J’miah Nabawi is an award-winning, multi-faceted storyteller. His upbeat storytelling reflects the story-dance-musical storytelling drama found in many parts of Africa and its diaspora. J’miah also tells and adapts stories from around the world. Through his presentations, he has often served as cultural ambassador, program host, and parent engagement facilitator at various venues presenting culturally entertaining, family-friendly, children’s programs and educational workshops. Bilingual in Spanish and a polyglot of sorts, J’miah is known to incorporate story-specific phrases, greetings, songs and text in Japanese; Yoruba; Gullah; French; Russian; Twi; Ki-Swahili; Chinese and other languages as a form of inclusion and to make deeper connections with immigrant communities, children and families whose mother-tongue is other than English. J’miah has shared his brand of high-spirited storytelling across the U.S. and Mexico in schools, art, history and science museums, colleges and universities. The Founder of Savannah Storyfest, an arts-based historic Savannah walking tour company, J’miah brings Georgia’s history to life in the historic characters and representations of George Leile (his life from 1750’s through 1784), America’s first licensed and ordained African American Baptist Minister, Les Chasseurs Volontaires de Saint Domingue: The Haitians participation in the American Revolution, and Quashee Alice, the Gullah-Geechee connection to Michael Row de Boat Ashore, the peanut, and the Great Migration in America. Awarded by the National Storytelling Network (NSN) in Jonesborough, TN, J’miah is also an esteemed recipient of the “ORACLE Award for Outstanding Service and Leadership, Southeast Region,” for the contributions he has made to his community through the art of storytelling.

Social Media: Instagram

Published Works: Amazon

Languages Spoken: English, Spanish, some French

Arts Disciplines: Music, Theatre/Drama, Creative Writing, Storytelling, Crafts: Making a Marimba

Core Content Curriculum Areas:Music, Theatre/Drama, English/Language Arts, Social Studies/History, Physical Education

Specialized Content Areas: Arts Integration, STEAM, ELL (English Language Learners), Literacy, World Cultures, Character Education

Grade Levels: Pre-K, K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, University levels

Special Populations:ELL (English Language Learners), At-Risk Students, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Students, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students, LGBTQI+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex) students, Exceptional Learners (students with disabilities as well as those who are gifted and talented

Pre-Service Learning and Professional Development: Post-Secondary/Pre-Service Learning, Professional Development for K-12 Teachers

Geographic Availability: Metro Atlanta, North Georgia, Middle Georgia, South Georgia

Program Types:
School-based Classroom Workshop(s), School-based Afterschool Program, School-based Assembly Program, School-based Residency Program, School-based Summer Program

Community-based Workshop(s), Community-based Assembly Program, Community-based Afterschool Program, Community-based Residency Program, Community-based Summer Program

Online Content for School Use, Online Content for Community Use, Online Content for Summer Program Use, Hybrid Online and In-Person Content for Schools, Hybrid Online and In-Person Content for Communities, Hybrid Online and In-Person Content for Summer Programs

Program Fees:
Please note: Fees for Savannah (Chatham County) and the surrounding areas are slightly lower. Contact for details.    

• Performances: Program Fees are the same unless otherwise stated, including school assemblies and public events.
  • $1,000 for 1 show with all props and musical instruments ($800.00 for 1 show without props and musical instruments)
  • $1,850 for 2 shows back-to-back with all props and musical instruments ($1550.00 for 2 shows back-to-back without props and musical instruments)
  • $2,850.00 for 3 shows back-to-back with all props and musical instruments ($2800.00 for 3 shows back-to-back without props and musical instruments)
  • Etc. upon negotiating number of performances and fees
• Artist Residencies: Props and musical instruments are included
  • 3-Days minimum, $3,500.00 plus overnight accommodations in a national brand hotel if necessary.
  • 5-Day residency 50 miles or more outside of Savannah area, $6,000.00, plus overnight accommodations in a national brand hotel.
  • 3-Day residency within the Savannah area: $3,000.00.
  • 5-Day residency within Savannah area, $5,500.00.

All fees are negotiable and the artist is willing to work within limited budgets.  

Artistic Profile:

A native of Philadelphia, PA, J’miah Nabawi’s professional storytelling career was inspired by the late celebrated Mandinka Djeli (Griot), Djimou Kouyate, and Linda Goss, “The Official Storyteller of Philadelphia.” Ms. Linda Goss however would be the one who would eventually encourage J’miah to do storytelling and eventually mentor him into becoming a professional storyteller. Today, J’miah Nabawi is an award-winning, multi-faceted storyteller whose upbeat storytelling reflects the story-dance-musical storytelling drama found in Africa and its Diaspora. J’miah also tells and adapts stories from around the world. Through his presentations, he has often served as cultural ambassador, program host, and parent engagement facilitator at various venues presenting culturally entertaining, family-friendly, children’s programs and educational workshops. J’miah has shared his brand of performance storytelling across the U.S. and Mexico in schools; art, history, and science museums; at colleges and universities; and with Jazz and Chamber Music ensembles. Bilingual in Spanish and a polyglot of sorts, J’miah is known to incorporate story-specific phrases, greetings, songs and text in Japanese; Yoruba; Gullah; French; Twi; Ki-Swahili; and Hindi to make deeper connections with immigrant communities, children and families and audience members whose mother-tongue is other than English.

Under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), J’miah has created and presented original and adapted works for the stage to highlight the historical references of Brer Rabbit and his African American roots. As an actor/storyteller, J’miah’s primary mentors and stage training have come from internationally acclaimed Jazz singer and Playwright, the late Oscar Brown, Jr., Linda Goss, “The Official Traveling Storyteller of Philadelphia”, renowned Ghanaian Ethnomusicologist, Dr. Kwasi Aduonum, and American Playwright and Director of Theater and Film, George C. Wolfe.

Teaching Experience:

J’miah has more than thirty years of teaching experience that is inclusive of having been a substitute teacher in French and Spanish for Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools Systems; teaching English as a Foreign Language (ESL) Through the Performing Arts at private and public educational facilities in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Under the auspices of various state arts councils —Pennsylvania Arts Council; Virginia Council for the Arts; Massachusetts Arts Council; B.O.C.E.S., Binghamton, N.Y.; the South Carolina Arts Commission; and Georgia Council for the Arts — J’miah has been a visiting performing artist to present Arts-in-Education residencies in public and private schools throughout the U.S. and Mexico. J’miah For his work with children in urban and underserved rural communities as a teaching artist, J’miah has received acknowledgements and proclamations from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (PA); Miami Dade City Council (FL); Philadelphia Worlds Affair Council; City of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino; and the WTOC News’ Community Spirit Award (Savannah, GA).

In 2005, under the tutelage and mentorships of Dr. Richard Benjamin and the late Susan Hanson, J’miah participated in an opportunity that was offered by the Artful Learning™ team of the Leonard Bernstein Artful Learning® program. Through a U.S. Department of Education grant in partnership with Kennesaw State University and The Grammy® Foundation, J’miah was trained how to use his performance storytelling experiences to implement Character Through the Arts in the classroom and become an end user of Leonard Bernstein Artful Learning®

Sample Programs:

Please note. Sample lesson plans for WOOD Makes Music!™, There’s Rhythm in the Telling of a Tale™; and Tell-Aerobic-Tales™ are available upon request for schools inquiring about a residency and are adaptable to suit lesson plans and classroom goals to meet standards.

• There’s Rhythm in the Telling of a Tale: There’s Rhythm in the Telling of a Tale™ includes various interactive, interdisciplinary storytelling presentations reflective of the “story-dance-musical drama” of Africa and its diaspora, particularly of Anansesem, the telling of Kwaku Ananse (Anansi/Ananse the spider-man) stories and their supporting recreational folktale songs known as Mmoguo. The Mmoguo traditionally have been used as musical interludes and interactive play to move the stories along during Anansesem and to relieve boredom and monotony during long storytelling sessions and at social gatherings. Gankogui (double bell/gong), Axatse (gourd rattles), hand drums and various hand-held percussion instruments, whistles, hand-clapping patterns with dance and creative movement are joined with the Mmoguo (recreational folktale-songs) that prompt the spontaneous creation of a “storytelling ensemble” from the audience with everyone joining in as the stories are told, sung, danced to and drummed during the telling of the tale.
  • Disciplines: Storytelling, Music, Creative Movement
  • Grade Levels: All ages
  • Number of Students: maximum of 350 students
  • Program Length: 1 hour
  • Facility and Technical Requirements: Stage/staging or gymnasium (enough space to accommodate the program); 2 cordless mics, 1 lapel mic
• Tell-Aerobic-Tales™:Conceived by J’miah Nabawi, Tell-Aerobic-Tales™ (Tell-Aerobics™) is interactive storytelling that integrates physical exertion, aerobic activity, and play into the telling of a folktale. The Tell-Aerobics™ program has been featured at various family outdoor fitness bazaars and at Middle Georgia State College (Warner Robins, GA) under the auspices of its early childhood and special education programs and its social and health sciences schools. Tell-Aerobic-Tales™ are available for health education and fitness seminars, physical education classes, and special events programming promoting family fitness, literacy, and health.
  • Disciplines: Storytelling, Aerobic and Physical Activity
  • Grade Levels: All grades
  • Number of Students: maximum of 150 students Program Length: 50 mins.
  • Facility and Technical Requirements: Clear space; cordless/lapel mic preferred
• WOOD Makes Music!™: WOOD Makes Music!™ is a marimba-making experiential craft activity designed to introduce participants to the sonorous properties of wood and the application of specialized information and knowledge to construct a musical instrument. An arts installation project, the program was conceived and designed by J’miah Nabawi as a playful response to a national exhibit (“What Makes Music?”) at the Franklin Institute Planetarium and Science Museum in Philadelphia that was touring the U.S. during the 1990s. The program is in partnership with the school art instructor. Discussion and planning is necessary prior to booking the program.
  • Theme: The science of sound production
  • Discipline: Science, Arts and Crafts, Storytelling, Africa and Asia
  • Grade Levels: K-2nd grade for coloring the designs made onto the wooden keys by upper grades; 3^rd-12th at various points of the project/activities
  • Number of Students: Varies depending on the class size and capacity of the visual art classroom

Please visit the artist’s website for more programming possibilities.

Sample Lesson Plans/Program Outlines:

• Lesson Plan – What Being An American Means To Me
• Program Outline – Gullah Ghana Geechee Gumbo

Program Photos: 

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Program Videos:

• Tell-Aerobic-Tales
• There’s Rhythm in the Telling
• Parent Engagement/Rhythm and Storytelling

• Listing ID: 6021