On Togetherness: Nkisi and Tiran Willemse

November 2022
Episode 2
Nkisi and Tiran Willemse
46:43
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Recall: Evening of Performances (2008–2019) is a year-long series of interviews, podcasts and contributions from some of the artists who participated in the twelve editions of our celebrated Evening of Performances. Highlighting the extraordinary legacies of this performance programme, we will be exploring what the next wave of contemporary performance can become with the artists who have shaped it so far.

Roberts Institute of Art

Nkisi, DJ set at DRAF Evening of Performances + 10th Anniversary Party at KOKO, 2017.

Photo: Dan Weill

In this podcast series, we ask an artist who performed in one of the Evening of Performances to choose someone to be in conversation about collaboration, their respective practices and the future of performance.

In this edition, DJ and producer, Nkisi, aka Melika Ngombe Kolongo, who was commissioned as part of the 2017 Evening of Performances, invited artist and choreographer Tiran Willemse, to chat about performance, their collaborations, and their most recent work (bb), which looks at the structures of support and maintenance from the theatre.

Recall: Evening of Performances (2008–2019)

For well over a decade, we have been championing performance across its many forms – from intimate spoken word to absurdist interventions, DJing, dance, music, theatre, fashion and much more. We’ve brought this all together as exhilarating one-night showcases in our Evening of Performances.

As we move into a new phase of programming, it is time to draw the curtain on this format and explore other sustainable and meaningful ways to support performance artists and audience engagement across the UK. As we prepare for this exciting new chapter, we also turn to the artists and performers we have closely collaborated with in the past, to celebrate, listen and learn from their perspectives and keep evolving with the field of performance.

Nkisi

Nkisi is a producer, DJ and co-founder of NON records, a collective of African artists and artists of the diaspora using sound as their primary medium to, 'articulate the visible and invisible structures that create binaries in society and in turn distribute power.'

She's a regular at the Endless club night and has performed at the London venues of Corsica Studios, Bold Tendencies, and Dance Tunnel, as well as the New Museum in New York. Her sets and performance often include layering an exciting mix of fast-paced music that draws from many influences (from central and west African club tracks to gabber and doomcore). In addition to her performances, she curated the 2017 Wysing Festival, a series of events at Geneva's Biennale de l'Image en Mouvement in 2018, and had a three-day residency at Cafe Oto in 2019.

Roberts Institute of Art

Tiran Willemse

Tiran Willemse is an artist born in South Africa, living between Berlin and Zurich. His performance based practice is rooted in a careful attention to space, imagination, gesture, and sound, focusing on how they relate to the ways in which constructions of race and gender are performed, communicated and challenged. He has worked and collaborated with artists, choreographers and dancers including Eszter Salamon, Jerome Bel, Cullberg ballet, Deborah Hay and Jeftha Van Dinther.

Roberts Institute of Art

(X) An Evening of Performances + DRAF 10th Anniversary Party at KOKO

Roberts Institute of Art

On Togetherness: Grace Schwindt and Katleen Van Langendonck

Roberts Institute of Art

Recall: Evening of Performances (2008–2019)
Q&A with Leah Capaldi

Roberts Institute of Art

Recall: Evening of Performances (2008–2019)
Interview with Stacy Makishi

Roberts Institute of Art