Zahra Baker
Zahra is a vocalist, ritualist, storyteller, actor, teaching artist and wellness practitioner. She is recognized for her performance work as an engaging performing artist, a keeper of African American oral traditions and a experimental vocalist. She is honored to have collaborated with phenomenal musicians, poets, dancers, artists, filmmakers, and storytellers over the past 35 years in Chicago. As a creative musician, Zahra has performed extensively with Shanta Nurullah which include Shanta Nurullah’s Sitarsys, Freedom Song Leaders, Classic Black and ShaZah. Zahra has also performed with Hamid Drake as a member of the improvisation ensemble Moment to Moment. Storytelling performance history includes Performance duo “In the Spirit,” with Emily Lansana and collaborative works with performance artist, Sojourner Zenobia. She has performed at venues such as the World Music Festival, M3 Festival, MCA, The Chicago Art Institute, The Old Town School of Folk, The Chicago Jazz Festival, The National Association of Black Storytellers Conference and Festivals, The Chicago Cultural Center, Jonesborough National Storytelling Festival, Rhode Island Black Storytelling Festival and countless Schools, Museums and Festivals. As a 2024 Elastic Arts Dark Matters Artist in Residency, she developed a ritualized performance that included Adam Zanolini, Avreeayl Ra, Luc Mosely and Paige Brown. As a teaching artist, Zahra has developed wellness music and performing arts programs in schools, community centers, shelters, recovery centers, eta Creative Arts Foundation, the Chicago Department of Corrections and the Chicago Park District.
