Zimbabwean-born Tauriq Jenkins is the founding artistic director of the Independent Theater Movement of South Africa and Shakespeare in Prison South Africa. He directed eight Shakespeare productions in South African prisons—covered by NPR and the Folger Literary Magazine—and was awarded the Davis Projects for Peace Grant in 2013 for his work.

Tauriq has served as the chair of the Performing Network of South Africa (Western Cape), a task member of Southern African Theater Initiative, director of the Arts, Culture, and Sport portfolio for the Observatory Improvement District, and organizer of the Observatory Documentary Film Festival. As a chess enthusiast, he has played, coached, and directed tournaments at various levels in South Africa, winning junior national team championships and university team championships.

Tauriq holds an MFA in Acting from Columbia University in New York and fellowship in the International Fellows Program at the Columbia’s School for International Public Affairs, focusing on U.S. Foreign Policy. He is a recent alumnus of International House, serving as a member of the Residents’ Council and directing four presentations of Black History Month. Other than recent years in New York studying at Columbia, Tauriq lives in Cape Town.