The founding Artistic Director of Theatre Emissary International, Dr Taiwo Afolabi, has been inducted into the prestigious Royal Society of Canada as a member of the RSC College.
The RSC exists to promote Canada’s national academy and the council of senior and distinguished Canadian scholars, humanists, scientists, and artists.
According to the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Regina, Dr Jeff Keshen, Afolabi’s successful nomination as a Member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada is a testament to the significant impact of his work in socially engaged theatre in Canada and around the world.
“Through his practice as an artist and scholar, Taiwo provides a safe and brave space to share participants’ cultures and stories and to collectively envision a positive shared future,” a statement by the Director of Research, Theatre Emissary International, Stephen Okpadah, quoted Keshen as saying.
Afolabi is a Nigerian-born-Canadian interdisciplinary artist-researcher who is internationally recognized for his research-based theatre focusing on social justice, human rights, and anti-racism education among indigenous, immigrant, and marginalised communities.
Meanwhile, in his letter of support for Afolabi’s induction, a professor of Theatre and Performance Studies, professor of Culture, Politics, and Global Performance, Derek Goldman, stated, “In my more than 25-year career in the academy, and working in the field of global performance studies at the intersection of performing arts and politics/social change, Dr. Afolabi is one of the handful of most remarkable colleagues I have ever encountered.”
“If I were to pick a handful of people from around the world who are best equipped to lead us forward in mobilising artistic practice in pursuit of a better and more just world, he would be at the top of the list.”
Speaking, Afolabi said that through global theatre projects and publications, his practice-based research encompassed issues of sexual health, education, policing, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, African theatre, homelessness, immigration, and language revitalisation.
