Ozhopé Collective

Ozhopé makes art of the magical and the political by way of the intellectual. Founded in 2017, Ozhopé collective is a group comprising two artists (Ella Banda and Massa Lemu), a photo/videographer (Tavwana Chirwa), and a writer (Emmanuel Ngwira). Our main concern is to collaboratively produce art that inspires conversations and invites people to critical thinking around social, economic, and political issues of everyday life.

Our name derives from the word “wosopé”, a Yao term which translates as “all of them/all of us”. The word was uttered by an enthusiastic boy in reference to us busy with our work. It was subsequently adapted to “ozhopé”, whose root speaks to the collective ethos that propels our collaborative practice. We have shown work in Lake Malawi, in the streets of Lilongwe city, at The Culture Lab in Lilongwe, the University of Malawi, the Art Collective Bureau in Cape Town, the Boda Boda Panafrican Video Art Festival, City Salts in Basel, Switzerland, the Guggenheim New York, and the 1927 Art Space in Athens.

Ozhopé Collective are participants of the Onassis AiR Tailor-made Residencies program for 2023-24.