Gathoni // Wanjiku (DK) 2025-2026
Invisible Faces – Denmark is the working title of Gathoni // Wanjiku’s project in Moving Identities. It aims at investigating living, raw experiences of African women in Denmark – specifically women living, or who have lived, through abusive relationships, how they ended up in them, and how they cope.
Gathoni // Wanjiku’s artistic collaboration was initiated in 2021 with an invitation from producer Julienne Doko to create an exhibition/performance piece. This culminated in the collaborative performance piece Blinkered that premiered at Den Frie Udstillingsbygning as part of Embodied Journeys in 2023.
Parcitipating artists
Gathoni wa Wairura (DK)
Gathoni wa Wairura (she/her) is a Kenyan-Danish writer who tells stories themed around belonging, identity, and immigration. She is the author of three truth-telling biographies, she writes to name injustice, challenge stereotypes, and center the voices of African immigrant women in Europe.
Now stepping into theatre, Gathoni is one half of the performance duo Gathoni//Wanjiku. She co-created Blinkered (Den Frie, 2023), a powerful response to the single story of Africa in Europe, and Sankofa (CKI/Sirius4All), which confronts the colonial echoes in European belonging.
She’s currently developing a new play shaped by real stories of African women in Denmark. Gathoni also speaks to students through Salaam Film + Dialog. Her work asks: Who belongs? Who gets heard? And how do we tell the stories that free us?
Gathoni holds a Masters degree in Business Administration.
Wanjiku Victoria Seest (DK)
Wanjiku Victoria Seest (she/her) is a Kenyan-Danish actor, performer, writer, and creator. Her recent works include MUKWANO, described by This is Odense as “a revelation”, and BLINKERED – GATHONI//WANJIKU (2023), noted by Danstidningen for its “vocally strong performance that in a fantastic way puts focus on Africa as more than a single story.”
In 2024, she presented MOTHER TREE/WANJIKU at Roskilde Festival — a high-octane, politically charged, and empathetically engaging performance, praised by Sceneblog. The piece was produced by Benjamin Muasya and directed by Vibeke Muasya.
Her other projects include the Kenyan tour of For Colored Girls (2023), SANKOFA – GATHONI//WANJIKU, and CKI/Sirius4all, as well as the upcoming JUPITER//WANJIKU – To stemmer, én Ditlevsen (HAUT Residency 2025), a collaboration with JUPITER as lead artist and Wanjiku as creative collaborator and co-performer.
Wanjiku’s multidisciplinary artistic practice spans performance, theatre, and creative collaborations. With a focus on themes of identity, belonging, and lived experience, her work is rooted in visceral, intuitive expression — art from the gut.
Maria Thandie Xaba Stensgaard (DK)
Maria Thandie, an experimental and groundbreaking artist, moves effortlessly between different musical genres and cultures. Her music combines her roots in South Africa and Eswatini with the Danish music scene, creating a unique and personal expression. With her powerful voice and strong stage presence, she manages to both challenge and move her audience.
Taken residency at
UP
The purpose of UP is to develop and upskill the independent performing arts throughout Denmark. We define the free and independent performing arts as individuals, collectives and companies who work professionally with performance and primarily for and with independent performance groups, project supported companies, and lesser established theatres. Often without permanent access to a stage or a venue.
Nau Ivanow
Nau Ivanow is a space of welcome, accompaniment, research and innovation; a haven where companies will find the warmth needed to work unhurriedly and in good conditions. Residencies are the main focus of what we do. Our aim is to provide decent working conditions, always accompanying the artists and providing them with the resources they need. Nau Ivanow’s projects are underpinned by three major working axes: creation, accompaniment and work with the territory. And all of them with one common denominator: internationalization, which permeates each and every one of our projects.
Kunstplaats Vonk
Kunstplaats Vonk is a studio and residency space for visual and performance arts in Hasselt and Genk, Belgium. At their 3 buildings they support artists with artistic feedback, an international network, presentation opportunities, studio-space and a financial contribution (for the residencies).
Who is Gathoni//Wanjiku?
Gathoni wa Wairura is a writer and creator, and Wanjiku Victoria Seest is an actor, creator, and performer. Together we are the writer/creator/performance duo Gathoni//Wanjiku. We work in collaboration with singer and musician Maria Thandie and producer Anne-Mai Slot Vilmann.
What lead you to join Moving Identities?
Moving Identities offers a chance to take a deep dive into our idea and develop it with a bit more time on our hands. It offers us a chance to try different ideas and see what works without pressure of time and resources, and expectations from no one but ourselves.
It propels us to develop our piece and push it even faster to the stage, this being our goal and dream with our project.
Moving Identities gives us a chance to work on a European scale. Our stories are universal and through the residencies, we get to connect and learn with different artists from different disciplines, as well as mentors from other European countries.
What is the project you are working on in your residencies?
Our project, Invisible Faces – Denmark, aims at investigating lived, raw experiences of African women in Denmark. Women who are living or have lived through abusive relationships, how they ended up there, and how they cope with it. We want to place the women in question in the center. In most cases these women are usually othered in this society, their stories are told by someone else. With Invisible Faces, we want to give the women the microphone to tell their stories and be part of what gets to be told.
Our vision is to put the piece on a theatre stage in Denmark as well as other European Countries. We envision voices of women playing in the theatre with languages that they feel comfortable speaking in; raw stories with elements including but not limited to sounds and music.
What motivates or excites you most about being part of the Moving Identities programme?
Having time in our hands and resources to pursue our dreams. We get time to fully immerse ourselves in our ideas and see what they can become as well as learning what we need to leave behind. Moving Identities offers us the space and time and the resources needed to do that. We are motivated by the thought that we have a chance to learn from and share ideas with our fellow counterparts and mentors from different countries in Europe.
What change would you like to see in the European performing arts world?
We hope to see more representation of all that Europe encompasses. We are hoping for diverse voices in the arts, and in the same light, accessibility of funding to artists especially in the minority groups.
From their residency at UP
From their residency at UP
From their residency at UP
