Immediate Release
Date: November 19, 2024
UMass MFA graduate student, Richmond Wills receives international writing residency from Obodo Nigeria focusing on the intersection of arts and human rights.
Amherst MA – In November, MFA graduate student, Richmond Wills, will travel to Nigeria to take part in the three-week Obodo International Artist Residency (Obodo Oma). The Residency invites applications from Black diaspora artists to collaborate with Nigerian artists, focusing on the intersection of arts and human rights and how the former can be leveraged in dealing with societal norms and prejudices while advocating for LGBTQ+ people in Nigeria and beyond.
There, Wills will offer workshops to Nigerian artists and youth as well as conduct critical research for his MFA thesis, the novel-in-progress, "Akata Boy". Wills plans to engage in place-based research in Lagos, focusing on understanding how the local environment, histories, and traditions shape contemporary queer experiences. “This residency will focus on expanding and deepening the novel's exploration of the intersection of identity, migration, and queerness through…research and immersive cultural engagement," Wills says. "'Akata Boy' centers on the Nigerian diaspora experience, and returning to Nigeria to work directly within the cultural and historical landscapes that inform my protagonist’s journey will provide the authenticity and nuance that can only come from lived experience in the region."
Wills continues, "I aim to examine cultural touchpoints, including language, spatial relationships, and the influence of mythologies on identity, particularly concerning marginalized groups. Engaging with the physical and cultural spaces where Nigerian queerness is navigated will allow me to authentically depict the speculative elements of my novel and ground them in the reality of present-day Nigeria.”
MFA Director, Jeff Parker, supports Wills’s residency. “The MFA faculty are thrilled that Richmond has this opportunity to deepen his writing and connect with Nigerians in this context. It certainly will impact his novel in progress and we’re excited to see what else is sparked by this undertaking.”
Wills is a second-year fiction writer in the MFA for Poets and Writers. He is one of a cohort of 52 graduate students earning their MFAs in creative writing at UMass Amherst. Wills also teaches the Living Writers course in the English Department and is an instructor in the Writing Program.
Richmond Wills
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Contact: Jennifer Jacobson
413-545-5510
jenniferj@umass.edu