Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, the founding Artistic Director of Theatre Emissary International, has been inducted into the Royal Society of Canada as a member of the RSC College.
The RSC is Canada’s national academy and the council of senior and distinguished Canadian scholars, humanists, scientists, and artists.
The RSC was established to promote Canadian research and scholarly accomplishment in both official languages, to recognize and celebrate inclusive academic and artistic excellence and to advise governments, non-governmental organizations, and Canadians on issues of public interest.
A statement by Stephen Okpadah, the Director of Research of Theatre Emissary International, indicated that the President and Vice-Chancellor of University of Regina, Dr. Jeff Keshen, noted that the successful nomination of Dr Afolabi as a member of the College of New Scholars, artists and scientists of the RSC was a testament to the great impact of his work in socially engaged theatre in Canada and around the world.
Keshen said: “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.”
Afolabi is a Nigerian-Canadian interdisciplinary artist-researcher who is globally recognized for his research-based theatre which focuses on social justice, human rights, and anti-racism education among Indigenous, immigrant, and marginalized communities.
Afolabi said through global theatre projects and publications, his practice-based research encompasses issues of sexual health, education, policing, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, African theatre, homelessness, immigration, and language revitalization.
In his letter of support for the induction of Afolabi as a member of RSC, Dr. Derek Goldman, a professor of theatre and performance studies, professor of culture, politics, and global performance, and the artistic and executive director and co-founder of the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University, said: “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 mobilizing artistic practice in pursuit of a better and more just world – he would be at the top of the list.’’
Afolabi is a Canada research chair in Socially Engaged Theatre and University of Regina Associate Professor in the Faculty of Media, Art, and Performance. He is the founder and director of Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre (C-SET), co-editor of the Journal of Arts and Communities(Intellect), Vice-President of the Canadian Association of Theatre Research (CATR)/ACTR, associate editor of the Canadian Theatre Review (CTR), and representative of the ITI/UNESCO Network for Higher Education and Research Institutions.
Also, he is also a research affiliate at the Universities of Johannesburg (South Africa) and London (UK). He is an alumnus of the Universities of Victoria (Canada), University of Ilorin (Nigeria), and University of Jos (Nigeria).
