Shaniqua’s Corner
Photo copyright of Philip Waterman
Shaniqua is a spoken word poet, writer, creative workshop facilitator and Croydon’s first Poet Laureate. She draws inspiration from her life experiences to create meaningful pieces of writing. Shaniqua wrote the lyrics for the London Mozart Players' Anthem for Peace, wrote and performed a specially commissioned poem for the reopening of South London’s biggest arts centre, Fairfield Halls and she also wrote poems for both of Croydon's bids for London Borough of Culture.
She has performed at the Thornton Heath Lights Festival, Field Day Festival and as part of Apples & Snakes' immersive spoken word show, Rallying Cry. Shaniqua is also part of the organising team behind the Living in Poetry Festival.
VOICES OF CROYDON
Shaniqua Benjamin facilitates her first residency as Poet Laureate by looking at the diversity within the Museum of Croydon’s permanent collections and by working directly with young people from Croydon Music and Arts (CMA). This culminates in an online exhibition exploring Croydon’s identity from their perspective.
BLOGS & POETRY
Find out more about Shaniqua and discover her love for spoken word here.
With a growing selection of poems exploring aspects of the collection, find out more about Croydon’s first Poet Laureate.
Photo copyright of Philip Waterman
POETRY WORKSHOPS
Take part in Shaniqua’s virtual poetry workshops by responding to different parts of the Museum of Croydon’s Collections in 3 guided sessions.
The aim of the project is to re-interpret aspects of our collection to ensure they are representative and relevant to young BAME audiences in Croydon and crucially to identify gaps in our collection to ensure our future collecting policy is representative of the diverse voices in Croydon.