Profile
Previously the Head of Acting at Stockholm University of the Arts, Sweden, Josette Bushell-Mingo is an award-winning actor and director whose career has included performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and the Manchester Royal Exchange. She was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Rafiki in the West End production of The Lion King and she starred in the internationally acclaimed production Nina: A Story about Me and Nina Simone.
As a director, Josette Bushell-Mingo was Founder and Artistic Director of PUSH, a Black-led theatre festival with the Young Vic Theatre. Through her work with PUSH, she was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the arts, a Judy Craymer Award for Innovation, and the Southbank Cultural Diversity Award.
For 13 years, she was also the Artistic Director for The National Touring Swedish Deaf Theatre ensemble Tyst Teater, where her work focused on fostering the understanding, respect and potential of sign language arts and the artistic, linguistic and cultural rights of the deaf.
Born in London and based in Sweden since 2005, she is an active spokesperson for inclusive arts and politics. She co-founded PUSH’s sister organisation in Sweden, TRYCK, which works to inspire and challenge the artistic and cultural representation of Afro-Swedes and African descent artists on national stages in Sweden.
She has served on the board of the Swedish Film Institute, as the chairwoman for CinemAfrica, a Swedish Non-Profit organisation devoted to celebrating African and Diaspora film culture, and is Patron of the Unity Theatre, Liverpool.
As a director and teacher, Josette travels internationally giving lectures and workshops in the creation of sign language theatre, cultural diversity challenges and inclusion, and has taught in Stockholm, Malmö and Luleå theatre schools, LAMDA, the London College of Fashion, and New York University’s TISCH School of the Arts amongst others.