Performing artist Ahmed Moneka is working between international experiences in theatre, film, and music to send out a message of love and interconnection.

Ahmed began creating a new piece of theatre-music fusion with Jesse LaVercombe called Gilgamesh + Enkidu, which weaves together personal immigration stories with the oldest narrative in the world – The Epic of Gilgamesh from Mesopotamia. Jesse and Ahmed joined Chicago-based director Seth Bockley and developed the show with the support of Tarragon Theatre (Toronto), Pivot Arts Festival (Chicago), Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis), La Mama (New York City), and Soulpepper Theater (Toronto).

In Baghdad, Ahmed Moneka studied theatre at the Institute of Fine Arts and the Academy of Fine Art. During his formative years, he learned Afro-Sufi singing and drumming in the tradition of his family, who came to Iraq from Kenya in the 9th century. He was the first Black Iraqi to host a television program and co-wrote and starred in the film The Society, about two homosexual lovers, which premiered at TIFF and resulted in his exile from Iraq. Since his arrival in Toronto, Moneka has collaborated with many artistic institutions, co-founded the band Moskitto Bar, and created Moneka Arabic Jazz.