Richard Kofi

15/12/2025

Sinds vier à vijf jaar ontwikkel ik met een tof team het Museum of Black Futures: een conceptueel, nomadisch kunst- en erfgoedlaboratorium dat zich richt op verbeelding, Black joy en spiritual reparations. Wie wil weten wat we daarmee bedoelen, kan luisteren naar onze podcast, waarin we deze thema’s verder verdiepen.

Het museum brengt communities, denkers en kunstenaars uit verschillende disciplines samen om te werken aan nieuwe manieren van denken en maken. Via podcasts en publieke programma’s onderzoeken we hoe we de toekomst collectief vormgeven, alles vanuit een Afrofuturistisch perspectief.

We werken hierin samen met Theater aan de Rijn, dat deel uitmaakt van ons groeiende netwerk van hotspots voor de diaspora: plekken waar het museum veilig kan landen en in dialoog met lokale gemeenschappen tot leven komt.

Het event droeg de titel Returning to the Sacred Mother. We stonden stil bij de koloniale forten in West-Afrika en de zogeheten Door of No Return. Samen onderzochten we hoe we dit symbool, deze mythe van een onomkeerbaar lot, konden omdenken of zelfs ontmantelen.

Onze eerste bijeenkomst in Arnhem liet zien wat er kan gebeuren wanneer een instituut, Theater aan de Rijn, zich daadwerkelijk committeert aan co-creatie en vooruitgang. Het waren de bezoekers die met hun aanwezigheid en participatie het theater overnamen en transformeerden tot een ruimte voor ontmoeting, optimisme en toekomstdenken.

Dit is pas het begin.

Met liefdevolle dank aan
Xiara Esseboom, Yadhira De León Matos, Cherise Seedorf, Peter Hendrikx, Julian Tjon Sack Kie, Emmanuel Akwasi Adu-Ampong, Lonneke van Eden, Tinka van der Heide, Serah Doku Meyboom, Marcellino van Callias, La Fam, Henck Pengel, Chris Tjong Ayong, Ayton Lamers, Debby Koster, Ranie Ribeiro en Munganyende .

En een speciale shoutout naar Kimberley Smit en Femi Dawkins

This is "Museum of Black Futures" by Richard Kofi on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

04/06/2025

Een mooi wandkleed in de maak Richard Kofi Museum Arnhem

04/06/2025

✨🌊 Threads 🌊✨
These are images from my presentation at the Valkhof Museum, where I had the honor of sharing the story behind Threads of our Dutch Slavery Past: Gelderland. Across the Netherlands, residents are working together on monumental tapestries that depict the regional history of the colonial slavery past. I was selected to design the tapestry for my home province, Gelderland. For the coming months volunteers are bringing it to life, using techniques like embroidery, quilting, punching, and tufting. Come join us!
In my tapestry design, water carries many stories: from Anna van Vossenburg’s forced journey from Suriname to Arnhem, Quaco’s stolen childhood, to the echoes of the Belanda Hitam - Ghanaian captives who were forced to work for the Dutch colonial army in Indonesia, the KNIL. Around these stories, I created my own fairytale, inspired by Sun Ra’s worldview, cool Parliament-Funkadelic’s album covers, and the underwater mythology of the Detroit techno collective Drexciya. Giant waves swallow the mansions that were made with slavery money. The water holds the pain of the past, but it also represents our power to be reborn and to reweave these histories.
Do you want to contribute to the making of this tapestry? Or just stop by to see the process? Check out the , .arnhem , the , Wageningen University, and many other locations.
It’s a great honor to be selected for this project, following in the footsteps of incredible artists like who did it for Utrecht, Marcos Kueh for South Holland, Amber Hyacinth for Overijssel and who designed the very first one for Groningen.
It’s mind-blowing to realize that so many volunteers are dedicating their time to bringing this design to life. I am deeply grateful.
The real nice photos were made by during the Kunst Cafe by
Shout out to the amazing .rienks and

21/05/2025

This weekend, our house—the theatre—echoed differently. As part of the Lieve Stad festival, welcomed two programs that completely transformed the energy in the building.
In the grand hall, Amber Vineyard’s Q***r Cabaret: .dive turned the stage into a q***r altar: sensual, sacred, and unapologetically... tender. Amber held space for bodies, spirits, and desires that have long been (and continue to be) erased and misrepresented by institutions. The performers and the public brought a powerful presence. Celebratory and healing. Reminding us all that pleasure, too, is political.
In the other room, the Rabozaal, brought twenty years of underground wrestling history to the main stage. These extraordinary athletes filled the room with emotion and release, giving the audience many moments of shared catharsis.
Watching .vineyard bring the house down in one room, while the Flamingo Bros claimed a spectacular win in the other, was a beautiful reminder that “theatre” lives in the soul and the body. Deep gratitude to the artists and communities who carried this day—and to the incredible team behind the scenes at who are making this edition of Lieve Stad truly epic. More Lieve Stad to come this week. Next up: Queen of Disco by !! Don’t miss it!
First photo by
Wrestling photos by
Pearl Dive photos by
Special thanks to .van.callandt and
***r

25/04/2025

Yesterday I had the chance to spend time with Felix de Rooy. Felix is a ground breaking artist, curator, actor, film and theatre director who helped open the doors that many of us now walk through. In the 1980s, together with Norman de Palm, he wrote a poetic and unsettling monologue about a young mother losing her grip on reality, as she wrestles with trauma, mental health, and the pressure of staying resilient in a world that often doesn’t make space for Black women. The play is called Desirée. On May 10th this work will be staged at for festival Lieve Stad. The play is directed by Marjorie Boston and performed by Ritzah Statia, produced by 🖤
Our conversation reminded me that many of us owe our careers to the labour and legacy of people like Felix.. and Norman... Marian... Wendell... Marjorie...
Thank you.
Desirée is coming home.

11/04/2025

✨⭐ Soul! ⭐✨
Radical Space at the Bookshop offers a space for reflection on the legacies of racial, class, and social divides that continue to shape our public spaces. Inspired by the historic conversation between poet Nikki Giovanni and writer James Baldwin, this edition features performances by choreographer Vainergill Thurnim, poet Rohan Ayinde, and saxophonist Diana Dzhabbar.
The Bookshop, once a space of division within the city’s theater, now serves as the arena for conversation that asks: How do we reclaim the power to create, to be seen, and to be heard? Let's imagine new ways of being together within theatre spaces.
Friday and Saturday night at 9pm
Internationaal Theater Amsterdam
Leidseplein 23, Amsterdam
Shoutout to
and and

15/03/2025

✨🌿 Chapter 37 🌿✨
Grateful for the lessons, the love, and the friendships that continue to guide the way… and excited for all that’s still unfolding!

Photos by the amazing 😍🙏🏽—one of the many inspiring people I’ve had the honor of meeting this past year.

18/01/2025

"The sun is setting, i am thinking of you" ☀️
🌖 "The moon is rising, i am thinking of you"
This week marks the start of Radical Space at ITA, and what a powerful beginning it is! Pianist Djuwa Mroivili, singer Ashley Stapelfeldt, and author Munganyende Helène Christelle delivered a unique performance exploring the friendships between James Baldwin, Nina Simone, Miriam Makeba, and other visionaries of their time. Through song, piano music, and poetry, an intricate cultural dialogue unfolds, reflecting on the struggles, triumphs, and interconnected legacies of a generation that redefined art and activism.
📅 Today is their last performances
📍 ITA, The Bookshop at 8.30pm
🎟️ Tickets: €7.50 – Check the ITA website!
📸 by

16/01/2025

✨👑 We are taking over the International Theatre Amsterdam!! - Radical Space Unfolds 👑✨
Radical Space began as an artistic experiment in Amsterdam Southeast, questioning gentrification through performances, installations, film and healing rituals — a way of decoding how spaces are shaped by power and how we can reclaim them for collective liberation. Now at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA), Radical Space has found a new home, deeply rooted in history. Here, we use our art as a tool to confront the institution's colonial legacies and imagine liberated futures. This week, the first edition of Radical Space features , who is teaming up with opera singer Ashley Stapelfeldt and author Munganyende Helène Christelle. Through music and poetry, their performance reminds us of the friendship between people like James Baldwin, Miriam Makeba and Nina Simone, whose spirit of emancipation resonates with us today.
✨
📅 Date: 16, 17 and 18th of januari
📍 Location: ITA, The Bookshop
🎟️ Tickets: 7,50 so check the website!!
✨
Shoutout to: .amsterdam

17/10/2024

Last week at Podium Mozaïek was truly something special. Our dance production Mi Pret’i Wowo is more than just a performance; it's a celebration of the power of forgiveness, the beauty in vulnerability, and the richness of Afro-Caribbean culture. Thank you to Podium Mozaïek for offering us a safe space to share this story of healing. And thank you to the audience for holding that space with us.
It was a huge honor to have psychiatrist and friend Glenn Helberg in the crowd. Many of you may know Glenn from his advocacy for gay rights, his research on the intergenerational effects of slavery or his impactful talkshow on VICE. But did you know that Glenn was a very talented dancer, too? Back in the ‘80s, he and Junadry's father, June Maduro, performed together on the biggest stages in the Americas and the Caribbean, contributing to productions by legends such as Sterling Isenia and Pacheco Domacassé. Watching and reconnect after all these years brought us a deep realisation that we are standing on the shoulders of great people. May their legacies continue to inspire us.
Thank you to everyone who came to witness this journey with us. If you missed it, we’ll be at Korzo in The Hague next. Come experience the story and celebration that is Mi Pret’i Wowo.
Next stop:
📍 18 October - Den Haag - Korzo Theater
📍 21 October - Arnhem - Theater aan de Rijn
📍 26 October - Rotterdam - Theater Rotterdam