Ifeatu Nnaobi

Enesi M. released the video for Serpent’s Tongue / Witch’s Heart shot in Salvador. I worked on the videography for this. A few stills are below.

Pictures of Alexandra Obochi displayed at the Reimagining Futures Exhibition, Lagos, April 2023.

The paintings, videos, and photography work presented in REIMAGINING HISTORY celebrate what it means to be queer in Nigeria and Africa today. It alludes to the layers of identity that Queer Africans and Queer Africans living in the diaspora wear daily. In Nigeria, where it is punishable by up to 14 years in prison for openly identifying as LGBTQ+, the works of Adebowale, Ajah, Emezi, nwao, Obochi, and Seidu show us resistance in Nigeria and the diaspora. They combine throwbacks to traditions that embrace gender and sexual diversity with the expressions of young people living in a globalized world. Va-Bene’s “Rituals of Becoming” installation addresses the political injustice, violence and objectification that queer and trans people face worldwide, especially in Ghana. Where religious fundamentalists and those deceived by colonialization might say that queerness is UnAfrican, these documentations refute that.
Credits: Artistic Direction: Ifeatu Nnaobi, Production: Zinzi Samuels, and Dramaturgy: Laro Bogan. Supported by: The TURN2 fund of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, The Federal Representative for Culture and the Media, Kampnagel and Obodo

The Schmidt and Black Pearl performing at Queer Bcademy, Kampnagel, 2023

The crowd at the music jam at performing at Queer Bcademy, Kampnagel, 2023

The theme for this year’s edition at Queer Bcademy was “Emotional Space Age”. It focused on finding transformative powers in accessing emotions. I loved being there to document all the events.

A picture of Aseman G. Bahadori, Ifeatu Nnaobi and Ambika Thompson in front of an image of the book, "Could This Be Love?"

Interkontinental Verlag put a political twist on Valentine’s Day by organizing this reading and discussion based on our chapters in “Could This Be Love?” with Aseman G. Bahadori, moderated by Ambika Thompson, at Pablo Neruda Library, Berlin.

“Black Atlantik: Decolonial Dialogues with artists and activists from Austria, Brazil and Nigeria” was a chance to share space, talk about and listen to how African, Black and decolonial history is being used and shaped today.

Enesi M and I spent several weeks travelling in Brazil and creating images and videos that invoke elements of nature, spirituality, ancestral worship, and power. We worked collaboratively to create these images in Goiania, Bahia, Belem, and Espirito Santo.

It was a cozy get together on a very cold winter night, reading and talking about my essay “U is for Ugly Behaviour”, published in “Could This Be Love” by Interkontinental Verlag.

In July 2022, Queer Bcademy was granted some funds by Fonds Daku as part of the Artist Labs project to explore how queer artists have been affected by the Pandemic. The labs resulted in a zine “Queers Against Nature” launched in Hamburg in August 2022. Pictures by Me ❤

My essay “U is for Ugly Behaviour” was published in this collection of essays about interracial relationships. The book launch was accompanied by various panels during the African Book Festival 2022. You can get a copy of the book at InterKontinental Book store, Berlin.

I shared space with some lovely people at Disney Europe, during Pride Week to talk about some of the challenges of being queer. We talked about the difficult legal situation in some African countries but also touched on countries that had made amazing legal progress. We talked about the poor social situation in many European countries, especially where it has to do with health care. We also touched on how colonialism and racism intersects to further marginalize queer people of colour living in Europe. It was important to note that “queerness” has always existed in non-Western cultures.

I presented my research project “Ancestral Wisdom: Family Tree” during the Naija Festival in Berlin. The project digs into my personal history, which is a family tree that covers 300 years. Through the tree and the lives of the people in it, the project uncovers larger socio-political histories including transatlantic slave trade, colonization, christianity, and changing gender norms in South-East Nigeria.

This article written by Milena Österreicher talks about finding joy through queer resistance. The feature includes excerpts from interviews with myself, Enesi M. and paidamwoyo dziruni, where we talk about doing decolonial and antiracism work through our craft. It is exactly the message we wanted to send with our music video ‘Sprout‘. It’s in a leftist international Austrian Magazine.

I was invited to share my video art – ‘S’ if for sparkly eyes” and “We want to go again” as a part of the curatorial program Transfigured Boundaries at the Cineteca Nacional de Mexico (National Cinema of Mexico). The national cineteca’s mission is to rescue, preserve, conserve, increase and catalogue the film and non-film collections, which make up the cinematographic memory. Transfigured Boundaries is a space that proposes to the spectator what film can be or become; where questions are posed regarding conception/creation/consumption of cinema. I was really pleased to share my work in la Ciudad de México.

Our first song + music video ❤
Shot in Vienna, Austria in summer 2021 and premiered at the Queer Museum at Volkskundemuseum during Black History Month in February 2022. It was also featured on the programme “Heimat Fremde Heimat” on the Austrian national TV station ORF.

Written by: Ifeatu Nnaobi & Enesi M.
Composed and produced by: Enesi M.
Shot and edited by Ifeatu Nnaobi; with additional camera by Mangoranges
Dancers: Mzamo Nondlwana, Mirabellapaidamwoyo, Mangoranges
Performers: Mzamo Nondlwana, Mirabellapaidamwoyo, Mangoranges, Enesi M., and Ifeatu Nnaobi

This year’s edition of ❤Queer B-Cademy❤ took place from March 18th to 20th at Kampnagel, in Hamburg. It featured artists including Sanni Est, BIPOC Film Society, Room Shakers, Noah Slee, DJ Wax, Alada and Naomi Bah. The theme, “World of Wisdom”, went into the depths of various sources that produce queer knowledge independently of German and European educational ideas. After all, the B in B-Cademy stands for “Being” – i.e. lively, artistic perspectives that do not require academic language and question outdated cultural myths. I was there to handle all things communication, including making some images for documentation.

Our shoot for the album cover of ❤“Break a cracker” by Enesi M<3. Available on all platforms.

I joined ❤Tales of Us❤ is a multi-media production company which creates platforms and experiences for storytellers to address critical global issues.

We took advantage of abundant sunshine in Lagos, Nigeria, to spontaneously shoot the video for ❤FYFR❤ .

I was commissioned to create a piece for the Digital Democracies Festival hosted by Brighton Digital Festival and Frequency Festival, UK. My piece <3″Ancestral Wisdoms – Ask an ancestor“<3 invokes deeper questions of heritage and connection for Black and people of colour living in the diaspora. Participants can engage in the project by asking any of their questions to a customised Artificial Intelligence platform.

It was great to facilitate the “Fueling Digital Activism Training” by the ❤African Queer Youth Initiative❤ (AQYI). AQYI is a network of youth activists and organisations mobilizing, supporting and amplifying the voice of LGBTIQ+ activists, building visibility and strategic networks in support in Africa.

The ❤Radical Film Network❤ Berlin chapter, graciously invited me to speak at the 2021 programme during their long night of short lectures. I talked about filmmaking for empowerment in Marginalized communities.

I worked on the camera team with ❤Tak theatre Aufbau❤ a transnational network focused on themes originating from Arabic-speaking countries, Eastern Europe, North Africa and Roma peoples.

It was an extremely hot couple of days covering the ❤African Book Festival❤ in Berlin. The yearly festival, organized by Interkontinenal e.V. attracts the brightest and best authors from the African continent.

Emilio Cordero, from ❤Naturata Brutalismus❤ invited me to collaborate on some images for the band.

"When you have true representation it just shows how rich the world is, how diverse it is," says filmmaker and Explorer Ifeatu Nnaobi #PrideMonth pic.twitter.com/qcTMEYNZ9F
— National Geographic (@NatGeo) June 28, 2021

❤National Geographic❤ has supported my work with grants, equipment and networking opportunities. I was very proud to be featured in this video during Pride Month.

❤ Chillawe and Enesi M. ❤ invited me to their video shoot for “ich will dich“. I made some BTS images. Naturally, the kissing scenes were my favourite.