Onwu Di Njo
Grief Circle & Creative Writing Workshop for people of African descent (who have lost a parent, child, or sibling). with Nkeiruka Oruche & Michael French
Co-facilitated by Nkeiruka and collaborator Micheal French this interactive workshop will explore our personal connections with death and using creativity as a tool to support our grief and commemoration. The session will feature an introduction/context about this project, participants sharing their personal experiences, and guided creative writing activity inspired by the project.
This workshop is part Nkeiruka Oruche’s ‘Obi gbawara’m//My Heart Shattered or What happens after I die?’ (OGB), researching and documenting traditions of death and grief in Igbo culture, and the African diaspora.
Sunday, July 20, 2025
10:00 AM-1:00 PM PST | 6PM-9PM WAT, BST | 1PM-4PM ET
Online (via Zoom)
Free (Donations welcome)
Limited spots. Please RSVP to receive attendance info
About Nkeiruka Oruche
Nkeiruka Oruche, a multimedia creative, cultural organizer, and producer, founded and directs Afro Urban Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to boosting art, media, and the tough-but-necessary conversations of the African diaspora. She created and directed ‘Mixtape of the Dead & Gone #1’- Ahamefula’, a shit-just-got-real dance-theater comedy about life, death, igbo cosmology, and what the fuck comes next. She is co-founder and cultural steward of BoomShake, a social justice and music liberation organization. In 2023, she was on the creative team of ‘Nollywood Dreams’ at SF Playhouse. Oruche is a Dance/USA Artist Fellow, Kikwetu Honors Awardee, a NYFA Immigrant Artist Fellow, and YBCA 100 Honoree. She has received awards from Creative Work Fund, MAP Fund, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, and California Arts Council. Her work has been featured in BBC Africa, Goethe-Institut, Fjord Review, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Coal City University-Enugu, and Oakland Museum of California.
About Michael French
MICHAEL FRENCH is a director, writer, actor, and inventor of brilliant things, originally from London, England. He has written and directed the Ovation award winning play ‘The Rainy Season,’ collaborated with Tiger Lion Arts on the much acclaimed ‘The Buddha Prince,’ and directed over thirty-five plays in London, New York, and the Bay Area of San Francisco. Michael is a resident director for Playground, a resident artist for Oakland Theatre Project, and the artist development coach for Afro Urban Society. He is currently writing his first collection of short stories entitled ‘Babble.’