Mohammed Ayo Busari

“I write to tell my stories, to share my experiences and truth, tell the world about my identity, my culture and my people – the ones with me now and the ones before me.”

Heartlines explores what it means to write – from the heart and soul – and where that writing takes us. Every writer’s journey is different, so we invite you to take a moment to read, pause and reflect on what it means to shape stories for the page.

Mohammed Ayo Busari is a Nigerian-born award-winning Creative Director, Visual Artist, Writer, Community Curator & Performer who is the founder and lead creative of TAB Family.

Ayo has exhibited his short stories at the TAB Family’s ‘This is Family’ Project From April-May 2022 and the most recent This is Family Exhibition in July 2023 at Moores Building Contemporary Art Gallery. He has also performed as a spoken word artist at multiple venues including State Theatre Centre of WA, The Bird, Story Lounge – Centre For Stories, Pigeonhole, Cool Change Contemporary, Paper Mountain, The Blue Room Theatre, Fremantle Town Hall, Moon Cafe and more.

His writings and visuals have been published in the second print edition of Pulch Mag, as well as various online magazines, blogs and websites, including Grok Magazine (AUS), Pulch Mag (AUS), Trident Media (UK), Lucid Lemons (NG), Awe Lagos (NG), Native Mag (UK & NG) and many others.

Centre for Stories: What are you currently reading?

Mohammed Ayo Busari: I am currently reading Prayer for the Living, which is a collection of short stories by British-Nigerian Poet and Novelist – Ben Okri. It was recommended to me by my mentor.

CFS: What inspired you to pursue writing?

MAB: I have lots of emotions and feelings in me (the older I get, the more it grows). I have always had them in me, but I only started to notice them in high school. I started writing as a way to express myself and my feelings. Taking literature classes in high school also helped me gain more interest in writing; having to memorise various poems and even having to recite them in class was a good learning experience for me, even if I didn’t recognise it then. I write to tell my stories, to share my experiences and truth, tell the world about my identity, my culture and my people – the ones with me now and the ones before me.

CFS: Is there a particular book that changed your life?

MAB: I would say Purple Hibiscus and The Thing Around Your Neck, two books by the same author – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

CFS: What inspired you to join the program?

MAB: To develop my writing skills further and become a better storyteller, to meet and network with fellow writers and to hopefully get published in an anthology.

CFS: How has having your mentor shaped your writing so far?

MAB: Having a mentor has helped me become better at structuring my writing and stories. My mentor has also given me the push, guidance and motivation to expand my ideas into fully written stories and try out new writing forms.

CFS: Briefly describe a piece you were working on during your mentorship that you are excited about.

MAB: I was working on a collection of poems based on the themes of love and identity, as well as my first ever fully written short story about a young couple and their love journey.

Mohammed Ayo Busari is a Nigerian-born, award-winning Creative Director, Visual Artist, Writer, Community Curator, & Performer who is the founder and lead creative of the TAB Family.

Writing Change, Writing Inclusion is Centre for Stories’ signature writing program for 2021 to 2024. Generously funded by The Ian Potter Foundation, Australia Council for the Arts, My Place, and Centre for Stories Founders Circle, this writing program features mentoring, hot desk, and publication opportunities for emerging writers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and/or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds.

These stories have been licensed to the Centre for Stories by the Storyteller. For reproduction and distribution of these stories, please contact the Centre for Stories.

This interview was published on 4 June 2024.