Thursday the 3rd of may 2012 was a great day in the diplomacy of poetry and cultural exchange. Mbizo Chirasha the Zimbabwean celebrated poet /writer and director of GirlchildCreativity met a strong, powerful , word craft Oneness Sankara, the multitalented artist, tell stories, direct and produce theatre, write and perform poetry. Her outspokenness, powerful and thought provoking ideas make it easier to relate and seal prospective deals.Onenness is not just a parrot but a doer and action packed artist in the United Kingdom. The poet left all her professions to concentrate with creative arts and cultural industries.
The meeting between two new generations creative minds brought a lot of creative and deals ,the artists agreed to work on an anthology of poetry, work together in the development of projects the bring interaction between local artists and poets in the united Kingdom, the promotion of arts and international relations.
Oneness will be one of the International agents of GirlChildCreativityProject a local project promoting creativity among girls in Zimbabwe. lot of synergies will be taking place.
Oneness was on the line up of the Hifa Spoken word cream , this prove how Hifa promote arts exchange and cultural diplomacy.
OneNess Sankara's work is her life's passion. From the tender age of eight, she showed an incredible aptitude for the creative arts. Singer, songwriter, lyricist, actress, director and, more recently, musician, OneNess Sankara is a vanguard of the arts. OneNess Sankara is more than your average ordinary songstress that see's her gift as being a healing remedy to the soul which cannot be boxed into any category. OneNess Sankara views her music as being funky, quirky, adventurous, humorous, thought provoking and will even bring a tear or two. OneNess Sankara creates a world of her own in which she allows her listeners to embark on this journey with her.
Born and raised in London OneNess has been performing since the age of eight. Her exceptional spoken word/singer songwriting abilities have created a buzz for herself across the UK and abroad. The entire world really is her stage as her work has taken her from Glastonbury to the Royal Festival Hall as well as performances on the BBC, SKY and Choice FM. A further testament to her achievements are the number of accolades she has received including being one of the Top Five Black Female Poets by the New Nation newspaper and the first artist outside of North America to win an award at The Toronto International Poetry Slam. A seasoned performer, she has taken her spoken word to the stage as a solo artist as well as performing as part of the respected poetry quartet, Best Kept Secret. The group's only female member, OneNess compliments her male counterparts with her dynamic performances, the finished product, and a beautifully unified voice from one of London's most prized spoken word groups.
OneNess adopted her name after it came to her in a particularly vivid dream. This has ultimately changed the course of her life personally and professionally. "Ever since then it's been a journey finding out about OneNess. I've learnt that the name keeps you in check. OneNess is to remind me about the aspiration for OneNess in all aspects of my being." Her chosen surname, Sankara, is an homage to a man who has been described by some as "charismatic and an iconic figure of revolution", a man that OneNess favours for his staunch stance on gender equality.
OneNess Sankara attributes human nature's ability to withstanding the most trying of circumstances as the fuel that drives her to create 'I have to take things to the next level. I'm very much motivated by the great acts of others. Having to finish a writing assignment or something is minor compared to Harriet Tubman who spent her life helping Africans escape from the plantation. There are people in this world that are in war torn situations, there are people in this country that are homeless, we've all got our stories, but people are surviving through so much that it encourages me to use the talents that I've got".
Her debut single accompanying video A Colon and A Bracket (Dat Face book Song) has received positive feedback from her audiences. The single focuses on a Facebook addict and the social stigmas that can arise by not following social media etiquette. "Since MySpace died and Facebook took over, we've got a completely different way of really being up in each other's business and interacting! The issues that we had before, we still have but we now play them out on cyberspace." The highly anticipated single and video can be viewed and purchased on iTunes and Youtube.
Mbizo Chirasha is an internationally acclaimed performance poet, writer, and creative projects consultant. He is widely published in more than thirty-five journals, magazines, and anthologies around the world. He was the poet-in-residence: from 2001-2004 for the Iranian embassy/UN dialogue among civilizations project; the United Nations Information Center - 2001-2008; Convener/Event Consultant THIS IS AFRICA POETRY NIGHT 2004 - 2006; official performance poet Zimbabwe International Travel Expo in 2007; the international conference of African culture and development/ ICACD 2009; and official Poet Sadc Poetry Festival, NAMIBIA 2009. A delegate to the Unesco photo novel writing project in Tanzania, Mbizo is the Official poet in residence for the ISOLA/ international conference of oral literature 2010 in Kenya.He is the Founder and Creative Director of GirlchildCreativityProject and Young Writers Caravan.
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