Drag and Vogue goes beyond borders

A groundbreaking international collaboration titled &#039;Drag & Vogue Beyond Borders: Queer Culture is African Culture&#039; was launched in Windhoek this week. The project is a bold, youth-driven artistic initiative that connects drag and ballroom performers from Namibia, Kenya, South Africa and Germany in a powerful statement of queer pride, cultural resistance and cross-border solidarity.Spanning five major international cities, the initiative will unfold in phases across Washington DC during World Pride, Berlin during CSD Pride, Johannesburg at the ILGA Pan-Africa Conference and Nairobi during IDAHOBIT Day Celebrations and will culminate in Windhoek during Namibia Pride 2026.Each location will host showcases, residencies and advocacy engagements designed to amplify queer African voices through performance, storytelling and public dialogue.“This project is about more than art – it’s about reclaiming drag and ballroom as part of African cultural heritage and using performance as a radical act of resistance in a time of escalating anti-LGBTQ+ laws,” said Omar van Reenen, project manager and co-founder of Equal Namibia.Through drag and vogue, the project responds directly to the rising tide of censorship and criminalisation of LGBTQIA+ lives in Africa. It places artistic expression at the heart of political resistance – transforming stages into platforms for activism.The initiative is co-produced by a diverse alliance of organisations, including Equal Namibia and Drag Night Namibia in Namibia, Nadharia CBO in Kenya, Reframe Kollektiv e.V. and Berlin Ballroom Pier in Germany, and Vogue Nights Jozi in South Africa.Dignity and joy Each organisation brings a strong track record of advocacy, creativity and community-building to the collaboration. Supporting partners include Capital Pride Alliance, Grindr for Equality and the GALA Queer Archive.Highlights of the project include five international drag and ballroom showcases, artistic residencies and community workshops and a forthcoming documentary film that chronicles the project’s journey.Additional components include a bilingual drag legacy catalogue and curated photography exhibition, alongside high-level policy roundtables with African and EU legislators and advocacy discussions with civil society organisations and queer activists.“Drag and Vogue Beyond Borders is not just creating art – we’re archiving a movement,” said Kenyan fashion designer and activist Androgynus Alpha, founder of Nadharia CBO. “It’s about visibility, dignity and joy in the face of oppression.”The final leg of the tour, to be held in Windhoek in 2026, will coincide with Namibia Pride and host the first-ever Africa Drag and Ballroom Convention – a historic milestone in affirming African queer identity and solidarity on a global stage.Equal Namibia, one of the lead co-producers, is a youth-led civil rights movement that has played a critical role in Namibia’s queer rights victories, including the decriminalisation of sodomy in 2024 and the recognition of same-sex marriages performed abroad.

Drag and Vogue goes beyond borders

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-25

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Drag and Vogue goes beyond borders

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-25

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