Ziyaad Rahman is a Masters Student currently on a scholarship programme in Visual History and Theory at the University of the Western Cape. Whilst at university, he tutored History students in Atlantic/Indian Ocean Colonial and Slave History, and worked on a short film, called Interview with Aunty Anthea; the film premiered at a workshop in the Centre for Humanities UWC and at Encounters 19.
He assisted in starting up Awali Studios, an animation company focusing on finding, developing and producing a platform for African artists to make a living off of. He spear heads its comics/graphic novel division, Awali Comics, and acts as the companies Narrative Director.
Siri Watu: Descendants of Africa is the result of 10 years of research and concept development. Once finalized, it took Ziyaad and his illustrating partner, Duvan Botha, less than 3 months to complete the first comic book issue. Ultimately, with enough support, the time taken to produce future issues should be shortened. The goal is to release three issues of Siri Watu: Descendants of Africa by the end of this year, followed by a subsequent six issues the following year.
