In 2015, the brother of the Nigerian American artist Jaamil Olawale Kosoko was murdered. In response to this violent and senseless death, Jaamil started an investigation into the tangle of subcutaneous racism, violence, stereotyping and secret fascination with regard to Black people in the Western culture. The result of his investigation is a gripping tale of loss and escape from a hopeless situation.

Kosoko explores the conflicting feelings of (erotic) desire for and fear of the black body and confronts the spectator with its dormant prejudices. #negrophobia effortlessly evolves from a look in the mirror to lecture-performance and from slam poetry to ritual séance. 

Kosoko is not alone on the stage. Together with model and performance artist IMMA and accompanied by the sound score of Jeremy Toussaint Baptiste, he shows the audience how they are also partly responsible for keeping racism alive.

☞ BIO
Jaamil Olawale Kosoko is a Nigerian American performance artist, choreographer, poet and curator. His work is characterised by a strong socio-political approach. He has performed in works from, among others, visual artist Nick Cave, Pig Iron Theatre Company and Keely Garfield Dance. His poems and essays appeared in a large number of publications, including the American Poetry Review, Poems Against War and The Dunes Review. In 2016, Kosoko's own performance work was nominated for a Bessie Award and awarded a USArtists International Award.

AFTERTALK 29/9

After the performance on Friday we'll invite you to a conversation with Emma-Lee Amponsah and Jaamil Olawale Kosoko. Emma-Lee Amponsah is the co-founder of Black Speaks Back, an organisation that discusses questions & issues concerning Belgian and Dutch afro-diaspora. They’ll talk about the (creative process of the) performance #negrophopbia, inspirations, life and work. 

Feel free to ask questions!