Shishani Vranckx
Shishani Vranckx is a singer, songwriter and guitarist with Namibian and Belgian roots, but she grew up mainly in the Netherlands. As a performer she has received numerous awards, including the 'Last Band Standing' (Namibia, 2012) and the singer-songwriter competition Mooie Noten (Netherlands, 2013). She was also a finalist in the Radio France International Discovery Awards (2014). In 2016, Shishani & Namibian Tales quartet won Best World Music Album from Netherlands with their debut album Itaala. She has performed internationally at events such as the Africa Festival in Wurzburg (Germany), Glastonbury Festival (UK), Lake of Stars (Malawi), and in numerous other countries. She is a founder of ARTNAM, advocating for the promotion of Namibian arts, and has written for the Bloomsbury Encyclopaedia of Contemporary Music of the World and other platforms such as Music in Africa. Currently she is project coordinator, musician and researcher in the UNESCO funded project 'Namibian Tales - Kalahari Encounters'.