Bikiya Graham-Douglas is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

-born British trained actress and performing artist. She is the daughter of Nigerian politicians

Alabo Graham-Douglas Chief Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas (8 May 1939 – 25 April 2022) was a Nigerian politician who was appointed Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture in 1989, then Minister of Aviation in General Ibrahim Babangida's cabinet. In 1999, he was appointe ...

and Bolere Elizabeth Ketebu. Graham-Douglas has attended and taken courses at the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. LAMDA's Principal is ...

Oxford School of Drama The Oxford School of Drama is a drama school in the United Kingdom. It is based at Wootton, ten miles north of Oxford. The school is an independent, vocational drama school which runs a three-year acting course and a one-year acting course, bot ...

, Bridge Theatre Training Company and

Point Blank Music School Point Blank is a global network of music production schools founded in London in 1994 by musician and producer Robert Cowan, offering a variety of courses in electronic music production, sound engineering, DJing, singing, songwriting, radio broa ...

. She has B.A. degrees in business economics and business law from the

University of Portsmouth The University of Portsmouth is a public university in Portsmouth, England. It is one of only four universities in the South East England, South East of England rated as Gold in the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework. With approximately 28 ...

. Graham-Douglas is the founder of the Beeta Universal Arts Foundation (BUAF).

Career

Graham-Douglas is known for her roles in movies, plays, and TV shows such as '' Flower Girl'', '' Shuga'', ''Closer'', ''Saro'', ''For Coloured Girls'', ''

Suru L'ere ''Suru L'ere'' is a 2016 Nigerian comedy drama film, co-produced and directed by Mildred Okwo. It stars Seun Ajayi, Beverly Naya, Kemi Lala Akindoju, Tope Tedela and Enyinna Nwigwe, with a special appearance from Rita Dominic. Set in Lagos, the ...

'', '' Lunch Time Heroes'', '' Jenifa's Diary'', ''Legacy'' and ''The Battleground''. Her professional career started when cast in the Femi Oguns' play ''Torn at the Arcola Theatre London''. Graham-Douglas worked with the Africa Unite Music Group which sponsored the first best African Act category at the MOBO Awards. On returning to Nigeria, she worked with MTV Base Africa on the first MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA) and the National Theatre, Iganmu,

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, Nigeria. As the founder of the Beeta Universal Arts Foundation (BUAF), Graham-Douglas supports an arts organization focused on promoting the arts through production and education. It has produced over twenty plays and has created opportunities for many artisans. BUAF has been the official theatre partner for the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

"Port-Harcourt world book capital 2014–2015" and in the past was affiliated with Fela on broad way show when it toured to Nigeria. BUAF also launched the first indigenous playwright competition. Bikiya is Executive Director of the Lagos Theatre Festival and is an advocate for the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) programme with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and British Council to raise awareness on

Sexual Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female. Sex or SEX may also refer to: Biology and behaviour *Animal sexual behaviour **Copulation (zoology) **Human sexual activity **Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse ** ...

Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria. In 2019 for the 26th FESPACO, she attended as a member of the Feature film jury at

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...

, Burkina Faso. She partnered with MTN on her project titled 'Beeta Playwright Competition' (BPC).

Recognition

* * Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards ( AMVCA 2014) – Best Supporting Actress in Drama category for her role in the movie '' Flower Girl''. *

Nollywood Movies Awards The Nolly Awards, formerly the Nollywood Movies Awards, is an annual Nigerian film award presented by the Nollywood Movies TV to honour outstanding achievement in the Nigerian film industry. The inaugural edition was held at the Civic Center, La ...

(NMA 2014) *

Nigeria Entertainment Awards The Nigerian Entertainment Awards were established in New York City in January 2006. The awards recognize the contributions of African entertainers with a special focus on Nigerians. Ceremonies * 2006 Nigeria Entertainment Awards * 2007 Nigeria ...

(NEA 2014) *National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) Excellence Service Award

Career

Recognition

References

Further reading