About Amanda
Amanda Eke is a Nigerian American Artist, Spoken Word Poet, Film-Maker, and Educator. Unable to read until she was 7, she has forged a career as an artist in many mediums and has helped so many discover their own “voice” through her work.
She has won numerous awards including a Fulbright Fellowship for her scholarship and a UN (United Nations) Award for her artistry work. She uses her love for writing, film, and music to address socio-political issues, and contemporary culture prevalent in society today. Her workshop series, "The Poet Speaks" is an engaging experience into the culture of Spoken word, rhyme, and tradition, held for all ages.
Based on her Nigerian Igbo heritage, the workshop gives participants a chance to learn about oral traditions and their histories in any context and environment, all while solidifying the fundamental skills of rhyme. The workshop also gives participants the chance to create, explore and discover their own voice and narratives through writing and performance training.
Amanda is also the host of a podcast show of the same name, The Poet Speaks Podcast, that has her speaking to Spoken Word Artists and performing poets from all over the world. Through the show, she has talks with other Spoken Word artists from around the world on topics ranging from oral tradition to performing to why it’s so important for their voices to be heard.
Amanda has performed and toured as a Spoken Word Poet as well as given her workshop globally in countries like Trinidad and Tobago, Nepal, and the USA, just to name a few. She released her debut directorial film, BIDLA, in 2021. Bidla explores the international music fusion of Ghana (traditional Maltese Folk Music) and Hip-Hop on the Mediterranean Island of Malta through the lens of hip hop artists and cultural anthropologists in the present day.
BIDLA recently has won the distinct honor of being played at the JOHN F KENNEDY Center's Real 2 Reel Film Festival in July 2021, and a portion of the film has now been archived at the JOHN F KENNEDY CENTER. In addition, Amanda released her debut EP, DREAMSTATE, a bilingual (English and Greek) joint venture of rap and Spoken Word in 2017.