A curated sacred space for collective study that sparks new conversations about the richness and breadth of African literatures, literary arts and heritage. By tapping into the ancient technology of knowledge sharing and storytelling, we will gather in a circle to engage with a selection of provided texts from Kokoba’s library in order to activate their archived knowledge. As we travel through the landscapes they reveal pages after pages, immersed into the writers’ imagination, we will experiment with words, investigate themes and ideas and stretch our minds.

Recommended age: 18 years and above

Both personal archives and personal histories help us better understand the complex forces that shape our world. In this workshop, we'll look at and talk about photos, letters, documents, and other artefacts from our own families' albums to communicate personal narratives that fit into a broader, more global context. Participants will be brought to a greater understanding of their own intentions, thoughts, and choices, as well as how to combine them while creating a personal body of work. Participants will be urged to think about how their personal archives fit into and speak to the larger framework of collective histories.

Participants are invited to bring their family photo albums and other personal archival or historical artefacts that may include letter, documents and objects to work with in the workshop.

Recommended age: 18 years and above

What words do we use to describe the world? What ideas, structures, and beliefs inhabit these words? How could we, collectively, re-write our societies? The Writing Gatherings (2017 - ongoing) are sensitive spaces to enact writing as a social and communal practice. We aim to re-think and re-write the narratives that we have inherited, to create new landscapes for our thoughts, feelings, and relationships. We use an empathic approach, working in groups and from questions, letting our practice be contaminated by collecting, observing, and listening together.

Everyone is welcome to join, no previous knowledge is required and participants can write in the language they feel most comfortable in.

While stationary and materials for writing is provided, we also invite participants to bring specific writing instruments of their choice, specifically if there is one of significance and resonance. 

Recommended age: 16 years and above

How do we activate forces of remembering as tools for global solidarity? How do we connect distant points on the map through sharing our experiences? What remains from a taste, a home, a passion, a dance, a togetherness?  

This is a cross-generational, cross-disciplinary conversation between people who care: about the personal, history, the ordinary, global solidarity and our bodies together. Together we will explore non-violent methods while finding joyfulness in simple everyday actions. 

As artists and creative-critical thinkers we are interested in practices of listening and sharing, hospitality, conversation, and storytelling - nonsensical as it may be - through words and forms, and our bodies. 

Participants need to have an interest in cultural, political, social, queer or feminist activism, conversation, social justice, sharing and questioning. 

Recommended age: 18 years and above

This workshop is an on-going engagement with Nirlyn’s curatorial research on 11 Latin American female artists. One of the findings of the research resulted in the creation of “The Latinas Grandmas Oracle” which will be presented as a possible strategy to connect with, reactivate and mobilise knowledge from art history.

During the workshop, participants will learn about each artist, each card of the oracle, and the meaning and interpretation of each card as proposed by the curatorial research outcomes. Through the experience with the Oracle, participants are invited to reflect how the knowledge gained is translatable and applicable to their contexts.   

Recommended age: 18 years and above