Gloria Francis, popularly known by her stage name, “Givia,” is a craft creator, poet, podcaster, photographer, and founder of House of Africa. She is currently enrolled at Kaduna State University Nigeria. Givia began her poetry career in 2017, and since, her work has been published both locally and intentionally in volumes such as Paradise on Earth, an international poetry anthology, and other volumes, If Smiles Could Speak and Shades. She is the author of the international poetry anthology, Let Time Heal You and a self-discovery poetry chapbook for women, Woman Made By God.

Alongside being a poet, Givia is also a spoken word artist. She released her first and only poetry single in 2018 titled We Are One, and has performed at various events such as the Kaduna Performance Festival, Kaduna Count Down (organized by the Kaduna State government), iCreate Africa, Made in Nigeria (a show by Dike Chukwumerije), and ZAMA TARE, a project organized by the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) in collaboration with the European Union. Givia is also a member of Hilltop Creative Art Foundation.

As a YEA Creative Resident, Givia will develop and research her next book Men Don't Cry a collection of narrative poems about young male victims of sexual abuse and run a street campaign raising awareness and sharing resources for victims and community members.

Ridwan Abdullateef is a filmmaker based in Kaduna State, Nigeria. As a child, Ridwan grew up in a community of expressionists and conservatives. He witnessed clear divides between how different people chose to live their lives, and those distinctions drew him closer to the people tagged as “weird” or “non-conformists”. He eagerly sought out people like him with layered stories, experiences, and cultures to share. His career as a filmmaker began with his computer webcam. This is where he recorded shots and discovered editing tools that allowed him to stitch his own (and his community's) stories together to share with the world. Since then, Ridwan has produced several films about his community including 2 dance films, 3 sci-fi films, and 1 experimental short film.

As a YEA Creative Resident, Ridwan will develop ”The Origins of Dance” --a dance documentary about the history and influence of break dancers in Kaduna State.