Inkundla Spaces

Our Vision

Inkundla Spaces envisions a Sierra Leone where creativity drives community resilience, sustainable development, and inclusive growth. We see a future where artistic expression unites diverse communities, elevates underrepresented voices, and inspires collective action toward positive social change.

Our Mission

Inkundla Spaces envisions a Sierra Leone where artistic creation fosters community resilience, connection, and shared narratives. We support artists in producing original work that reflects lived experience, encourages collective dialogue, and contributes to cultural storytelling across diverse communities.

About Us

Founded with the belief that creativity can drive meaningful change, Inkundla Spaces reimagines the traditional “inkundla”—an open gathering space fostering dialogue and collective action—into dynamic platforms for arts and culture. Our programs began with poetry slams, open mic events, and visual art exhibitions, but have grown into a powerful movement emphasizing community development, cultural preservation, and economic empowerment.

We intentionally focus our efforts on rural and underserved communities, nurturing emerging artists and creating accessible pathways to paid creative opportunities. Through workshops that develop practical artistic skills, community events that celebrate local cultures, and projects that promote digital storytelling and content creation, we strive to amplify voices often unheard and stories untold. nkundla Spaces does more than host artistic events; we ignite transformative experiences that build resilient communities and strengthen cultural pride, ensuring that creativity becomes a sustainable force for good across Sierra Leone and beyond.

Across our work, Inkundla Spaces treats art as a practice of care and reflection. By creating non-clinical spaces for storytelling, performance, and creative exchange, we support artists to explore themes of pressure, resilience, identity, and belonging through artistic practice rooted in everyday experience.

Our Projects

Wi Kreative Playgron (WKP) is a vibrant monthly event happening on the last Thursday of every month, with rotating venues in Freetown. Each session features an eclectic mix of poetry, music, and visual art, with six carefully selected performers, alongside open mic opportunities for emerging voices.

Since its inception, WKP has provided paid performance opportunities, empowering artists economically while building a vibrant community. This year, WKP aims to continue its mission to nurture talent, foster creative connections, and sustain artists by fairly compensating their invaluable contributions.

Rise & Riot is a high-energy spoken word competition featuring five qualifying heats held between March and October, culminating in an electrifying grand finale at the annual Inkundla Arts Festival.

Taking place primarily at Mango Peak in Freetown, Rise & Riot offers poets a competitive yet supportive platform to explore personal, social, and cultural themes. Winners receive monetary prizes and opportunities to advance their craft through our workshops. The slam has significantly strengthened Sierra Leone’s spoken word community, providing visibility and fostering artistic careers.

Our Open Mic Series prioritizes underserved communities, currently held regularly in Foredugu and Blama, with past events also in Lunsar, Bo, Waterloo, and Kenema. These open mics offer grassroots platforms for poets, musicians, and storytellers to showcase their talents and narratives.

By taking creativity directly to rural and often overlooked areas, this initiative has amplified diverse, previously unheard voices, strengthened community bonds, and created economic opportunities for local performers. The open mic is reshaping Sierra Leone’s cultural landscape, community by community.

Wi Art Space is a rotating exhibition series, held at Lumley Atlantic Hotel’s restaurant area. Every few weeks, a new visual artist is spotlighted, giving them a unique platform to showcase their works to diverse, international visitors.

The exhibitions offer artists visibility, networking opportunities, and direct economic benefits through potential sales. Since launching, Wi Art Space has connected visual artists to wider audiences, boosting their artistic profile and promoting appreciation for Sierra Leone’s vibrant art scene.

Kreative Workshops are short, intensive, community-based artistic labs held in Lunsar, Foredugu, and Freetown. Poets, musicians, storytellers, and performers come together to create new work rooted in personal and communal experience. Through guided co-creation, reflection, and collaboration across disciplines, participants develop poems, songs, performances, and narratives that are shared publicly and documented for wider reach.

Held annually during the last weekend of October, the Inkundla Arts Festival is a three-day celebration hosted primarily at Mango Peak, featuring poetry slams, live music, theatre, creative workshops, panel discussions, and exhibitions.

The festival gathers more than 50 local and international artists to celebrate Sierra Leone’s creative landscape and address critical issues affecting the creative community. It has become a powerful cultural event that fosters dialogue, celebrates artistic excellence, and significantly contributes to the local creative economy.