Sunni’s Biography

Sunni Lamin Barrow (b. 1998) is an acclaimed pluridisciplinary artist and performing curator from The Gambia, currently based in the Netherlands. Recognized with multiple awards, Sunni’s creative practice is a dynamic exploration of identity, belonging, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Through richly layered work, Sunni engages with the complex experiences of African queer refugees, situating their narratives within a broader global context. His practice interweaves themes of love, loneliness, emotionality, the intersections of queerness and Blackness, global citizenship, and the evolving nature of kinship in contemporary society.

Sunni’s work has been presented at esteemed institutions and festivals, including Huis Marseille Museum, Van Gogh Museum, Kunsthal Rotterdam, Fashion for Good Museum, Oerol Festival, Synergy Art Festival, Crossing Borders Festival, Het Nationale Theater, Oude Kerk, Explore the North Festival, Paradiso, Kunstmuseum Den Haag, the Netherlands Theater Festival, Oerol Festival, among others. Each presentation reflects the growing influence and universal resonance of his artistic voice.

In September 2023, Sunni premiered his critically acclaimed solo performance project, A Fist of Tongues, a poignant spoken word theater exploration of identity and survival. Nominated for the prestigious BNG Bank Theater Prize, the production was celebrated as one of the standout works of the 2023 Dutch theater season. In this powerful piece, Sunni stages a visceral roundtable between his multiple selves, confronting the specter of his traumatic past while envisioning a hopeful future. A Fist of Tongues embarked on a national tour across the Netherlands from September 2023 through December 2024.

Currently pursuing a Master’s degree at DAS Theater in Amsterdam, Sunni is dedicated to elevating spoken word poetry into a theatrical genre of its own. His research focuses on developing Spoken Word Theater as a distinct and recognized form, blending the raw emotional force of poetry with the structural complexity of the stage. Through this evolving body of work, Sunni continues to expand the boundaries of his practice, shaping a lasting legacy that courageously bridges personal narrative and collective experience.