Introduction

The AFiRIperFOMA Biennial is a pioneering platform for performance art in Nigeria and across Africa. Founded by artist Jelili Atiku, the biennial serves as a crucial venue for local and international performance artists to engage with audiences in Lagos and beyond, while addressing pressing social and political issues through their bodies and actions.

Operating at the intersection of visual art, theater, dance, and activism, AFiRIperFOMA creates space for experimental and ephemeral art forms that challenge conventional artistic boundaries. The biennial presents performances in various locations throughout Lagos, from established cultural institutions to public spaces, markets, and streets, fostering direct engagement between artists and communities.

Narrative & Themes

AFiRIperFOMA consistently engages with themes of social justice, identity politics, and environmental sustainability, reflecting the urgent concerns facing African societies and global communities. The biennial provides a platform for artists who use their bodies as mediums for expression and resistance, exploring personal and collective traumas, historical legacies, and contemporary struggles.

Previous editions have examined topics such as migration, climate change, colonial histories, gender politics, and urban development, often highlighting connections between local realities and global systems. Through performance art's immediacy and embodied presence, AFiRIperFOMA creates powerful encounters that challenge audiences to confront difficult truths and imagine alternative futures.

The biennial is committed to nurturing emerging performance artists from Nigeria and across Africa, providing mentorship, resources, and international exposure that helps to develop a robust and sustainable ecosystem for performance art on the continent.

History & Context

Established in 2013 by internationally acclaimed performance artist Jelili Atiku, AFiRIperFOMA emerged from the need to create a dedicated platform for performance art in Nigeria, where traditional visual arts have historically dominated the cultural landscape. The biennial builds on Nigeria's rich traditions of embodied cultural practices, from masquerade to street theater, while connecting to contemporary global performance art discourses.

Based in Lagos, Africa's largest city and a major cultural hub, AFiRIperFOMA has grown from a modest gathering of local artists to an internationally recognized event that attracts participants and visitors from around the world. The biennial's development reflects the increasing recognition of performance art as a vital medium for addressing contemporary issues in African contexts.

Performance Venues

AFiRIperFOMA utilizes a diverse range of venues throughout Lagos, including established cultural institutions like the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA Lagos) and the African Artists' Foundation, as well as non-traditional spaces that bring performance art directly to communities.

A significant portion of the biennial's program takes place in public spaces—markets, streets, parks, and transportation hubs—embracing the chaotic urban fabric of Lagos as both context and material for artistic intervention. This approach democratizes access to contemporary art and creates unexpected encounters between artists and audiences from various socioeconomic backgrounds.