‘dirty nails (les ongles noirs)’ has been a sticky experimental thing happening between Dakar, Senegal and Birmingham, UK. It is an invitation to play, grieve, hum; throw soil on white walls; dance, pray, touch, and be moved by the unknown.

Stewards of the land (visitors, clay, little ones, microscopic insects, artists, soil, ancestors…) composed a space of transmutation, where spirit was summoned through sonic, embodied, and imagined yearnings. As we re-invest in the present with what we have how do we form alternative ways to call in freedom?

The collective experiments - in the form of a residency in Dakar, an exhibition in Birmingham, an expansive public programme, and this website - emerged through rehearsals of non-verbal incantations, re-enactments of degenerative rituals, and gatherings, infused by an intoxicating ‘i don’t know’ which punctuated the ana-choreography of the ever unfolding experiment.

A chain of invitations led us to invite you …

It started with Eastside Projects inviting n:u (fka melissandre varin) who in turn invited artistic crushes:

• Maria Muehombo aka M I M I, offering sonic vibrations
• Sym Mendez aka Sym Stellium, offering spiritual care coordination and performance arts
• Ban Workshop, offering hospitality in Dakar, performance instructions, and ceramics
• Jade Blackstock, offering performance arts
• Carmen Wong, offering food ceremonies
• Ayesha Jones, offering still and moving images
• Bronwyn Katz, offering moving images
• Bousebik (6yrs) and Eole (5yrs), offering instructions on how to throw soil against white walls
• Chandos Primary School, offering vessel making and destruction skills
• Manoj Yoga, offering a special sound bath evening
• Wutangu, offering astrological guidance
• Jaz Morrison, offering writing and reflection
• Geamhradhr/Winter, offering vocal rituals
• Ibrahima Ndome, offering a performance
• Agnes Essonti Luque, offering film
• Forij, offering a special walk
• itch. offering performances by ELLE FIERCE, Liz Ord, Pablo Pakula, and Samiir Saunders
• Maestro Alma et Maestro Adama, offering djembé et doumdoum percussions
• Irina Mackie, offering photographies
• Connor Pope, offering photographies

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