BY KIMBERLY KARIATI
SPOKEN word artist and writer Tatiana “Banshee” Kondo says through creative advocacy she uses her voice and writing skills to transform people’s lives campaigning against issues of drug and women’s rights abuse, and for mental wellness.
In an interview with NewsDay Life & Style, Banshee said she believed art allowed youths to express themselves without fear of judgment or prejudice.
“My projects are aimed at championing the equality of the sexes through creative advocacy. I previously held an event called Battlescars and Healing aimed at creating a safe space for young people to heal from traumatic experiences and share their creative abilities in drawing, poetry and writing,” she said.
“This is also done to raise awareness on mental health-related issues and promote healing. I also take advantage of digital advocacy strategies by way of pictorial images, poetry and posters to have information regarding issues such as gender-based violence and human rights shared at a larger scale.”
Banshee said her desire was to create a legacy which ensured that marginalised and discriminated people are heard and change is brought to society.
“I hope to leave a legacy that aims to show that although young people from the high-density suburbs are often shunned in society and looked down upon, they are able to achieve greatness and surpass the standards that society sets for them,” she said.
“I also want to build my brand so that I can enable young people from different communities to have their voices heard and foster long-lasting change in society.”
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Having collaborated with Shaldo and Kuda Rice at the Battle of the Cities Poetry Slam and TambaAfrika Social Circus that merges dance and poetry, Banshee said she was working on an anthology on mental wellness.
“I am working on my first personal anthology titled Healing.
It is a compilation of poems which illustrate my own personal experience with trauma and mental illness. I intend to help people who may be going through the same, understand that they can overcome it,” she said.
“I want to promote advocacy in regard to mental health and make sure that young people can heal from traumatic experiences in healthy and safe environments. I want to be globally recognised so that I can empower young women and girls at a universal scale.”
Banshee has worked on poems such as Two Thousand and Future based on women empowerment, The Real High about drug and substance abuse, Christians for Showbiz on real faith and The COVID-19 poem based on the coronavirus pandemic.
Follow Kimberly on twitter @lizellekimkari
