“The contemporary art in this country is flowing, but it needs direction.”

A conversation between performance artist, Jelili Atiku and former Director of the National Theatre of Nigeria, Ahmed Yerima Jelili Atiku: Does this country actually need the National Theatre? Ahmed Yerima: I think it does. We are culturally rich in terms of content, performance and I think we need that space we can call National Theatre, […]

The Death Metaphor

By Jahman Anikulapo A sudden burst of confusion overwhelmed the belly of the vast hall, yielding a cacophony of cries and shrieks of agony, furiously stampeding feet and then… blackout! In no time, the ambience of the hall which moments ago had been a spot for fun had become a site of anguish. In the aftermath […]

Visions for the National Tear-ter of Nigeria

Four Conversations and Seven Performative Pamphlets Seven Performative Pamphlets: Ayodele Arigbabu, Hunter & Gatherer collective When exploring a complex object like the National Theatre of Nigeria (NT), one may do so through a variety of registers, approaches or methodologies, such as those developed through Constanze Fischbeck’s and Daniel Kötter’s filmic exploration, or Andreas Müller’s political reading of architecturalsocial […]

Urban Sahara from the Sky

How Capitalism Fixes the Dunes. by Marion Broquère, Armelle Choplin, Simon Nancy Images by en Haut! NOUAKCHOTT IS THE CAPITAL CITY OF MAURITANIA, created ex nihilo in 1960 in the middle of sand dunes. No physical obstacle to urban sprawl – Nouakchott is home to more than two million inhabitants – nor to speculation. Until recently one of those “ordinary cities” considered […]