Shaniqua is a Writer, Poet, Facilitator, Mentor, EMCC Accredited Empowerment Coach, and community engagement consultant with over ten years of experience in engaging with communities through the power of words. She was Croydon’s first Poet Laureate from 2020-24.
Shaniqua has written poems for the London Mozart Players' 'Oratorio of Hope', which opened Croydon's year as London Borough of Culture in 2023, the 2022 One Young World Summit and Leigh-Anne Pinnock’s first solo headline show. Her work has been featured in the National Portrait Gallery, 'Ink, Sweat & Tears', 'Magma', and Ameena Rojee's photobook 'Crocus Valley'.
She has performed at the Trinity College Cambridge Black History Month Formal Dinner, and as part of Apples & Snakes' immersive spoken word show, 'Rallying Cry'. Shaniqua has facilitated workshops for numerous schools and organisations, including Spread The Word, Central St Martins, and Crisis. In 2025, she graduated from the Harper Collins Author Academy.
This film was created by Bear Jam as part of my final Croydon Poet Laureate project, Out of Silence, in 2024.
I asked all project participants: "Who or what is trying to silence you? And what would you say to them?"
Weaving their responses and words in with my own, I created this poem.
Unlocking possibilities through the power of words
