Okwui Okpokwasili

Okwui Okpokwasili (born August 6, 1972) is a Nigerian‑American artist whose practice blends theatre, dance, and installation to interrogate cultural memory, gendered violence, and the imagination of African bodies. Born in The Bronx to Igbo immigrants who fled the Nigerian Civil War, she grew up navigating two worlds and later earned a degree from Yale University, where she first encountered filmmaker Andrew Rossi. Her training in theatre and choreography has allowed her to create highly physical, narrative‑driven performances that often reference personal history while situating it within larger historical events in Nigeria. She describes her work as existing at the intersection of theatre, dance, and the installation, a description that captures the immersive, site‑specific nature of pieces such as Bronx Gothic and Poor People’s TV Room. Throughout her career she has collaborated closely with her husband, visual artist Peter Born, whose lighting and set designs deepen the visceral impact of her shows, and she has become a central figure in New York’s experimental dance community.