Jaamil Olawale Kosoko

Structural racism and police violence have become topics of public debate in Europe ever since the tragic public murder of George Floyd. Serious abuses have always demanded an enormous degree of agility and creativity from people of colour and other disenfranchised members of society. Time and again, alternative spaces need to be created in which to think and speak openly and move freely. The Nigerian-American performance artist and poet Jaamil Olawale Kosoko creates and explores such a space in his interactive performance programme «American Chameleon: The Living Installments». The virtual platform is based on the live performance «Chameleon: A Biomythography» and has been crafted into an evening teach-in adapting to current travel and meeting restrictions. Via the gaming chat app Discord, Kosoko aims to investigate the extent to which digital space lends itself as a place where progressive thought can occur and queer Black people can experience healing, joy and beauty.

At Theater Spektakel, Kosoko presents the second edition of this «living multi-media artwork» on the 23rd of August, the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. This day commemorates the revolt of formerly enslaved people in the French colony of Saint-Domingue in 1791, which marked the beginning of the Haitian Revolution. On this international Memorial Day, Kosoko and co-hosts invite you to a three-hour event dedicated to the practice of commemoration and remembrance. What tools must we employ to honestly consider history? How does tending to the public digital archives of Black people encourage us to think through the present moment? Via Discord, the attendees are guided through the programme, which consists of discussions, a healing session, poetry reading, and the world premiere film screening of Chameleon (A Visual Album). In this virtual choreography of contemplation, Kosoko and fellow participants investigate the issues and daily life of queer Black people and their experiences navigating a world entrenched in anti-Blackness, racism, and police violence. 

People interested in actively interacting with the hosts and other guests are invited to attend the event upon prior registration on Discord. Additionally, the programme will be streamed live on Vimeo. (rb)

Event Schedule

18:00 | Welcoming and Acknowledgement with Nile Harris (Spoken English/ASL)
18:15 | «The Hold» with Everett-Asis Saunders, Vocal Performances by mayfield brooks], Nile Harris, Jaamil Olawale Kosoko, Ima Iduozee (ASL)
18:20 | «On Remembering» with Jaamil Olawale Kosoko & Ebony Noelle Golden (Spoken English/ASL)
18:45 | «Chameleon (A Visual Album)» Directed by Jaamil Olawale Kosoko & Ima Iduozee, Edited/Post-Production by Alexis McCrimmon (Spoken English/German subtitles/ASL)
19:15 | «Chameleon Contingency» Conversation/Reading by Dr. Brenda Dixon Gottschild, Edited by Meena Murugesan (Spoken English/German subtitles/ASL)
19:45 | «On Healing» with mayfield brooks (Spoken English/ASL)
20:15 | «Unbreathing and the Possibility of Abolition» with Dr. Vanessa E. Thompson (Spoken English/ASL)
20:45 | «Black Body Amnesia (Public Archive Remix)» Film by Jaamil Olawale Kosoko, Edited by Meena Murugesan, Featuring sound by Everett-Asis Saunders (Spoken English/German subtitles/ASL) & Community Dialogues for Discord Audience led by Dr. Vanessa E. Thompson and Ebony Noelle Golden (Spoken English /ASL through Zoom link on Discord)