Story - then and now
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Zolani is passionate about the natural world and our undeniable connection to it. As such she is an ambassador for the Seachange Project which released the groundbreaking documentary “My Octopus Teacher”. The team which produced the Oscar award-winning film is currently working on a feature film on the artist based on her connection to the ocean. She and the director of "My Octopus Teacher" Pippa Ehrlich garnered the 2024 Independent Nonfiction Audio Storytelling Award at Tribeca Festival for their groundbreaking podcast "Back To The Water" which explores diverse South Africans and their relationships to their coastlines.
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A trained theatre actress, she won the prestigious Fleur Du Cap award in the category of “Best Actress”. This for her 2019 self-written and critically acclaimed one-woman play entitled “The One Who Sings".
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2020 saw her collaborate with Grammy Award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma live onstage at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town South Africa.
She released her debut solo album entitled “Thetha Mama” in November of 2021.
The work won "Best Produced Album" in 2022 at the South African Music awards. The One Who Sings is currently working on a follow up album with her new band "The Feminine Force".
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She is also writing and producing a musical based on African goddesses of the seas and lakes of the continent. The staging is earmarked for a 2025 debut on the mainstage of the iconic Artscape Theatre in Cape Town. A music documentary on her life and music is also currently underway set for release in 2025.
As former lead singer of pan-African supergroup Freshlyground, Zolani Mahola has shared and opened stages for greats such as Stevie Wonder, BB King, Shakira, Hugh Masekela, and Johnny Clegg among others.
The band was together for 17 years and toured all over the world, releasing 7 albums and unifying a divided nation through their music.
Zolani Mahola believes in the sanctity of the time of childhood.
As such she is a trustee on the board of Zip Zap Circus School. She is an ambassador for the Morris Isaacson Centre for Music and is a proud ambassador of The Earthchild Project in Cape Town, South Africa. Current fellow of The Witness Institute.
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