U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo is a Zimbabwean-American poet, storyteller, and interdisciplinary artist whose work moves between the United States and the African continent. Based in Boston and working frequently in Lagos, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, she explores the ties between food, memory, land, and cultural inheritance.

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In November 2025, she launched her first public art installation in Lagos—The Sinmi Bench, created with The Sinmi Bench Collective in partnership with Lufasi Nature Park and supported by The Goethe Institute Nigeria and The Sahara Center. The indigenous-designed bench features QR-linked soundscapes rooted in the belief that rest is your birthright.

Her poetry appears in Mother Egg Review, Ipikai Journal, Write On The Dot Journal, and in Pulitzer finalist Linda Villarosa’s Under the Skin. A multi-genre artist whose storytelling has been featured on GBH and World Channel, she also directed Reclamation: This Is My Country, This Is My Land.

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Across her work, U-Meleni treats food as a sacred archive—where recipes carry memory, migration, lineage, grief, and love. For more info: www.u-meleni.com