Join us on Wednesday, May 14th at 6:30PM as The Africa Center presents Between Home & Exile, a program offered in relation to our current photography exhibition Between Nostalgia & Dreams. This program will first feature a free screening of the anthology film Stories of Our Lives, followed by readings from local poets Latif Askia Ba, Dalia Elhassan and Ladan Osman as they ruminate on the themes of “Home” and “Exile.” Artists of all disciplinary backgrounds are encouraged to join us as the evening will end with an opportunity to convene with fellow members of the local creative community.

About the Film:

Two young women are in trouble for their ‘peculiar’ relationship; a farm hand is tormented when his crush begins courting a woman; a young DVD seller is intoxicated by the smoke and sounds of a clandestine gay bar. These are among the tales featured in this beautifully rendered collection of narratives from LGBTI Kenyans.

Stories of Our Lives started out as an archival project by the multi-disciplinary Nest Collective, and the testimonies given have been tenderly wrought into funny, endearing – and at times heartbreaking – sketches. A bold start for first time feature director and artist Jim Chuchu, who, in crisp black and white, not only presents the inner struggles of these characters with formal and aesthetic boldness, but captures the majesty of the landscape they inhabit. 

Featured Poets:

Latif Askia Ba

Latif Askia Ba is a choreic poet from Brooklyn, NY. Dancing in and out of various forms, he tries again and again to realize the music of the disabled body-mind-universe. You can find his work in Poetry Magazine, Poem-A-Day, and many other publications. His newest collection, The Choreic Period, was published by Milkweed Editions.

Dalia Elhassan

Dalia Elhassan is a Sudanese-American poet and writer based in NYC. Her work has been featured in the Michigan Quarterly Review, The Kenyon Review, SUNU Journal and most recently in the New-Generation African Poets Series (Sita) with her chapbook, In Half Light (2019, Akashic Books & African Poetry Book Fund). She is a recipient of the Hajja Razia Sharif Sheikh Prize for nonfiction and was shortlisted for the 2018 Brunel International African Poetry Prize. She can be found online @daliaelhassan.

Ladan Osman

Ladan Osman is the author of two poetry collections: Exiles of Eden (2019), winner of a Whiting Award and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and The Kitchen-Dweller’s Testimony (2015), winner of the Sillerman Prize. Her poems have been translated into over 10 languages. Osman's photographs and experimental media have been exhibited by Jenkins Johnson Gallery, Arts Incubator, Ύλη[matter]HYLE, and the New York African Film Festival. Her films include: The Ascendants, Sam Underground, The Fly Collectors, and Sun of the Soil. These films have played in numerous festivals and were awarded an ECU Award for Best Independent Documentary, and a Dikalo Award for Best Short Documentary, among other honors.

Events are free and open to all. Registration does not guarantee entrance, so we recommend that you arrive early.