Since 2015 the Lagos International Poetry Festival has brought poets, writers, artists, and thinkers from across the world to Lagos for a week of conversations, readings, performances, workshops and adventure, establishing itself as one of the continent’s annual art and culture highlights.
This year, LIPFest returns from Oct. 31st – Nov. 4th with the theme Wide Awake. As a rousing wave of discontent voices tip political and social power structures from the global North to the South and reinvigorate conversations on accountability, transparency and social justice, staying alive to the issues has become particularly vital.
LIPFest2018 examines the growing importance of vigilance in a post-truth era. Conversations will explore new frontiers in the fight for gender equality and identity, racial and social justice and how the concerns of awakening collective consciousness and mediating justified paranoia animates art.
The 2018 edition of the festival draws 35 guests from 12 countries with 4 workshops and masterclasses, 10-panel discussions, 5 evenings of readings and performances, 1 concert, 2 parties (Lagos style) and launches its poet in residence program with the phenomenal South African poet and activist Lebo Mashile. We welcome all our guest poets, writers and artists, and all the visitors travelling into the city for the period. We look forward to important conversations on and off panels, fire readings and performances, tasty food, waist bending music, and a great, great time.
