Ife Piankhi

Ife Piankhi is a Ugandan poet, singer,^[1] creative facilitator and educator.^[2] She has collaborated with artists such as Keko, Nneka, Mamoud Guinea, Geoff Wilkinson, Michael Franti, Jonzi D, Wynton Marsalis, Floetry, among others. She has toured internationally for the past 22 years visiting Canada, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Zanzibar, Zambia, Romania, Italy, Holland, and USA. Whilst living in London she was a regular on Colourful Radio founded by Henry Bonsu. She has been featured in the documentaries 500 years later by Owen Shahadah and Nubian Spirit by Louis Buckley which highlight her knowledge of Nile Valley Civilisations. She is also resident poet and MC for Poetry in Session the longest running poetry event in Kampala to date.^[3]

Early childhood and education

Ife Piankhi was raised in the UK and now lives in Kampala. She is a creative expressionist who uses poetry and music, and she teaches creative writing at Art Movement in Kansanga.^[4]

Ife started her career at 18 teaching in a supplementary school. Since then she has continued to work as a teacher and facilitator. She currently works as the co-ordinator for the Linking Communities Project in Merton, has worked on the Findhorn Foundation EcoVillages programme, is a participant in the British Council UK Interaction Leadership Programme for community leaders and has travelled to Africa with the African Foundation for Development to work with female traders.^[5] She is a graduate of the Eco Villages Course (Findhorn Foundation) which has grounded her in the ethic of sustainable development.^[6]

Writing

Ife Piankhi is a veteran on the spoken word circuit starting in 1992. She has collaborated with a number of artists including Geoff Wilkinson of Us3 and Sheron Wray. Touring internationally Ife has performed in Canada, Ghana, Romania, Italy, Holland, Scotland and the US. Ife appears regularly on Colourful radio and writes for various e magazines and newsletters.^[7] Her work has been featured on the Pan-African poetry platform Badilisha Poetry Radio.^[8]

Published works

Poems

• "Realising", "Tsunami", "Three little birds", in Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva, ed. (2014). A thousand voices rising: An anthology of contemporary African poetry. BN Poetry Foundation. ISBN 978-9970-9234-0-3. 

Discography

• One hell of a storm, 1995

References

External links

• "Freeing the audience: Women in live music"
• "Poetry in Session: An intellectual revival in Kampala"