Nkeiruka Oruche & ZioraMmachi

Nkeiruka Oruche, a multimedia creative, cultural organizer, and producer, founded and directs Afro Urban Society, a hub for Pan African arts and culture. She created and directed ‘Mixtape of the Dead & Gone #1’’ dance-theater comedy about death and igbo cosmology. In 2023, she was on the creative team of ‘Nollywood Dreams’ at SF Playhouse. Oruche was 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.

ZioraMmachi is a 12-year old who is curious about the world around her. She loves to write, spend time with friends and family, run, read (taking away books is a dreaded consequence), take photos, listen to music, make playlists, and a lot of other things. She is a co-author of the Notable & Notorious Nigerian Women Coloring book.