A Wa Nibi, We Are Here
towards a decolonial queer vocabulary
A WA NIBI was a transnational and transdisciplinary research and art project over the course of two years, and an institutional collaboration between Obodo and Kampnagel, funded by Kulturstiftung des Bundes. It was concerned with questions of queerness in Nigeria and the Nigerian diaspora and its criminalization during the colonial era. It specifically focussed on how a queer vocabulary is being re-appropriated by a young generation of West-African queers today.
Queer identities within the LGBTQ+ community in Nigeria are legally and socially tabooed and subject to discrimination, violence, and persecution. Since 1901, “homosexual acts” have been prohibited, during a time when Nigeria still consisted of British protectorates. The diverse sexual orders were brutally replaced by a heteronormative dictate in the context of colonization, and the memory of them was collectively erased. More than 70 years after independence, the consequences of colonization manifest in homophobic attacks, in a state that does not protect its queer citizens but instead stigmatizes them as allegedly “un-African.”
Together with the human rights activists Matthew Blaise, Ifeatu Nnaobi, Wasio Oyegoke and Nadine Jessen, Laro Bogan initiated and realized A Wa Nibi. One core issue was to address the lack of knowledge about queer traditions before the colonial period. Images, discourses, and language have violently been shaped by Western influences and until today contribute to the invisibilization of queer African history and present. Yet young queer Africans declare with pride and emphasis: “We were here and we are here – A ti wa nibi, a wa nibi.”
The project created spaces for gathering queer life and art that blurred gender boundaries and challenged colonial ways of thinking. One form of queer oppression is the exclusionary language that either denies or dehumanizes queer black existence, or questions its authenticity. “A Wa Nibi” examined and showed how the Nigerian queer community redefines its language into a tool of resistance through the use of neologisms, redefinitions, and metaphors.
The heart of the project was the research and creation of a decolonial queer glossary into which new and little-known terms were incorporated. The word-creations were being compiled by members of the queer community in Nigeria and diasporic artists for the digital glossary.
Accompanying this, the project presented the exhibition and festival “Reimagining History” with documentary and experimental photography, performances, workshops, panels and space for community.
A Wa Nibi I, Lagos · April 28-30 2023
April 28 – research: focus group
The focused group discussion created a space where queers could talk about how they navigate a homophobic world using queer-coded words, the origins, meaning, and contexts of these words, and words within Nigerin languages that point to their historical existence. Later, the gathered knowledge was translated into a glossary.
April 29 - exhibition and talk
The exhibition highlighted the lived realities of contemporary queer Africans through photography and experimental visual art from Sabelo Mlangeni, Rachel Saidu, Yagazie Emezi, Daniel Obasi, Va Bene, and more.
The panel discussion on ‘Queer(y)ing the Archive’ featured Rachel Saidu, Nelson C.J., and Ayodele Olofintuade, who talked about navigating the dangers of creating an archive of a marginalised and criminalised group.
April 30 - Zine workshop
The third day featured a zine workshop which resulted in a collection of individual zines that reflect the participants experiences, wishes and realities around queerness and language.
A Wa Nibi II, Hamburg · June 1-3 2023
with Matthew Blaise, Ifeatu Nnaobi, Wasiu Oyegoke, Nengi Nelson, Yagazie Emezi, Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi aka crazinisT artisT, Rachel Seidu, Chikamara Ajah, Tyna Adebowale, Adeola Olagunju, Jumoke Adeyanju, Monilola Ilupeju, Emmanuel Ndefo, Benson A’kuyie, Don Jegosah, Temmie Ovwasa aka YBNL Princess, அவ்ரீனா பிரபலா-ஜாஸ்லின் / avrina prabala-joslin, Dandelion Eghosa, Martha L. Sambe, Adebayo Quadry-Adekanbi
Thursday, 01.06.2023
18:30–22:00, k4 – Reimagining History
Photo exhibition featuring work by, among others, Yagazie Emezi, Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi (crazinisT artisT), Rachel Seidu, Chikamara Ajah, and Tyna Adebowale.
19:00–20:30, k4 – The Restorative Power of Documentation
Panel discussion with Adeola Olagunju, Jumoke Adeyanju, Matthew Blaise, and Monilola Ilupeju, moderated by Jumoke Adeyanju. It centered on how documentation and photography can make queer histories visible and have a healing effect. The conversation linked artistic practice with activist reflection on memory and visibility.
20:30–21:20, p1 – Emmanuel Ndefo: Traces of Ecstasy
A performance by Emmanuel Ndefo exploring physical closeness, tenderness, and vulnerability between two men through choreography. The work engages with intimacy and desire as both political and poetic forms of expression.
Friday, 02.06.2023
16:00–22:00, k4 – Reimagining History
Exhibition with guided tour
19:00–19:30, p1 – Emmanuel Ndefo: Adamma
The work continued Ndefo’s artistic exploration of identity and transformation, building on Traces of Ecstasy, shown the previous evening.
21:00, kmh – Don Jegosah: Concert
Live concert by musician Don Jegosah.
22:00–02:00, kmh – A Wa Nibi Club Night
The Club Night celebrated queer African music culture, with yung_womb and Juba.
Saturday, 03.06.2023
13:00–16:00, kx – Martha Sambe: Indigenous Wellness
Interactive workshop with Martha L. Sambe on indigenous, traditional practices for healing and wellbeing.
16:30–22:00, k4 – Reimagining History
Exhibition with guided tour
18:30–19:30, k4 – »poets on a river of fire«
A reading and informal conversation with poets அவ்ரீனா பிரபலா-ஜாஸ்லின் / avrina prabala-joslin and Dandelion Eghosa. The two presented their own texts and afterward engaged in an open exchange with the audience. The format combined literary reflection with personal narrative.
19:30–20:30, p1 – Benson A’kuyie: Sanctuaryie
A performance by Benson A’kuyie, in which Benson invited the audience to perceive themselves and each other anew and differently, and to dissolve the space and time of our existences and identities.
21:00, kmh – Temmie Ovwasa aka YBNL Princess: Concert
Concert by Nigerian singer-songwriter Temmie Ovwasa.
22:30–approx. 04:00, kmh – Queer Afro Night: Party for all Identities
Closing club night
Press
https://thenativemag.com/hopeful-queer-future-nigeria/
https://minorityafrica.org/a-wa-nibi-archiving-queer-experience-past-present-future/
Further information
https://kampnagel.de/reihen/life-art-festival-ein-f-fuer-ein-v/a-wa-nibi-we-are-here