MEET OUR FACILITATORS
The John Kani Performing Arts Academy (JKA) is proud to partner with some of South Africa’s most respected and award winning practitioners in the creative arts. These facilitators are not just instructors – they are artists and leaders whose work has shaped our cultural landscape. Every course at JKA is taught by a specialist with deep expertise and ongoing relevance in the field.
Prof. Zakes Mda
Novelist, Playwright, Painter, Filmmaker and Composer
Zakes Mda is one of South Africa’s most celebrated novelists, playwrights and cultural voices. Zakes earned degrees in theatre, and obtained his PhD from the University of Cape Town. He was a Professor at the National University of Lesotho for many years and is currently Emeritus Professor of English at Ohio University.
Zakes’ career began in theatre, where his plays; such as We Shall Sing for the Fatherland (1979); were powerful commentaries on apartheid and resistance. In the 1990’s, he turned to prose fiction, producing novels that blend history, folklore, and sharp social critique. Works like Ways of Dying (1995), The Heart of Redness(2000), and Cion (2007) have earned him international acclaim and multiple awards, including the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and the Sunday Times Fiction Prize. Zakes’ books have been translated into more than 25 languages, including 3 titles which were translated into Mandarin in 2025.
Zakes Mda is also a painter, musician and an academic, teaching creative writing in the United States while maintaining strong ties to South Africa. His work consistently explores themes of memory, tradition, identity and transformation. Through storytelling across multiple mediums, Zakes has become a vital chronicler of South Africa’s past and its unfolding present.
