First cohort of Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers present initial plans of residency projects

The inaugural cohort of Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers in Residence Fellowship presented their developing projects through a comprehensive workshop hosted by The Africa Institute, Sharjah on Wednesday, September 28, 2022.

The awarded fellows; Ruun Nuur, Leanetse Seekoe and Sara Yassi, each working towards imbibing the creative practices of iconic late Nigerian Professor Tejumola Olaniyan and in honor of his remarkable intellectual legacy in the field of African literature and critical theory. 

The session was moderated by Professor Naminata Diabate, Ali A. Mazrui Senior Fellow for Global African Studies, The Africa Institute and Surafel Wondimu Abebe, Assistant Professor of Performance Studies and Theory, The Africa Institute. Both professors were part of the panel that played a key role in the selection of the fellows.

“This is a historic milestone for The Africa Institute as we host the first cohort of Tejumola Olaniyan creative writers,” said Professor Diabate.

“The residency program welcomed applications from creative writers including novelists, short story writers, playwrights, poets and scriptwriters related to Africa and the African diaspora. The selection for the Tejumola Olaniyan fellowship was laborious. The quality, diversity and range of profiles and projects received were brilliant. We are excited about our selection of our three fellows who are working with different mediums – cinema, theater, and a collection of short stories during their three months of residency,” she added.

All residents shared their inspirational themes, methodologies, project timeline and more followed with questions asked by faculty, fellows and guest writers enabling the fellows to reflect, share, gain feedback and discuss their projects with the leading scholars present in the audience.

Ruun Nuur, independent cinematic practitioner and cultural worker hyper focused on Muslim and African narratives spoke of her project titled, “Activating the Archives: What it means to curate a national cinema?” with the focus on Somali cinematic scholarship. She plans to examine Somali cinematic history in the 20th-century tracing and create detailed records of Somali film pioneers, their inspiration, collaborators, and the location of their work today.

Leanetse Seekoe, actress, playwright, theater-maker, and academic presented her project titled, “Like Pieces” that compares black identities and black relationships to broken pieces of glass. She develops a play that attempts to regain the voices of black people by telling stories through the bodies of black women. Seekoe shares short excerpts of the play that highlights that the play will include themes such as feminism and mental health in the African community through storytelling, poetry, and movement to encourage the youth to become part of conversations around race and patriarchy in South Africa.

Sara Yassi, screenwriter and aspiring author presented her project on “The Last Sunset in Zanzibar,” a collection of short stories set in and around the present-day Zanzibar Archipelago. Sara shared stances of her writing and shared how her work plans to explore Generation-Z perspectives of diasporic African identity through themes of self-love, belonging, and loss. She drew heavy inspiration from her personal stories and particular interests in the female African diasporic experience, the concept of belonging through the paradigm of faith and identity as well as spirituality in and around the Indian Ocean.

All fellows have the opportunity to publish their texts through The Africa Institute’s publications program. Projects relating to theater and film scripts will receive support in facilitating productions as deemed appropriate.