We had the pleasure of interviewing the artist Dagmar van Weeghel, on the occasion of her visit to Lisbon, in our own space at ARCOlisboa 2024. In a fruitful and relaxed conversation, we were able to discuss the life of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, who is the subject of the artist’s project “For Sarah – The African Princess”. Dagmar van Weeghel also reflected on the representation of African people in Europe throughout history, and on her plans to do a ceremony to return Sarah Forbes Bonettas’s remains to Nigeria. These are just some of the topics touched upon in this very enriching meeting.

Dagmar van Weeghel (b.1974, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands) holds a degree in Film and Photography from the University of The Arts in Amsterdam. Following her studies she travelled to the African continent, where for more than a decade she worked on film projects in countries like Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Botswana, Uganda, and South Africa. Having married a Zimbabwean man and moving back to the Netherlands, the artist got a closer look at the struggles that numerous African migrants go through in Europe. This familiarity with the subject has since then been at the center of her artistic practice.

We wish to express our gratitude to Dagmar van Weeghel for accepting our invitation and contributing for an extremely rewarding conversation with WAAU.

This interview has been the result of a collaboration with THIS IS NOT A WHITE CUBE.