Angelina “Zingerwingz” Akawa – Artist by Accident

Angelina Akawa’s artistic journey is anything but conventional. What began with a love for fast food and a spontaneous nickname has since developed into a career spanning poetry, music, theatre, and education. Born in Windhoek, Akawa’s path has been shaped by unexpected turns, from studying Library Science to having her voice discovered in the corridors of the College of the Arts. In the second episode of our new series “Feature Friday“, we follow Angie's rather accidental path to becoming an artist which now leads her to taking her talent across Africa as part of the MobiArts initiative by the Goethe-Institut.

You are what you eat. Few people embody this saying as well as Angelina Akawa. “I would spend my last money on Zinger Wings,” she says with a laugh. And just like that, her first artist name was born: Zingerwingz. Just as accidentally as she got her name, Angie discovered her many artistic talents over the years.

Born and raised in Windhoek, it didn’t initially seem like art was a viable career path for her. Though she gained early experience with poetry and spoken word, she eventually found herself unable to relate to the heavy and dark themes often explored in those genres.

So Angie turned to a different field: she enrolled in Library and Information Science at the University of Namibia (UNAM). She chose the program mainly because of the promising job prospects in what was then a relatively new discipline. But she never developed an enthusiasm for it. “I hated it,” Angie admits. By her third year, she’d had enough.
 

Luckily, coincidence intervened. At the time, she was required to be enrolled in a program to fulfill funding obligations.
 So she went to the College of the Arts (COTA) and signed up for African Performing Arts, later majoring in Drama. She hadn’t really planned to study, but somehow she felt drawn to the atmosphere at COTA — and stayed.

And music? That came into her life through another coincidence. Angelina spent more and more time on campus, often singing as she walked through the corridors. One day, the choir conductor overheard her and invited her to a rehearsal — and immediately gave her a solo for the next performance. That solo was heard by vocal coach Hermien Coetzee, who took Angelina under her wing. “Now I’m a musician. The rest is history,” Angelina laughs. For our "Feature Friday" series, she performed an exclusive acoustic version of her song ‘Uthemba’.
 

Zingerwingz becomes Angelina Akawa

Initially, she chose the guitar as her instrument. But since it was too big for her fingers, she ended up with the ukulele, which has become her trademark. “I never saw myself becoming a performing artist,” Angie says. “I just loved the band „Daughter“ and wanted to sing their songs.”

Things have changed since then. Originally known as Zingerwingz, Angelina has now made a name for herself not only in Namibian theatre but also in the local music scene. She is gradually moving away from her stage name, choosing more and more to perform under her real name, Angelina Akawa.

She doesn’t fit into any one genre. “My music is a salad,” she states jokingly. As a tribute to her cultural heritage, she sings her own songs in Oshikwambi, often seeking advice from her mother and grandmother to deepen her understanding of her cultural heritage.
Interestingly, for Angelina, language comprehension isn’t essential in art. She recalls attending a theatre production in Setswana during her studies and being completely captivated, even though she didn’t understand a word.

Her journey into teaching was also unplanned. After her final year , she was asked if she’d like to teach theatre classes for children. She said yes.
What’s next? Maybe painting? “I have a few paintings in my room. I’m not necessarily good, but I’m not bad either,” says Angelina. As for dance, she admits she’s “a bit too lazy.” But animation intrigues her as a possible future project.

MobiArts - Angie goes international

For now, her focus is on MobiArts, an initiative by the Goethe-Institut that brings together artists from across Africa and around the world. The program aims to break down cultural barriers by promoting diversity and inclusion in the arts. Nominated by the Goethe-Institut Namibia and confirmed by the MobiArts jury, Angelina will tour Namibia, Angola, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Togo in October and November 2025 with her program “Mbwitism”. Her entire artistic journey so far will be brought to the stage — combining reflection music, movement, spoken word  into a theatre that opens dialogue on authenticity and cultural experience.

And after that? Let’s hope coincidence continues to reveal even more artistic talents from the accidental artist formerly known as Zingerwingz.