The collection
Masquerade stories prepared for art, archive, and collectors.
Explore commissioned artworks inspired by masquerade traditions, with each page opening into origin, performance, cultural memory, and the stories carried by the figure.
IjeleIjele
Origin: Nigeria (Anambra / Igbo culture)
Ijele is a monumental Anambra Igbo masquerade, often described as the king or mother of masquerades because of its scale, preparation, and ceremonial authority.Open story
ZaouliZaouli
Origin: Cote d'Ivoire (Guro communities of Bouafle and Zuenoula)
Zaouli is a Guro masked music and dance practice from central Cote d'Ivoire, famous for the contrast between a serene female mask and astonishingly fast, precise footwork.Open story
MakishiMakishi
Origin: Zambia (Luvale, Chokwe, Luchazi, and Mbunda communities)
Makishi is a Zambian masquerade tradition connected to mukanda, a boys' initiation cycle in which masked characters help mark the passage from childhood into adult community life.Open story
DogonDogon
Origin: Mali (Dogon culture)
Dogon masquerade traditions are closely tied to funerary and end-of-mourning rites, where masks, costume, rhythm, and movement help guide memory from death toward ancestry.Open story
EkpeEkpe
Origin: Nigeria (Efik / Cross River and wider Cross River basin)
Ekpe, also known in related contexts as Mgbe, is a respected Efik and Cross River cultural institution expressed through masquerade, ritual authority, coded knowledge, and public performance.Open story
EyoEyo
Origin: Nigeria (Lagos / Yoruba, Isale Eko)
Eyo, formally known as the Adamu Orisa Play, is a Lagos ceremonial procession whose white-clad figures make ancestry, honour, order, and city memory visible in public space.Open story