Open Arts is a literary collective and creative organization based in Northern Nigeria. Founded by writer Sada Malumfashi who serves as Director, the collective has among its aims the promotion of arts and creative endeavors of Northern Nigerians as well as amplifying the work of minorities and marginalized voices that have been excluded from universal conversation.

As part of their pet projects, they are launching the inaugural Hausa International Book and Arts Festival (HIBAF) which is set to take place from October 21 – 23, 2021. The festival aims to “open up discussions about Hausa as a language through literature, history, music and arts to be displayed to a new and exciting young audience.”

The first edition of the festival is themed “SPACES”. According to a press statement:

“This edition will explore the spaces in between; spaces of origin of people and language; spaces of being and becoming; spaces of our stories; the multiplicity of spaces of our humanity; how we embrace the layers of spaces within our identities in literature and creativity. In the spaces of HIBAF, we will explore the origins of Hausa literary spaces; converse and discuss notions of gender, identity, culture and politics. Spaces are governed by cultural stereotypes, conventions, customs, clothing and literature. The aim of HIBAF is to associate the fictional space with the practical space using language as a code to model space, define it and arrange it, to create safe spaces that allow for creative risk, a space for the delivery, performance and reawakening of identity.”

The festival is supported by the University of Bristol, UK.

Go here to learn more. Send inquires to [email protected]. Stay tuned for more information about programing. You can also follow HIBAF on twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates.