Born in London to Nigerian parents and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, where he spoke Yoruba at home and English at the private school he attended, Shonibare has a bicultural heritage. His identity is shaped by the postcolonial experience of being in two places at once; of growing up located between center and margin of the British Empire. Postcolonialism and hybridity define his artistic and political identity and are major themes in his prodigious artistic output. While Shonibare embraces cross-cultural mixing and exchange in his work, he never shies from alluding to the postcolonial scars of cultural imperialism and exploitation.

Born in London to Nigerian parents and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, where he spoke Yoruba at home and English at the private school he attended, Shonibare has a bicultural heritage. His identity is shaped by the postcolonial experience of being in two places at once; of growing up located between center and margin of the British Empire. Postcolonialism and hybridity define his artistic and political identity and are major themes in his prodigious artistic output. While Shonibare embraces cross-cultural mixing and exchange in his work, he never shies from alluding to the postcolonial scars of cultural imperialism and exploitation.

Tuesday, Nov. 15th: Cooking Demonstration

Wednesday, Nov. 16th: Fab Lab Collab

Wednesday, Nov. 16th: International Movie Night

Thursday, Nov 17th: International Speaker Series - Guest speakers from Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Mogadishu, and Sierra Leone shared their unique stories (click through to watch a recording, passcode: 8d*.m$E7) (please note there were technical difficulties; expect delays and temporary sound loss). Click the green pins on this map to learn more about each of our speakers!

Please provide your feedback for the 2022 events HERE

Featured artists are Herman Van Bergen, Carlos Blaaker, Hortence Brouwn, Ariadne Faries, Ria Houwen, Yubi Kirindongo, Midzy Longuevergne, Tony Monsanto, Ellen Spijkstra and Philippe Zanolino.  Several of the artists were born on Curaçao, but some have also found their way there from places such as the Netherlands, France and Surinam.

After surviving a bombing at his house in 2009, Abdi finally said goodbye to his home country and escaped to Kenya, where he and his brother lived as refugees. In an amazing stroke of luck, he won entrance to the U.S. in august 2014 through the annual visa lottery. But even with that “golden ticket,” his route to America—ending in a harrowing sequence of events that nearly stranded him in Nairobi—did not come easily. That story, as first told on “This American Life,” became one of the radio show’s most popular broadcasts and has been re-broadcast several times.

Now a successful, award-winning author and American citizen based in Maine, Abdi has appeared on CNN and NPR, and has been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and many other publications. He is an advocate for refugee and immigrant rights and is dedicated to bringing people together through his stories of survival and resilience.

In 2022 Iftin graduated from Boston college with a degree in political science. He is a regular newspaper columnist for the Portland Press Herald, and he also works as a Somali news presenter with Maine public radio and as a communications specialist with church world service.