Teaching artist Erim Akpan is a writer, storyteller, and jester based in North Carolina. A prolific writer, Erim has amassed over 40 publications and currently serves as a staff writer for Chatham Life and Style Magazine. As a storyteller, Erim invites audiences to travel through time, living the stories of unsung African American trailblazers and traveling the world through the legends of cultures around the globe. Her stories have been seen live and virtually by over 45,000 students across the United States.

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In her spare time, Sammy enjoys taking long walks along the beach (except those weird grainy ones beside lakes), cooking recipes that have a nonzero chance of catching on fire, and gazing into the middle distance for dramatic effect. 

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As a jester, she enjoys creating safe spaces where others can share ideas, tap into their inner genius, and collaborate as they engage in the creative process. When not performing, she enjoys teaching workshops and classes that empower students to share their stories with the world.

 

Erim is an A+ Fellow for the NC Arts Council’s A+ Schools Program, a research-based, nationally recognized whole-school transformational model. The program empowers schools to develop a creative culture in which curriculum is taught through collaboration and multi-discipline integration, with the arts woven into every experience. A+ Schools of NC serves more than 25,000 K-12 students throughout the state each year.