Earlier this month, we had the pleasure of welcoming Okwei Odili, a Nigerian Afrobeat musician and cultural practitioner, to the G.A.S. Farm House in Ikiṣẹ for her residency. Based between Lagos and Salvador, her multidisciplinary practice spans moving image, sound, ecology, and ancestral knowledge systems, exploring how sound and storytelling can empower women and support both mental and ecological health.
During her six-week residency, Okwei will immerse herself in medicinal plant cultivation while exploring the intersection of music and agriculture. She will record ambient farm sounds, experiment with plant-based instruments and natural resonators, and learn traditional Yoruba healing songs and chants. Her practice will be shaped by engagements with local herbalists, musicians, griots and traditional healers, alongside documenting related songs and rituals. Okwei will also process plants into teas, tinctures, and other preparations, while leading workshops for local children and community members. Through this work, she aims to create new musical material and contribute to the sustainable preservation of ethnobotanical knowledge.
The ACOUSTIC LOVE Ep by Okwei Odili. Image courtesy of Afrikajump/Adeola Olagunju.
What is the current focus of your creative practice?
The current focus of my creative practice is an interdisciplinary exploration of music, video, and agriculture, rooted in my engagement with medicinal plants, traditional healing, and local farming practices. Since returning to Nigeria from Brazil in 2021, I have been developing work that responds to food insecurity while exploring the cultural, therapeutic, and artistic connections between sound and plant-based knowledge. My practice seeks to bridge indigenous wisdom with contemporary artistic expression, using music and storytelling as tools for cultural preservation, healing, and community engagement.
What drew you to apply for this residency and how do you think it will inform your wider practice?
I was drawn to this residency because of what G.A.S. represents and because I have never participated in a residency in my own country. It offers an exciting opportunity to contribute directly to Nigeria while continuing to learn and develop my practice. I believe this residency will inform my wider work through continuous engagement with medicinal plants and traditional healing practices.
Okwei Odili performaing at a festival. Image courtesy of afrikajump.
Can you give us an insight into how you hope to use the opportunity?
I hope to use the residency at G.A.S. Farm House to deepen my engagement with Nigeria’s plant life and medicinal knowledge. I aim to bridge the gap between older and younger generations by creating works that document and share agricultural, cultural, and healing practices. I also see the residency as an opportunity to reflect, experiment, and learn, to exchange ideas with the G.A.S. community, engage with the work of other artists, and explore new collaborations. This residency will also allow me to experience and work with a farm of this scale for the first time.
About Okwei Odili
Okwei Odili is widely regarded as one of the most compelling contemporary voices in Afrobeat. Building her career between Lagos, Nigeria and Salvador, Brazil, her music reflects deep transatlantic dialogue. In 2013, she received an art grant from UNESCO and the Sacatar Institute in Brazil, where she co-founded IFA Afrobeat. Their debut EP earned the prestigious Caymmi Music Award for Best New Revelation. She later formed the Aweto Band and released her debut solo album Òsùmàrè in 2021, a collaborative project uniting Brazilian and Nigerian musicians. She is currently recording her forthcoming work, River Niger, continuing her exploration of sound as a vessel for cultural exchange and healing.
Photo of Okwei Odili. Image courtesy of Mmaburuzo.