Otis Mensah

Over four weekends, the stage will pulse with music from across the globe: from the raw energy of Mexican Cumbia-punk to the hypnotic groove of Kenyan Dodo Blues, from the electrifying syncopations of Congolese Soukous to the powerful messages of Afro-futuristic big bands. Caribbean-infused Japanese folk, soulful jazz, hip hop, and the joy and resilience of Frafra-gospel round off  this celebration of sound— borderless, multi-perspective, and irresistably danceable!

Otis Mensah (Sheffield, Berlin)

Otis Mensah is a Berlin-based interdisciplinary artist and musician, weaving language and cadence into ethereal portraits of the body, family, and home. Drawing from a rich lineage of Black musicality, their poetic-sonic practice blends archival material with reflections on dreaming and nature. Influenced by abstractionists like Norman Lewis and Jack Whitten, Otis experiments with language, queering and subverting biblical parables to merge memory and myth in explorations of the Black diaspora.

As Sheffield’s first Poet Laureate, Otis published Safe Metamorphosis with Prototype London, performed at Glastonbury, and shared stages with Moor Mother, Benjamin Zephaniah, and Little Simz – building a dynamic presence across poetry and music.

- free admission, no ticket required
- Ground Floor, Schlüter Courtyard
- Belongs to: DURCHLÜFTEN – 2025