M.A. Abdul Karim Hakib

Abdul Karim Hakib is a doctoral researcher at the LMU on the European Research Council’s funded project on Developing Theatre: Building Expert Networks for Theatre in Emerging Countries after 1945. His research focuses on Historicizing Theatre for Development (TfD). It will explore networks and institutional perspectives.
Abdul Karim Hakib was born and educated in Ghana, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Theatre for Development. He has, before joining LMU been, a lecturer at the Theatre Arts Department of University of Ghana; the executive director of Global Arts and Development Centre-Ghana, the deputy chair of Arterial Network Ghana Chapter and the General Secretary of the ITI Centre in Ghana.
He is a theatre for development practitioner, who specializes in the use of the creative arts and culture for development. He has been engaged in a number of works for and with organizations like Solidaridad West Africa, Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana, Plan Ghana, Theatre for a Change, Africa Adaptation Program on Climate Change, United Nation Organization and UNESCO and other International organizations. He is a fellow of the National Arts Strategies in the USA, a creative community fellows program that brings together a unique community of innovators committed to using arts and culture to design solutions for community problems.
Abdul Karim Hakib has directed a number of plays with varied focus and across genres and media. Notable among the works he directed are the Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, An adaptation of the iconic local Ghanaian movie “I Told You So” for the stage, the Wogbejeke series. He served as the casting director and a publicist for Dr. Agyeman Ossei’s adaptation of Ayi Kwei Armah’s novels,The beautiful ones are not yet born and Osiris Rising.
His research interest covers Theatre for Development, performance studies, theatre and culture, intangible cultural heritage and performance, theatre and other media, and organizational politics and development.