ABOUT

In the last ten years, the Lagos International Poetry Festival has brought poets, writers, artists, and public intellectuals to Lagos for four days of readings, performances, panels, exhibitions, workshops, and community outreaches, establishing itself as one of the continent’s key cultural highlights. Invested in sustaining an inclusive space for dialogue, debate, and a celebration of creativity and culture, the festival has continued to connect poets and writers to new audiences and practices through multi-generational programming, supporting, and championing the development of the local literary and cultural scene by platforming emerging talents and equipping them with the skills and resources needed to flourish.

Managed by a dedicated team of arts managers and cultural producers, our work provides extensive support and opportunities to the community of artists we serve. This includes workshops, residencies, and fellowships that cater to the creative and professional development of poets and writers at different stages of their careers; platforms and showcases that help local and international poets and writers develop new audiences; and exchange programmes that expand existing local and international networks of cultural production and distribution.

Our most recent projects have included a collaborative translation programme for Slovenian and Nigerian writers; a multi-city residency and anthology project for mid-career Scottish and West African writers; a Fellowship for young poets and writers from Northern Nigeria which produced an anthology of new writing from the region; and the launch of an annual print and digital journal that amplifies and archives the voices of Black and African poets.

The festival reaches a vast local audience across ages, including emerging and established poets, writers, art enthusiasts, and the general public. It is also a transnational site for introducing international poets and writers to Nigerian and African audiences, even as it connects poets from the continent to new audiences around the world, through its multiplatform exchange programmes.

We work with emerging voices between 15 and 30 and mid-career/established poets and writers. We work collaboratively with festivals, residencies, cultural organisations, and individual artists to create interdisciplinary projects that develop and showcase poets from across the African continent.

We work with donor agencies on initiatives that expand access for poets and artists working on the continent and execute programmes that address systemic inequities through poetry and art.

We believe facilitating pan-African, pan-diasporic, and international connections between poets and writers from different universes of experience are important to deepening artistic consciousness and are enthusiastic about collaborations that expand space for the life of the mind and enrich practice – feel free to contact us on info@lagospoetrtyfestival.comfor exchanges and collaborations.

Though tightly curated around yearly themes, LIPFest also presents opportunities to feature as a guest or curate an independent event.