ASWALK Festival

Africa's Festival of Authentic Appearance

ASWALK Festival (Appearance and Skin Walk Festival) is a community-led, travelling cultural platform building appearance positivity, psychosocial well-being, and visible dignity for people living with skin conditions, visible differences, and appearance-related challenges.

Rooted in African realities and led by lived experience, ASWALK reclaims appearance from stigma, silence, and correction — repositioning it as identity, culture, power, and belonging.

Dates: September 4–5, 2026

Location: Lagos Mainland, Nigeria

Explore The Festival

Join/Register a House

What is ASWALK Festival?

ASWALK Festival is Africa’s first travelling cultural platform dedicated to creating spaces of authentic appearance — where people are not hidden, corrected, or pitied, but seen, respected, and centred on their own terms. Convened by The Appearance Positive (TAP), ASWALK brings together dialogue, culture, movement, and ethical public visibility to challenge harmful norms and build a new social imagination around appearance. ASWALK is not a one-off event. It is a growing African platform designed to expand thoughtfully across cities and countries.

The Appearance Republic

ASWALK Festival operates through the Appearance Republic — a moral and community framework where lived experience is the highest authority.

The Republic is organised into 11 Houses, designed not as diagnoses, but as spaces of belonging, dignity, and solidarity.

👉 Enter the Appearance Republic

Core Elements of ASWALK

ASWALK is not a single event. It is an interconnected cultural ecosystem.

🌍 ASWALK Festival🎭
The main cultural gathering: art, dialogue, sport, fashion, and collective presence.

🧠 Africa Appearance Summit (AAS) 📚

The intellectual and ethical core, where lived experience shapes policy, research, and systems change.

🚶🏾‍♀️🚶🏿‍♂️ MASK Off Walk⚖️

Public visibility actions held across cities; No Cover. No Shame. No Apologies.

🛡️ Appearance Republic🎭

The ethical framework that governs participation, representation, and care.

MAIDEN EDITION HIGHLIGHT (Preview Block)

Maiden Edition 2026: Lagos

The first official convening of ASWALK Festival marks the founding of the Appearance Republic — a historic gathering centring visibility, dignity, and African-led appearance justice.

What to expect:
• Community-led dialogue and workshops
• Inter-Condition Appearance Republic Games
• Two historic World Record attempts
• Cultural celebration, fashion, and collective presence

→ Learn more about Maiden Edition 2026