Strings & Words: Ilanga Lishonile

About the show

As the sun wanes, and the day dies, the third installment of Strings & Words invokes words and sound to reawaken the stilled spirit. It confronts the ephemeral reality of death and ushers in the rebirth that is always sure to follow. Whether plucked, beaten, blown or softly spoken, each medium feeds into the other to create something entirely boundless.

About the ensemble

Sue Nyamnjoh is a Cameroonian-born creative living in Cape Town with a background in languages and media studies. Her poetry has been published by Botsotso, New Coin, and New Contrast. Her debut anthology, [un]ravelling was published in 2023. In her poetry, Sue dives headfirst into the shared uniqueness of being and belonging, and with each poem, invites the reader to consider their own experience of feeling in full.

Zwide Ndwandwe is a Cape Town-based musician who is heavily invested in cultural work and liberatory politics, contributing writings to publications such as Africa Is A Country, Amandla, and ILRIG. He is one of the co-founders of Black improvised music band Kujenga. This year (2026), Zwide launched Feedback, a music agency created in response to the growing demand for substantive Black cultural experiences in Cape Town’s city centre. His debut solo album, radicis is coming out in August.

Chelsey Arries began her creative journey in the otherworldly realm of gospel music. Grounded in this spiritual music tradition, she has grown into an accomplished solo performer who is passionate about inviting feeling through sound. Chelsey has an incredible ability to capture, replicate, and elevate sound by ear alone. She is currently teaching herself how to play the bass guitar. She continues to explore new artistic spaces and relishes the sonic magic that comes out of collaborations with fellow creatives.

Uncool Ant is a Cape Town guitarist and songwriter known for pioneering “soul twerk” — a style rooted in soulful guitar and songs about love in all its forms. With over a decade of musical experience, he blends deep, honest songwriting about love and human connection, drawing production influence from Kanye West and lyrical phrasing from Sade. As the second set of strings to these words, Ant colours the poet’s words with textured guitar, creating space for each story to land.