AKWI NJI

Spoken Word Poet

Akwi Nji is a full-time artist, producer, and entrepreneur. She is a multidisciplinary arts leader with a professional background in nonprofit leadership, public education, journalism, strategic communications, and advocating for inclusionary arts as a critical component of civic wellness.

She is an advocate for multi-ethnic and multi-heritage inclusion in the arts and in community-building initiatives. She is also an advocate for the democratization and demystification of art-making and increased accessibility of the arts to traditionally underrepresented artists

and patrons.

As a Cameroonian American artist, Akwi explores the intersections of race, gender, tension between the outsider and insider, and geographical and spiritual home. She creates in words, performance, and visual art and specializes in creative personal narrative storytelling across artistic mediums. Akwi has served as an arts ambassador in multiple roles including as founding executive director of The Hook, an Iowa Arts Council board member, and advisor of Arts Midwest initiatives. She has been an Iowa Arts Council Fellow; produced over 100 events in recent years, involving nearly 300 writers and performers; and her words have been delivered on stages from California to New York. Her collaborative partners have included nationally renowned choreographers and Emmy award-winning composers.

She is creator of The Remoir Project, a nationwide audio and visual storytelling arts initiative, and is opening an artist-run gallery and micro venue in the fall of 2021 with a mission to support women artists and artists of color in the Midwest.