Presented by Footscray Community Arts, Ancestral Words is a performance event that celebrates the transformative power of storytelling, which has been passed down through generations as a tool for healing and resilience.  

Through spoken word and poetry, Ancestral Words creates a space for diverse voices to have a platform to share their lived experiences, creating an inclusive environment where audiences can reflect on their own experiences and be inspired by the resilience of the human spirit.   

 Ancestral Words also creates an opportunity for audiences to engage with artists and poets, creating a space for dialogue and reflection on the themes of identity, culture, and heritage.

Host

Kuti Kalo is a Sudanese multi-disciplinary artist based in Melbourne. He is a photographer passionate about capturing moments that tell stories to transcend time. Kuti is a fashion enthusiast who deeply values the ability to express himself through personal style. Kuti has established an online platform called Down and Dirty TV. The heart behind Down and Dirty TV, as Kuti describes, is a space that champions local artistsand creatives from Black and POC communities. Kuti is a strong advocate for mental health and is committed to destigmatising mental health within his community through education and awareness.

Performers

Idil Ali is a proud Somali woman raised by the East African community in the Carlton flats. A settler on unceded Wurundjeri land, Idil embeds her belief in freedom, sovereignty and resistance into her work as a creative, youth practitioner and community organiser.

Jidu the Creative is a young creative exploring the world unlearning all that he knows, allowing his imagination to create and learn through creative expression. He spent majority of his time in Sydney, starting from not enjoying writing to becoming the author of Fear of Beginning where he shares some of his experiences in intriguing poetic ways. A seeker of truth wanting to understand trauma, being a ghetto therapist.

Laniyuk is a Larrakia, Kungarakan, Gurindji and French writer and performer. She has been published nationally and internationally in poetry collections such as Solid Air (2019) and Fire Front (2020), in the 2022 speculative fiction anthologies Unlimited Futures and This All Come Back Now as well as in literary and culture magazines online and in print. She has been awarded multiple writers residencies and was shortlisted for Overland’s 2018 Nakata-Brophy poetry prize. Laniyuk runs poetry workshops, moderates panel discussions and has given guest lectures at ANU and The University of Melbourne. She is currently completing her first collection of work to be published through Magabala Books.

London-born and Naarm-based poet Kofi C. (real name Noah daCosta) an introspective storyteller with a unique vantage point of himself, people and world for his young age. With a blended cultural heritage and a nomadic life experience (living in England, the US and now Australia), Kofi C. is constantly seeking to depict, translate and comprehend through spoken word.

Rhoda Makur is an unapologetic South Sudanese multidisciplinary artist living in Wurundjeri country. Central to their work are themes of mental health, identity, healing, community, language, and culture. Rhoda believes in the healing power of words, both written and spoken.

EVENT PARTNER