KHADIJAH SALAWU

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Khadijah Salawu is a Toronto-based actor, writer, arts educator, creative producer, DJ, and
organizer. She is an alumna of the Arts York drama program at Unionville High School and
holds an HBA in Drama, Theatre and Performance from the University of Toronto.
She has served as the Artistic Director, and is a co-founder of FreeUp! – an annual nation-wide
youth-led Emancipation Day celebration – growing out of an arts festival, the special features
musical, acting, dancing, comedy and spoken word performances by Black and Indigenous
artists. Wherein the 2020 Special received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best
Performing Arts Program at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021.
Khadijah is the Founder and Editor of The African Diaspora Literature and Performance Toolkit,
a forthcoming online adaptable list of resources that provides examples about African diasporic
literature and performing arts with a focus in African-Canadian creation. It is designed to be
used by high school English and Drama teachers in their classrooms. She has presented her
work at numerous conferences including Young People’s Theatre, Stratford Festival, Ontario
Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto and McGill University.
She is currently developing a web series with her collective “A.K.A” with support by the
Indigenous Screen Office and played the role of Jesse in the independent feature “Learn to
Swim” directed by Thyrone Tommy, which was an Official Selection for the 2021 Toronto
International Film Festival.
Khadijah Salawu is a Toronto-based actor, writer, arts educator, creative producer, DJ, and
organizer. She is an alumna of the Arts York drama program at Unionville High School and
holds an HBA in Drama, Theatre and Performance from the University of Toronto.