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OPEN CALL FOR TEXT-BASED ARTISTS & WRITERS

OPEN CALL FOR TEXT-BASED ARTISTS & WRITERS © Goethe-Institut Nigeria

Where Is Dadiyata? is an artistic intervention developed under the Art and Country initiative of the Goethe-Institut Nigeria. The project revisits the disappearance of Dadiyata—journalist, critic, and political voice—examining disappearance as a condition shaped by repressive governance, silencing, and political erasure.

Through visual art, performance, writing, and fashion, the project seeks to activate public memory and civic questioning in contemporary Nigeria.

WHERE IS DADIYATA?

Text, Memory & Civic Voice Collaboration

Where Is Dadiyata? is an artistic intervention developed under the Art and Country initiative of the Goethe-Institut Nigeria. The project revisits the disappearance of Dadiyata—journalist, critic, and political voice—examining disappearance as a condition shaped by repressive governance, silencing, and political erasure.

Through visual art, performance, writing, and fashion, the project seeks to activate public memory and civic questioning in contemporary Nigeria.

THE OPEN CALL

The Goethe-Institut Nigeria under its ART&COUNTRY initiative invites text-based artists and writers to contribute original works responding to the provocation:

“WHERE IS DADIYATA?”

  • Selected contributors will produce text-based works that may exist as:
  • Essays
  • Poems
  • Short reflective texts
  • Experimental or conceptual writing
  • Public text interventions
  • Slogans, manifestos, or typographic propositions
  • Archival or research-driven texts

The works may be presented as standalone publications, performative readings, digital outputs, or integrated into wearable pieces and other artistic formats within the project

CREATIVE FRAME

We are interested in text as:

  • Witness
  • Question
  • Protest
  • Archive
  • Invocation
  • Disruption

Contributions may explore themes such as:
  • Political disappearance and enforced silence
  • Public memory and collective amnesia Journalism and civic courage
  • Absence as presence
Writers are encouraged to experiment formally and conceptually, while remaining grounded in the project’s central inquiry.

SOCIAL IMPACT & HONORARIUM

Selected writers will receive an artist fee.
Where applicable, text outputs integrated into wearable or distributable formats will form part of the broader revenue-sharing framework supporting:

  • The family of Dadiyata
  • The Art & Country Initiative
The primary social objective remains contributing to the educational scholarship of Dadiyata’s daughter, ensuring that artistic production translates into meaningful suppor

WHO CAN APPLY

We welcome applications from:

  • Poets
  • Essayists
  • Journalists
  • Researchers
  • Conceptual and text-based artists
  • Emerging and established writers

Applicants should demonstrate:
  • A strong writing voice or conceptual clarity
  • Engagement with socio-political themes (preferred but not mandatory)
  • Capacity to deliver within agreed timelines

WHAT TO SUBMIT

Interested applicants should submit:

  • A short statement of interest (max. 500 words)
  • 2–3 writing samples (PDF or links)
  • A brief concept note outlining how you might respond to the theme
  • Short bio (max. 200 words)
  • Links to website or social media (if available)

SELECTION & NEXT STEPS

Selected contributors will be contacted for further discussion regarding:
  • Scope and format of final work Presentation platform (publication, performance, integration into wearables, etc.)
  • Editorial and production timelines

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Send applications to: artandcountry2020@gmail.com

Deadline: March 21st, 2026

 

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