Michael Afolayan

Michael Afolayan is a visual artist, musician, rapper, theater and circus performer. He also works as an instructor at the model circus school Circus Dayz, where he teaches basic circus techniques, and is the founder of ANASA African Cultural Center, where he teaches West African polyrhythms and promotes arts as a way of communication and empowerment. Michael is an active activist on human rights, especially regarding second generation migrants, while he was also a member of the movement “No racism from baby’s cradle,” a campaign formulated by the United African Women Organization demanding citizenship for the youths born in Greece with foreign background.

The Cultural Center of African Art and Cultures ANASA is a non-profit and non-governmental organization working for the elimination of racism, exclusion, and discrimination, the promotion of multiculturalism and intercultural dialogue among peoples, and the empowerment and inclusion, through art and culture, of young people of African origin who were either born in Greece or came as migrants or refugees. ANASA Cultural Center has been active for over 10 years in eliminating racism and discrimination through the arts and culture, starting from the African continent and its dispersion. It is currently implementing the Social Circus Athens program in collaboration with the Municipality of Athens.