Tawanda Chabikwa

Tawanda Chabikwa is a Zimbabwean-born interdisciplinary artist-scholar researching and participating in African diasporic performance and creative practices. His work supports relevant and sustainable technological innovation artificial intelligence, Afrikan conceptual systems, and practice-based research. His work facilitates contemplation, transformation, and healing at the individual, communal, and historical-political levels. Tawanda explores conceptions of personhood, rituals of self-craft, and the possibilities of an ethical AI in the global embodiments of Africa-rooted ways of knowing the world. Current research and creative practice engages with African Philosophy, embodied research methodologies, Black Performance Theory, Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies, Artificial Intelligence in Africa, and global theories of the body. 

Centering on transnational African-born artists, Tawanda explores notions of personhood, research justice, and ethical AI. He holds a B.A. in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic, an M.F.A. in Dance from Southern Methodist University, a doctorate in Africana Studies from the Department of African American and African Studies at The Ohio State University, and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at El Paso working in both the Theater & Dance department and the African American Studies program. He is also an affiliate faculty member of the Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship (CAME) at the University of Florida, Gainesville.  He is a founding. Member of the AI 4 Afrika consortium. And part of the Embodiology® community. Tawanda’s interdisciplinary scholarly and creative endeavors have led to collaborative encounters, including think-tank initiatives, educational practice, performance installations, visual art exhibitions, and presentations in Zimbabwe, France, Mozambique, many parts of the United States, and more.

 He has worked with storytelling, performance art, and visual art (most recent solo exhibitions were at Nova Gallery, JMM Fusion Gallery, and Zephyr Contemporary in El Paso Texas, 2023), and creative writing (first novel Baobabs in Heaven published in 2010). As a personal transformation facilitator, Tawanda has led numerous creative workshops and guided transformational experiences for groups and individuals that include creatives, corporate, tech and AI, healthcare, and education professionals. Tawanda continues to grow in his interest in the area of human-centered social advancement—the upliftment of the human quality of life from personal to communal scales.

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/tawandacreative/

Website: https://ndiniwako.org/

Artstore: https://tawandacreative.artstorefronts.com/

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