Nicholas Akas

Dr. Nicholas Chielotam Akas, Full Professor, is an internationally recognized scholar, performer, and cultural leader whose work advances the intersection of Indigenous performance, cultural identity, and community development. Beginning his career as a dancer grounded in African indigenous traditions, he has grown into a globally engaged academic whose research and practice position the arts as powerful tools for education, healing, and social transformation.

As a Full Professor of Performance Studies, Dr. Akas brings extensive experience in teaching, research, and academic leadership. He has held key roles, including Postgraduate Coordinator, where he supported academic programming, mentored students at all levels, and contributed to institutional development. His scholarship and creative outputs demonstrate how culturally grounded performance can shape identity, influence policy conversations, and strengthen community resilience.

In Canada, Dr. Akas integrates arts, mental health, and community wellbeing through innovative, interdisciplinary work. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre at the University of Regina, where he focuses on performance as a vehicle for community engagement and social impact. He is also undertaking a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Arts and Brain Study at Trinity College Dublin, exploring the connections between artistic expression, cognition, and human behaviour.

His international fellowships; including the Centre for Ballet and the Arts, New York University (USA), the Ife Institute of Advanced Studies (Nigeria), and the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship (United Kingdom)—reflect a sustained commitment to advancing global discourse on culture, performance, and wellbeing.

Dr. Akas’s work aligns strongly with SaskCulture’s mandate to foster cultural vitality and inclusion across Saskatchewan. He brings a strategic, interdisciplinary perspective that bridges cultural preservation with contemporary innovation, offering valuable insight into cultural policy, program development, and community-based initiatives. His leadership is grounded in a vision of culture as a catalyst for social cohesion, education, and sustainable community development.