Bia! Zine issue 2 contributors
The second issue of Bia! Zine is made up of the stories, words, images and art of almost 40 contributors of colour and migrants across Ireland.
About our contributors
Aanya Sagheer
Mixed Pakistani and American
I'm Aanya, 30, living in Dublin almost 6 years now, Canadian and American citizenship, Pakistani and white American background, bisexual and still identify as a Muslim more days than not, moved around a lot and used to feeling adrift. I have two cats.
Ala Buisir
Libyan Irish
Ala Buisir is an award-winning visual artist & journalist. Born in Ireland with Libyan roots, Ala is a graduate BA in Photography from TU Dublin and MA in Journalism from DCU. She is currently undertaking a PhD by practice at the University of Limerick, in which she investigates the ‘othering’ of Muslim women in the Western world by societal Islamaphobia and Western tropes of Islam. In doing so, she aims to use this research to inform participatory arts-based interventions that challenge Islamaphobia against Muslim women by amplifying Muslim women's voices and creating avenues for digital storytelling in which these voices are agents in their narrative. Ala’s work documents the social and political tension around us today. The aim is to raise awareness by presenting events through different perspectives in hopes that it may also bring about change. She is also the co-founder of Gorm Media. An impact-focused digital media start-up with a mission of unifying across differences and advancing belonging for marginalised communities. And a board member of the Amal Women's Association. A Muslim women-led organisation. It provides front-line services to Muslim women connected to the Muslim community nationwide.
Cebsile Sandra Mhlanga Mamba
Cebsile Sandra Mhlanga Mamba is a teacher by profession currently teaching English Language to second language speakers at ICOT College in Dublin-Ireland. She posses a Masters degree in English Language and Literature from UNICAF University in Zambia, a Post Graduate Certificate in Education and Bachelor of Arts in Humanities both from the University of Eswatini.
She has taught at secondary level for fifteen years and now dealing with young adults since May 2023. Her greatest passion is in public speaking and debate and was patron for the St. Mark's Public Speaking and Debate team for nine years. Eloquence and assertiveness in driving one's ideas are what melt her heart. She has an unsatiable passion for writing too and has published numerous critical and philosophical articles in the Swaziland National Association of Teacher's (SNAT) Eagle.
Christopher Salcedo
Mexican-American
Christopher was born to Mexican immigrant parents, Pilo and Margie Salcedo, in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. His Father took at job as a maintenance man in Section 8 housing in Goleta, California where Christopher spent most of his life until age 22. While at UCSB double majoring in Global Studies and Religious studies Christopher was able to spend time doing research in the Solomon Islands. After returning to UCSB in 2010 he was awarded with The Gilman Scholarship which he used to live in Ankara, Turkey, writing a bi-weekly column on the intersection of Islam and ecology and Turkish environmental policies for the Santa Barbara Independent. Moving to San Francisco shortly thereafter he found a place in some of the best kitchens in the world, working his way through back of house management, front of house management and into directing and opening over 25 restaurants with the likes of In-n-Out, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana and Slice Houses, and Wise Sons Delis amongst others.
In 2021 Christopher, his wife Zoe, and their daughter Beatrix Bean moved to Ennis, County Clare, Ireland to open up Tacos Traviesas.
Elizabeth Lola Osikomaiya
Nigerian Irish
I'm a poet, I've been writing for a while now, I love to feature aspects of my identity in my work, from my culture to my religion.
Farheen
Irish/Pakistan
Farheen is a 20 something, Pakistani Irish daughter of immigrants who grew up in a tiny town in rural Ireland. Farheen is fiercely political, cares deeply about human rights (especially women's rights) and loves building and finding community.
Fiyin
Nigerian (Yoruba)
I'm an artist from Kildare, mostly working in collage and recently dabbling into writing. My work focuses mainly on race and class hopefully in a humourous way.
Hiu Yan Chelsia
Hong Kong/Chinese
I'm 21, moved from Hong Kong to Belfast when I was 17 for uni, and decided to stay on afterwards! I love food and the ways it brings people together, also love cooking as a hobby/practice. I studied food science at uni but ultimately decided I care more about the humans behind food. Wrote my dissertation on the food choices of Hong Kong uni students living in the UK, got to interview my friends and family for it which made it fun! Working at an artisan cheese factory which sounds way more glamorous than it is.
Ines Khai
Guadeloupe (Caribbean)
Ines Khai comes from Guadeloupe, Caribbean. Her songs are in her native language: Creole. They tell stories about living in exile, crossing oceans, taking new steps as well as living through the ups and downs in life. Her music is deeply rooted in the rich culture and the traditions of her country.
Jemima Rajan
I am a first generation Indian immigrant who came to Ireland at the age of eight. Currently, I work within the pharmaceutical industry and have recently decided to take my passion for photography and film onto a more professional level.
@summerfilmdays is currently my main digitized portfolio.
Julian Trejo Pascual
I'm originally from Mexico city, I moved to Europe after finishing school back in 2010. After working in several bars and restaurants I decided to launch my own Mexican business in Dublin back in June 2021. A couple months after launching I had the opportunity to bring my mum along with me to the business and have been working together since then.
Mabel Mnensa
South Africa/Malawi
Mabel Mnensa, a recent Creative Writing Master's graduate (UCD, 2022), is a reader, poet, writer and dreamer. Her diverse works span children's tales to rebellious prose. She is currently working on her debut novel, "Undocumented Secrets".
Mehlaqa Khan
Pakistani
Mehlaqa is a nutritionist and writer of Pakistani origin. Her work is multifaceted and reflects her diverse cultural upbringing growing up in Ireland, Pakistan, Hungary, and the UK.
She develops recipes, writes about food, and undertakes food styling and photography projects for her website and independent food publications, often drawing on human connection and personal memories interlaced with her nutritional knowledge of seasonal ingredients used in the dishes.
Currently, she hosts supper clubs in London and recipe testing for an upcoming cookbook on the stories and recipes of Pakistani kitchens.
Website: www.drmehlaqa.com
Instagram: @drmehlaqa
Mishka Hajee
Indian (I am a third generation South Africa)
Mishka is a chartered accountant and creative writer who has taken inspiration from other like-minded professionals in her home country, South Africa.
Nepantla Collective and Victoria Verrastro
Latina
Nepantla Collective is a group of Latin American women interested in photography as a powerful medium to raise discussions about migration, feminism, representation and identity.
The group believes in photography as a means of subjective expression and with great potential to develop critical thinking about our reality as migrant women. We believe it’s a necessary space where we can visually capture our way of seeing reality, and also where we can share our experiences in a safe space, where all voices are heard, all faces and bodies are valid and therefore that we deserve the place we occupy.
Ola
Nigerian
I’m a Nigerian Irish animation student who loves making stories that tie in with my culture.
Palesa Moumakwa
A South African-Irish actor and writer based in Dublin and London.
shaéirah
Pakistani - Swiss - Irish
shaéirah, aka Ayesha, an adopted Dubliner of Punjabi-Pakistani-Swiss roots, is a writer, theatre maker, creative director and social justice advocate. A 3CK, she is avidly curious about the themes of identity, belonging, migration and decolonisation - with her Sufi lineage serving as a compass for her artistic expression. She is the Managing Editor of the #BlindianProject, a platform that celebrates Black x Brown communities while addressing the myriad of social issues that impact us, especially racism and anti-blackness.
Instagram: @sha.eirah
SOOJUNG
Korean (family from Busan, Changwon, Pyongyang, + Gwangju), raised in the southwest U.S, currently living in Limerick
SOOJUNG is a queer Korean singer-songwriter, poet, and culture worker. Their work explores migration as family mythology as consequence of imperialism, gender, and their love of cats.
Steph Saidha
Half Irish - Half Indian
Steph Saidha is a visual artist based between Limerick and Dublin, who mostly works with photography, text, conversation and food. Her practice is concerned with family, tradition, identity, childhood and place. Driven by her own half-Irish, half-Indian background, she is interested in a communal exploration of how we relate and connect to our heritage, be that through food, the body, family traditions or language. Having developed a socially-engaged art practice since 2021, she has since been incorporating collaboration and the creation of social spaces into her work. Dedicated to creating opportunities for people to collectively experience art and culture, Saidha believes firmly in the value of participatory practice and the power of coming together.
Tishé Fatunbi
Yoruba Nigerian
Tishé Fatunbi is a Dublin-based actor, writer, and theatre maker as well as a co-founder of a newly launched black-run theatre company named ArinolaTheatre. As an actor, Tishé has starred in productions such as We Dance, a love letter to black women, a role for which she was awarded Best Performer at the 2022 Irish Student Drama Awards. She played Saint Joan in a 2022 amalgamation of the work of George Bernard Shaw titled GBS which was shot in the National Gallery of Ireland, directed by Kellie Hughes, one of two historical pieces she has performed in at the National Gallery. She starred in Re: Joyce a 2022 short film imagining the life of a young modern, gender-bent James Joyce at UCD. She holds a collection of other credits from her time as an overly active member of UCD Dramsoc.
Tishé is currently completing a master's in Psychological Sciences at UCD where she holds a performing arts scholarship that allows her to practice her craft while in academia. Tishé is passionate about theatre that challenges the status quo and tells stories that are sometimes lost to time. As a writer, Tishé has participated in a FISHAMBLE writing for Performance workshop led by Gavin Kostik and FELISPEAKS in 2021 and a writer’s workshop in the Abbey Theatre led by Inua Ellams in 2022.
Tobechukwu Onono
Igbo
Tra My Nguyen Hoang
Trà is a Vietnamese photographer. She moved to Dublin in 2013 and has worked with several arts festivals and organisations in the city. You can find her works on Instagram at @memymoxxs or at apollosadventures.wordpress.com
Uzo
Igbo
My name is Uzo, I’m 23, I’m a recent MA in English and creative writing graduate based in Glasgow. I am an ogbanje and my work centers Igbo ontology and Black Queer identity
Victory Isijola
Nigerian (Irish nationality)
A 20 year old Christian Gen. Nursing student (UCD) who loves to write poems and short stories.
William Viet Hoang Reynolds
William Viet Hoang Reynolds is an Irish-Vietnamese budding writer and medicine student in Dublin. They're passionate about inclusive healthcare and possessing an interdisciplinary and creative outlook to exploring health issues. You can find some of their other work in Sweet Tooth Poets and Trinity Film Review.
Winnie
Cameroonian
My name is Winnie Kouematchoua, I am 19 years old and currently doing a BA in English with Creative Writing at UCD. I was born and raised in Germany, so I grew up with both Cameroonian and German culture. I love to write, read, dance and cook.
Yohan Irani
Yohan Irani is an Indian creative currently based in Dublin, Ireland. His passion for food has been shaped by his life in Bangalore, a city in Southern India and his Zoroastrian heritage. Drawing inspiration from the sharp flavours of South Indian food, he aims to combine these spicy and tangy notes with the richness of Persian cuisine.
Placing an emphasis on small businesses, Yohan focuses on the origin of ingredients, the people behind the food and the community they wish to serve.
In Dublin, Yohan currently works in food social media, studies medicine and spends his free time wandering around, taking pictures of the city or trying to master baking sourdough bread successfully.
Plus featured work by
Elvin Ojuka, Fiona-Louise Ntidendereza, Fiyin, Gori Jackson, Jasmine Ashworth, Nathali Turner, Ngozi Elobuike, Rema Hamid, Rukmini Kelkar, RUPO, Stacy Miyoung Kim
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