube Mandiela |
Ahdri Zhina Mandiela (born May 10, 1953) is a Canadian dub poet, theatre producer and artistic director, based Toronto.[1] She has gained worldwide acclaim for her books, music recordings, film, theatre and dance productions.[2][3] Mandiela is the founder and artistic director of "b current",[4] a not-for-profit performance arts company in Toronto.
In 2006, she was selected to write and direct a project for Winnie Mandela as part of the 50th anniversary of the South African Women's Liberation Movement.[5]
Over the following decades, mandiela continued to develop her practice as a director, mentor, and performer, nurturing generations of artists through b current and advancing the presence of Black women’s voices in Canadian theatre. In 2025, she returned to the screen in the title role of Aunt Harriet: An Ontario Oratorio, an audiovisual installation directed by mixed-media artist HAUI. The work reimagines the final day of Harriet Miller, a nineteenth-century Black elder from southern Ontario, through poetry and performance. Mandiela’s portrayal merges her long-standing interest in dub poetics, ancestral memory, and oral tradition.[6][7]
Personal life
Mandiela's daughter is actress and director Jajube Mandiela.[8]
Works
Books and music
- Speshal Rikwes [Poems in Dialect] (p. 1985)[9]
- Dark Diaspora... in Dub (p. 1991) [10]
- step into my head (1995)[11]
Theatre
- A Midsummer Night's Dream with "a contemporary, urban interpretation with a Caribbean twist." (2007)[12]
- "Who Knew Grannie: A Dub Aria" (2010)
Film
- on/black/stage/women a documentary covering 30 years of contributions made by Black women to Toronto's theatre scene.
- Upcoming audiovisual work Aunt Harriet, directed and devise by mixed media artist HAUI released in 2025[13]
Awards
- 2006 The Silver Ticket Award, for Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Canadian Theatre[14]
- Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award – Theatre (2007)[15]
- 2025 Gascon-Thomas Award for Lifetime Achievement [16]
See also
References
- ^ ahdri zhina mandiela Answers.com
- ^ mandiela Archived May 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine griots.net
- ^ ahdri zhina mandiela Archived 2010-08-08 at the Wayback Machine Poet Bureau
- ^ b current Archived April 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ahdri zhina mandiela and Ms. Winnie Madikizela - Mandela Archived July 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Britgirlproductions.com
- ^ "Culture : Regard sur les aînés noirs à Guelph dans ce nouveau projet". ICI Radio-Canada Première. 10 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
- ^ "How Black and Queer Artists Embrace Myth-Making to Fill in Missing Canadian History". CBC Radio Day 6. 10 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
- ^ "Jamaica T.O.: Jajube Mandiela, actor and director, starred in Degrassi: The Next Generation". Toronto Star. 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ Speshal Rikwes Biblio.com
- ^ Dark Diaspora... in Dub OpenLibrary.org
- ^ ahdri zhina mandiela CD Baby
- ^ A Midsummer Night’s Dream Archived January 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 14, 2025. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ The Dora Awards Torontoist
- ^ Canada Council names 2007 winners of mid-career award CBCNews
- ^ ahdri zhina mandiela and Brigitte Poupart: Recipients of the 2025 Gascon-Thomas Awards from the National Theatre School of Canada MyScena
External links
- jumping in head first: an interview with ahdri zhina mandiela Susan Gingell, University of Saskatchewan