Dr Lwandile Nkosi

Dr Lwandile Nkosi

Lwandile is an interdisciplinary scholar, medical doctor, and social justice advocate whose work sits at the intersection of health, art, and social justice. She earned her medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and went on to obtain a Diploma in Mental Health from the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa. Her experience in community psychiatry within the Nelson Mandela Bay District exposed her to the systemic gaps within South Africa’s mental healthcare landscape and ignited her passion for challenging the injustices within the mental healthcare system.

Awarded a prestigious Chevening Scholarship, Lwandile pursued an MSc in Creative Arts and Mental Health at Queen Mary University of London, graduating with distinction. Her dissertation, grounded in anti-carceral feminism, critical psychiatry, and Mad studies, investigated the complex interplay between the criminal justice and psychiatric systems. It explored how socially engaged art practices with criminalised women can serve as both a rehearsal for abolitionist futures and a tool for social justice.

Currently, Lwandile contributes to mental health education as a clinical psychiatry lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand. She is also the co-founder of Lulama Wellness, a social enterprise dedicated to cultivating mental wellness through movement, creative expression, social connection, and holistic nourishment. An artist at heart, she finds expression through music, poetry and drama which is integral to her sense of self and informs the way she teaches, creates and cares for others. 

Guided by a servant-leadership philosophy, she approaches her work with critical insight, compassion, and a collaborative spirit, believing firmly in the transformative power of the arts to heal, connect, and empower communities.