“As a young girl, I struggled with insecurities about my looks and my incredibly wild imagination, but the moment I saw Grace Jones, it was like everything clicked. Her confidence, her style, her humor, her vivacious spirit and her beautiful complexion left me in awe. Never has there been a woman in entertainment so singularly herself – the epitome of ‘one of a kind.’ She boldly stood out and against the industry standard and never allowed her artistry to be put in a box. From music, to fashion, to acting – she continues to do it all with… well, grace! I carry her bravery, wit and daring sense of self expression into every facet of my life and artistry today. Grace Jones is a legend and my hero.”
Jocelyn Bioh
Writer/Performer
When I think of strength, I think of women. Women like Harriet Tubman who were enslaved and risked their life to not only escape, but to free so many others from the vicious practice of slavery. I am motivated by her courage and tenacity, and moved by the breadth of her compassion. Maya Angelou is also a woman I deeply admire and look to for inspiration. I devoured all her books when I first discovered them while in college, and I still turn to her words when I need reminders of my power and resilience. These black, female role models connect me to a past that is encoded in my body and spirit, and they help me move forward in this life with grace and purpose.”
Nicole Comp
Architect
“Toni Morrison, first Black woman to win a Nobel Prize – almost a century after they began awarding Nobel Prizes in 1901. Her fictional work had a profound impact on me as a teenager. The deep affirmation of reading stories that centered on Black girls and women. The empowering realization that a Black woman could be at the absolute top of her chosen field. Nowadays, it is her non-fictional writing that I turn to time and time again, to make sense of difficult questions and to see anew. She reminds us of the importance of creating our own narratives where they do not exist. “
Tafadzwa Pasipanodya
Represents sovereign States in international legal disputes as a partner at a US law firm.
“I admire Yvonne Vera for the impact she has had on literature and the visual arts in Zimbabwe. Her work as a novelist, lyrical and passionate in nature, deals with such an unflinching bravery and sensitivity on war, colonialism, patriarchy and the accompanying gender inequality, rape, incest and infanticide. To me growing up reading her work from before I was allowed to do so to when the novels were considered appropriate for my age, I was inspired; by how a woman of that time had dared to take space and owned it . Always floored by how she situated history and historical events within the context of a female centred narrative. Whilst the stories are often placed in colonial and post colonial Bulawayo a place whose cultural context varies from mine, I saw pieces of myself in those women and empathised with the quiet rage they had to pack within their bones in order to survive a day in such an oppressive society. I was empowered through how she could transpose a nuanced and complex experience within a simple sentence. There is no greater revolutionary act than that of being a conduit for a people, that they see themselves, imagine and contemplate who they want to be beyond the pages of history in their own language. Her gift of words and her willingness to guide her gaze towards the often overlooked is one of the reasons why I believe in holding space; nurturing my voice, telling my stories so that other women may tell their own stories.”
Zaza Muchemwa
Associate Artistic Director, Almasi Arts
