‘Obi gbawara’m//
My Heart Shattered or What happens after I die?’ (OGB)
OGB is a multi-year cultural documentation & multimedia performance project reactivating cultural practices, knowledge systems, artifacts, and traditions of death and grief in Igbo culture, and the African diaspora.
With many chapters and iterations ranging from research & documentation, community workshops, artistic works, and literary and visual media, here are some of the experiences:
AFRO-URBAN DANCE THEATER
Mixtape of the Dead & Gone: Egwu Onwu Ahamefula
Writer, Director, Composer.
A theater piece following the character Ahamefula who has just died and finds herself in a tussle with #7, a Messenger on ‘Onye Ozi’ Ancestor Mobility app, sent to collect them.
SITE-SPECIFIC PHOTO INSTALLATION
Creative Direction: Nkeiruka Oruche Photos by Ashley Ross
An installation exploring the journey of grieving, community, and remembrance from indigenous Igbo customs to present day Afro Diasporic/Black urban conventions
BLOG & LITERARY ARTICLES
(#510ToDa234)
November 2022- December 2022: I envisioned, produced and led 6 California-based artists traveled to Nigeria, and met with Badagry, Lagos-based Okachamma Dance Troupe, and embarked on a 3-week road trip through 10 locales in the Igbo Southeast region of Nigeria.
Travel/Cultural Exchange
Ge Onyene ha bu ge uzu ekwa ya ha.
Book Me
As part of ‘Obi gbawara’m//My Heart Shattered or What happens after I die?’ I am engaging in a series of communal cultural and artistic sessions/workshops drawing from Igbo traditions. Book me to host a session on the artistic peformance of mourning and death, as I’m learning from my own native customs.
Project Events & Dates.
June 2-4, 2022
Gbedu Town Radio: Mixtape for the Dead & Gone @ CounterPulse
San Francisco, CA
June 9-11, 2022
Gbedu Town Radio: Mixtape for the Dead & Gone @ CounterPulse
San Francisco, CA
June 18, 2022
OGB x Gbedu Town Radio Mo’ Fest
Huchiun, in unceded Lisjan territory, CA
November 2022
Dance Mission
San Francisco, CA
November 2, 2021
Ancestor Celebration
Huchiun, in unceded Lisjan territory, CA
January 2, 2022
Traditional Memorial Ceremony
Imo State, Nigeria
January 3, 2022
Ikwa Ozu
Imo State, Nigeria
January 28, 2022
Ikwa Ozu
Anambra State, Nigeria
February & March 2022
Performance of Grief Sessions
In Person & Virtual Dates TBA
April 3-15th, 2022
OGB x Gbedu Town Radio in the streets
Huchiun, in unceded Lisjan territory, CA
