Oluwabukunmi Olukitibi
- Fellow 2024
- performance maker, dancer, teacher, and community engager from Abuja, Nigeria
- cooperating partner: Don Sen Folo (Bankoumana, Mali)
Oluwabukunmi Olukitibi (she/her) is a performance artist, dancer, teacher, and community engager from Nigeria. She is Artistic Director of Hearts Heartist and Curator/Festival Director of ÌMÍ. Her practice focuses on breath as a means of exploring the intersection of movement, space, memory, human connection and the inner self. She views breath as a reflection of how we navigate and inhabit the world. Her work offers liberation and envisions a future where community and creativity flourish.
In the context of the fellowship, Oluwabukunmi will follow the work of the Malinese company Don Sen Folo, founded by Lassina Koné. Don Sen Folo's approach to the relationship between movement, space, and humanity is particularly compelling for Oluwabukunmi; it frames her openness to interaction, discovery, and imagination. This cooperation aims to on-board structural and organizational skills, expand her knowledge of interaction in the public realm, and offer insights into Lassina's thinking and creative process. Additionally, learning Lassina's approach to space imagining and building will offer Oluwabukunmi an invaluable understanding of how these elements connect to humanity and unique realities.
"We have chosen Oluwabukunmi Olukitibi from Nigeria because of the critical aspects that this mentorship brings, not only to the mentee and the mentor, but to the social issue of co-existence, networking, and integration across cultural, ethnic, and physical borders. What is also inspiring about this selection is that Nigeria is commonly regarded as the superpower of Africa, while Mali is a tormented country besieged with a host of social problems. Yet Olukitibi has not been blinded by superiority or inferiority ; instead, she has embraced the notion that art will always upend prevailing prejudices and ignorance. This mentorship fulfils the desire to bring inter-generational persons together across the spectrum of ethnicity or tribal/national boundaries. It will also provide networking opportunities for both mentee and mentor as they come from different countries. Being a mentor does not mean having a superior/subordinate relationship; a mentorship must be mutually beneficial to sustain the process. For example, the mentor can actually invite the mentee to their own country to meet relevant contacts and broaden the mentee‘s horizons, opening doors for future opportunities."
- Jury Statement