About J'miah Nabawi

A native of Philadelphia (PA), J'miah Nabawi's storytelling career was inspired on two separate occasions, seeing the performances of the legendary Mandinka Griot (Djeli), Djeliba Djimo Kouyate at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and later by Linda Goss, best-selling author and the "Official Storyteller of Philadelphia (PA)," at the Please Touch Museum. However, it was the befriending of Ms. Goss that would eventually lead to her mentoring J'miah onto the path of professional storytelling and developing the brand of performance for which he has become known. J'miah's upbeat storytelling reflects the story-dance-musical drama of Africa and its Diaspora.

* Bilingual in Spanish and a poly-glot of sorts, J'miah also tell stories from around the world and is known to incorporate story-specific vocabulary, songs and text in the languages of Twi, Spanish, French, Chinese, Yoruba, Japanese, Gullah and Ki-Swahili during his performances. J'miah's artistic work with children and youth in underserved rural and urban areas has been recognized with Proclamations, Citations and Official letters from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in Harrisburg, PA, the late Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston, MA and from the City of Miami (Miami Dade City Council), Miami, FL.

* From pre-school age children to high school and university going students, professors and staff, J'miah Nabawi has presented arts-in-education programs and workshop/residencies to a variety of audiences in both urban and rural communities. He created and served as the Here Comes the Storybook Man! for the NFL Philadelphia Eagles' Youth Partnership to promote family literacy and reading and later founded Books for Growing Minds™ as an independent publishing and literary services company. As a Teaching Artist/Performance Storyteller, J'miah has served on approved artist rosters for the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts; Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) of New York State; Massachusetts Cultural Council, Boston, MA; Virginia Commission for the Arts, Richmond, VA; and Florida Council on Arts and Culture, Tallahassee, FL. J'miah is currently on Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) roster of Traditional Artists and continues to be active with the South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) with Artist residencies and public performances throughout the Florence and Charleston, SC areas.

"Mr. Nabawi is one of Savannah's most visible and favored storytellers. He has been the community's choice for various festivities, with no barriers on race, ethnicity, or age. Whether it is through the Live Oak Public Libraries, The Telfair Museum, local churches, schools, universities, the leadership and service that he continues to provide through his profession is legendary here amongst Savannahians." ~Dr. Otis S. Johnson, Former Mayor of Savannah, GA

"The students at Jasper Elementary love J'miah. (The teachers at our school find him to be a full partner in curricular planning and implementation of lessons and units.) J'miah can tell stories, write and direct plays that are performed school-wide, teach small groups and make children laugh and smile. If he had a cape, he could fly . . . at least the children think so." -- Dr. Kathleen Thompson, Retired Arts Educator/Director of Cultural Projects (Georgia Council for the Arts)

J'miah is an esteemed recipient of the National Storytelling Network's (Jonesborough,TN) "ORACLE Award for Outstanding Service and Leadership, Southeast Region for his exemplary leadership to his community through storytelling." ~ The Elijah Agency

Learn more about this award-winning storyteller at www.jmiahnabawi.com and be sure to
check out his family literacy and self-publishing initiatives with Books for Growing Minds™ at www.jmiahnabawi.com

View his most recent TED Talk, "Julio's Bridge to the Land of Make-Believe," here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di_7OURefuE