Dance on your head

Okwui Okpokwasili talks to Katharina Hausladen and Julia Pennauer

The intermedia performances of the Bessie Award winning artist Okwui Okpokwasili delve into the vastness of the African diaspora once described by Paul Gilroy as the “black Atlantic”. Oral history meets necromancy in the realm between ecstasy, sadness and longing. A discussion about autonomously raising one’s voice in collective practices such as the Aba Women’s Riots and #BringBackOurGirls.

Poor People's TV Room SOLO, Okwui Okpokwasili’s performance will take place in the Gösserhallen on 1 June as part of Deep Friday #1. Admission is free.

Okwui Okpokwasili is a performer, choreographer and author. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Together with her artistic partner, Peter Born, she develops multidisciplinary performances that focus on personal and collective memory, body politics and space.

Katharina Hausladen is an art and cultural scientist. She lectures at various universities, currently at the Institute for Theatre, Film and Media Studies at the University of Vienna. She also works as a freelance critic and writes for testcard and Texte zur Kunst, among others.

Julia Pennauer is a dramaturg, author and cultural scientist with a queer and feminist focus. She is currently doing her doctorate on camp aesthetics at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.