About Just A Day’s founder, Helen Isibor-Epega
Helen Isibor-Epega (of The Venus Bushfires) is a Nigerian born singer-songwriter, composer and performance artist. In 2008 she founded the Just A Day initiative, which designs and facilitates world-class expressive arts workshops.
Her musical and expressive arts career includes work with Sir Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus, Christian Dior, Sony PlayStation, Disney, Saatchi Gallery (London), London Fashion Week, Victoria and Albert Museum, Oxford University, BBC World Service, HRH The Prince of Wales, World Health Organisation, Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam and UNICEF. Her performances and workshops span the globe, from Benin City to Brazil.
Through the JAD initiative Helen uses music, art, drama, dance, poetry and storytelling to inspire, engage, educate, entertain, share ideas and train in a dynamic way. JAD partners with organisations in the private, public and third sectors and works to promote and explore wellbeing, emotional expression/intelligence, team building, communication skills, leadership and conflict resolution in the workplace and communities alike.
She launched her first fashion line ‘The Venus Bushfires Collection’ in 2014. The line was designed, sourced and produced in collaboration with three generations of women in her family www.thevenusbushfires.com/store
Helen has written and composed the world’s first pidgin opera ‘Song Queen: A Pidgin Opera’, which debuted at The Place Theatre in London on 22nd July 2015. Her music explores the ethereal sounds of the hang (rare instrument), the power of the talking drum and the quirks of children's toys cross-fertilising multiple visual and musical styles. Her compositions harness influences from avant-garde, psychedelic, tribal and meditative arts and draws inspiration from musical pioneers such as Fela Kuti, Miriam Makeba and Kate Bush, creating music and stories that explore the sensual and the spiritual. She describes her ambient and eclectic sound as Cinematic Afro-folk.
Her debut EP The Venus Bushfires is available from www.thevenusbushfires.com
Official Websites:
www.justaday.org.uk www.thevenusbushfires.com
Videos: www.youtube.com/TheVenusBushfires
Social Media:
www.facebook.com/thevenusbushfires www.twitter.com/venusbushfires / @venusbushfires www.instagram.com/thevenusbushfires / @thevenusbushfires
Press:
BBC - www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22384343 The Guardian (UK) - www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/27/performer-brings-voice-of-african-pidgin-to-new-opera TVC News - www.vimeo.com/136525873