The 2023 Lagos International Poetry Festival (LIPFest) is centered on the theme of “Sanctuary” and is a four-day series of events designed to hold space for stillness and renewal. It will take place from Thursday, October 26 to Sunday, October 29 this year at the Alliance Française / Mike Adenuga Center in Lagos, Nigeria.

Since 2015, the Lagos International Poetry Festival has brought together some of the biggest writers, poets, thinkers, artists and public intellectuals to Lagos for a celebration of creativity and culture. The aim is to provide an inclusive space for the free exchange of ideas and a platform for connecting poets, writers, and artists to new audiences and practices.

LIPFest 2023 is the 9th edition of the festival and will offer a diverse range of artistic experiences, including performances and readings, panel discussions and workshops, film screenings and exhibitions. The theme of sanctuary is a response to our current existence in a capitalist world:

As the accelerated pace of hyper-capitalism continues to splinter our attention in several anxious directions, it is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain private and public environments for the kind of contemplative attention to which we owe the most profound of human achievements. The consequence has been the steady dissolution of silence into noise, independent thinking into groupthink, and as the Korean philosopher, Byung-Chul Han, cleverly put it, “a low tolerance of boredom,” that disallows “the profound idleness that benefits the creative process.” And so, for LIPFest 2023, we draw on the psycho-spiritual resources of art and poetry, literature and culture, to call us back to solitude and a re-connection to self and truth.

The festival includes a line-up of prominent artists, writers, activists, and healers dedicated to creating an immersive sanctuary for reflection and wellness. Visitors can also attend yoga and wellness sessions, a movement therapy space, a game room, and an on-site private oasis for writing and reflection.

Sign up to feature as a guest or curate an independent event at LIPFest here. Applications are open till Friday, July 21.

For more information on guest line up, festival programme, and updates, visit the website.