March 2021 — Drag Night Namibia Founded, Namibia

Founded in Namibia in March 2021 by Miss Mavis Dash, Gigi Has Arrived and Mo’Nick Critique, Drag Night Namibia is an LGBTQI+ arts and community organisation that uses drag, performance, music, fashion, and ballroom culture as tools for visibility, empowerment, advocacy, and social inclusion. The organisation creates safer and affirming spaces for queer creatives and community members through live events, workshops, artistic development programmes, and regional collaborations. The organisation works with queers, allies and cisgender heterosexual Namibians and World Citizens, and the movable middle.

Its core work includes:

• Producing drag shows, ballroom/vogue events, and queer-centred cultural programming;
• Supporting emerging LGBTQI+ performers, artists, DJs, designers, and entertainers through mentorship and performance opportunities;
• Using artistic activism to challenge discrimination and increase LGBTQI+ visibility in Namibia and across Southern Africa;
• Facilitating workshops and skills-development initiatives in areas such as performance, makeup artistry, fashion, MCing, and creative production;
• Building regional and international partnerships that strengthen queer artistic exchange and transnational solidarity;
• Creating community-driven platforms that promote dignity, inclusion, mental wellbeing, and creative expression for LGBTQI+ individuals.

Through projects such as Drag & Vogue Beyond Borders, Drag Night Namibia has also expanded its work into regional advocacy, international cultural exchange, and cross-border collaboration, positioning drag and ballroom culture as important tools for storytelling, resistance, and community-building in Africa.

The organisation is registered in Namibia and is currently led by Rodelio Lewis aka Miss Mavis Dash, Founder and Co-CEO, and Lize Ehlers aka DJ Rise Elders Co-CEO & Technical Director Drag Night Namibia.

Vision

The vision of Drag Night Namibia is to build a vibrant, inclusive, and empowered society where LGBTQI+ individuals, especially queer artists and performers, are free to express themselves safely, authentically, and creatively without fear of discrimination or exclusion. The organisation envisions a Namibia, and broader African creative landscape where drag, ballroom, and queer artistic expression are recognised as powerful forms of culture, storytelling, activism, and community healing. Through artistic excellence, visibility, and regional collaboration, Drag Night Namibia aims to create sustainable platforms that uplift LGBTQI+ voices, celebrate diversity, and inspire social change across communities and borders.

Mission

The mission of Drag Night Namibia is to create safe, inclusive, and empowering platforms for LGBTQI+ individuals through drag, ballroom, music, fashion, and performance arts, while advancing visibility, dignity, community wellbeing, and artistic freedom in Namibia and beyond. A central part of the organisation’s mission is to expand economic access and inclusion for queer performers and creatives who have historically faced discrimination, unemployment, exclusion, and limited professional opportunities. Drag Night Namibia works to ensure that artists are not only celebrated culturally, but are also able to access paid performance opportunities, professional development, mentorship, regional collaborations, and sustainable creative income streams.

Through events, workshops, partnerships, productions, and advocacy initiatives, the organisation seeks to:

• Develop and promote LGBTQI+ talent;
• Create pathways toward financial empowerment within the creative industry;
• Support entrepreneurship and artistic careers for queer creatives;
• Build sustainable platforms where performers are compensated fairly and professionally;
• Strengthen representation and ownership of queer African narratives within arts and culture spaces.

By combining artistic activism with economic empowerment, Drag Night Namibia aims to contribute toward a more inclusive creative economy where LGBTQI+ performers can thrive both socially and financially.

Main objectives

The goals and objectives of Drag Night Namibia are centred around artistic empowerment, LGBTQI+ visibility, community development, and economic inclusion through creative expression and performance culture.

Key goals and objectives include:

1. To create safe and inclusive spaces
   Establish affirming environments where LGBTQI+ individuals can freely express themselves through drag, ballroom, music, fashion, and performance arts without fear of discrimination or exclusion.
2. To increase LGBTQI+ visibility and representation
   Promote positive and authentic representation of queer identities in Namibia and across Africa through public performances, cultural programming, media engagement, and artistic activism.
3. To support artistic and professional development
   Provide mentorship, training, workshops, and performance opportunities that strengthen the creative, technical, and leadership skills of emerging and established queer artists.
4. To advance economic empowerment for performers
   Create pathways for LGBTQI+ creatives to access paid opportunities, sustainable income streams, entrepreneurship, and professional growth within the arts and entertainment industries.
5. To strengthen drag and ballroom culture in Namibia
   Preserve, develop, and celebrate drag and ballroom as important forms of African queer cultural expression, storytelling, and community-building.
6. To build regional and international partnerships
   Foster collaborations with organisations, festivals, activists, artists, and cultural institutions that support cross-border solidarity, exchange, and advocacy.
7. To use art as a tool for advocacy and social change
   Challenge stigma, discrimination, gender-based exclusion, and harmful social narratives through creative expression, dialogue, and community engagement.
8. To empower LGBTQI+ youth and marginalised communities
   Support young queer people and vulnerable creatives by creating opportunities for participation, leadership, confidence-building, and belonging within creative spaces.
9. To contribute toward a more inclusive creative industry
   Advocate for greater access, recognition, and fair treatment of LGBTQI+ artists within Namibia’s cultural, entertainment, and creative sectors.
10. To create sustainable community-driven programming
    Develop long-term artistic and community initiatives that continue to uplift queer voices, strengthen networks, and promote collective wellbeing across Namibia and the region.

Focus areas

The focus and thematic areas of Drag Night Namibia centre on LGBTQI+ visibility, artistic activism, creative empowerment, community wellbeing, and economic inclusion through drag, ballroom, music, fashion, and performance culture.

1. Drag and Performance Arts Development

Drag Night Namibia creates platforms for drag artists, performers, DJs, vocalists, and entertainers to showcase and develop their talents through live productions, competitions, showcases, and mentorship initiatives. These programmes strengthen professional opportunities for LGBTQI+ creatives while increasing queer representation within Namibia’s arts sector.

2. Ballroom and Vogue Culture

The organisation actively supports the growth of ballroom and vogue culture in Namibia by creating learning spaces, performance opportunities, workshops, and regional exchange programmes connected to the African ballroom community. This work promotes self-expression, confidence-building, identity affirmation, and community solidarity among queer youth and performers.

3. LGBTQI+ Visibility and Advocacy

Through artistic activism, public engagement, storytelling, and cultural programming, Drag Night Namibia challenges discrimination and promotes greater social inclusion for LGBTQI+ individuals. Performances and public events are used as tools for dialogue, awareness-building, and human rights advocacy.

4. Economic Empowerment and Creative Inclusion

A major focus area is creating economic access for LGBTQI+ performers and creatives who often face barriers to employment and financial stability. The organisation provides paid performance opportunities, skills development, mentorship, production experience, and access to regional and international artistic networks.

5. Youth Development and Skills Training

Drag Night Namibia facilitates workshops and educational programmes focused on MCing, makeup artistry, lip-sync performance, fashion design, stagecraft, music, branding, and creative entrepreneurship. These initiatives help emerging artists develop both artistic and professional skills.

6. Regional and International Cultural Exchange

Through projects such as Drag & Vogue Beyond Borders, the organisation builds partnerships with regional and international LGBTQI+ organisations, festivals, artists, and advocacy spaces. These collaborations strengthen transnational solidarity and increase visibility for Namibian queer creatives globally.

Trans and gender-diverse inclusion

Drag Night Namibia is deeply committed to creating affirming and empowering spaces for trans and gender-diverse performers within Namibia’s LGBTQI+ community. Trans artists continue to play a central role in the organisation’s programming, leadership, and visibility efforts.

Notable trans and gender-diverse performers within the Drag Night Namibia community include Coco, Miss Diamond and Queen Cleopatra. These artists have contributed significantly to the growth of drag and ballroom culture in Namibia through performance, mentorship, representation, and community engagement. Their participation within Drag Night Namibia initiatives has helped increase visibility for trans performers while challenging stigma and exclusion faced by gender-diverse individuals in both artistic and public spaces.

The organisation continues to prioritise inclusive participation, safer creative spaces, leadership opportunities, and professional development pathways for trans performers as part of its broader commitment to dignity, representation, and equality within the arts and entertainment industry.

Contact

dragnightnam@gmail.com
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Watch our interview with Drag Night Namibia founders, Rodelio Lewis aka Miss Mavis Dash, Founder and Co-CEO, and Lize Ehlers aka DJ Rise Elders, 12 June

Drag Night Namibia in the media