‍ ‍Image: The Firsts: Rosa Emilia Clay, Sasha Huber. Photographed by Per Kristiansen.

Research Presentations, Panel Discussions + Screenings: Rosa Emilia Clay Day 

A symposium centred on the works of Lebo Tlali and Sasha Huber, exploring Namibia's colonial history through film, performance and critical dialogue, anchored by the story of Rosa Emilia Clay (1875–1959). 

Rosa was born in Omaruru, Namibia, brought to Finland at age 13 by missionaries and became the first person of African descent to receive Finnish citizenship in 1899. A trained teacher, singer and choir leader Rosa’s story connects Namibia, Finland and the Finnish-American diaspora. The day brings together researchers, musicians and artists in her honour. 

Participants include artists Lebo Tlali and Sasha Huber, musician Emilia Wolf, cinematographer Musa Coen, researchers Tegelela Nampala and José Loch from Namibia, researchers Raita Merivirta and Leila Koivunen from the University of Turku. The moderator is researcher Anna Rastas. 

Date: 25 October 2026
Time: 13:00-19:00

Helsinki Library Oodi
Maijansali, 1st Floor
Töölönlahdenkatu 4,
00100 Helsinki


Drop-in (first come, first serve) or

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  • Anna Rastas is a Doctor of Social Sciences, adjunct professor of social anthropology at Tampere University and adjunct professor of European ethnology at the University of Helsinki. Her research and teaching explore race, ethnicity, power, intersectionality, decoloniality and diaspora communities, with a focus on how museums, universities and cultural institutions shape understandings of diversity, belonging and national identity.

    Her work combines social anthropology and cultural studies, examining how knowledge is produced, represented and contested. From 2015 to 2020, she led the Research Council of Finland-funded project Rethinking Diasporas, Redefining Nations, which investigated the representation of African diasporic histories and identities in European museums and exhibitions.

  • Emilia Wolf is a dynamic singer from Joensuu, Finland, known for her versatile voice and engaging performances. Her musical style moves across soul, pop and jazz, while her broad repertoire allows her to perform both as a soloist and troubadour.

    She has also performed in ensemble settings, including as a vocalist and keyboardist. Wolf’s music combines fresh pop influences with a distinctive vocal style, making her a versatile performer for concerts, events and collaborations

  • José Loch is a young Namibian curator and heritage researcher based in Omaruru. As caretaker and curator of the Omaruru Museum, he works to preserve and interpret the town’s complex history, including its Indigenous, missionary and colonial legacies.

    Through storytelling and public engagement, Loch brings overlooked local histories and historical figures to wider audiences. He is particularly committed to encouraging young people to learn from their heritage and recognise its relevance to the present.

  • Leila Koivunen is a Professor of European and World History at the University of Turku in Finland. She specializes in the historical interactions and knowledge formation between Africa and Europe. Her research focuses on the history of Aawambo foster children in Finland, Namibian collections in Finnish museums and general knowledge of Owambo in Finland.

  • Lebohang is active as a photographer, workshop facilitator and project leader based in Finland, working between South Africa and Europe. He mainly uses photography as a medium for both personal and socio documentary projects focusing on relooking at history in the present day. Relevant exhibitions in Europe include Welkom Today at Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 2019, Möhkönvirta Contemporary 2021 and 2024 at Ilomantsi Museum and Quantum Critic at Mymmalla2 Gallery, Helsinki in 2022. He participated in M_ita? Biennial Joensuu in 2023, and in 2024 presented Welkom to Outokumpu at the old mine, Finland. His current ongoing project is a retelling of the story of Rosa Emilia Clay, the first documented African born citizen of Finland from Namibia. 

    He has additionally worked for cultural organizations such as the Cape Africa Platform, Stevenson Gallery in South Africa, the 10th Berlin Biennale and Frame Contemporary Finland in capacities of project coordination and curatorial assistance.

  • Musa Abdel Aziz (Bob Coen) is an award-winning filmmaker, author, investigative journalist and former war correspondent. For nearly four decades, he has documented struggles for social justice and challenged dominant narratives, beginning with the anti-colonial and anti-apartheid movements in southern Africa.

    He later served as CNN’s roaming Africa correspondent and received the 1997 Prix Bayeux for Best Television War Correspondent for his coverage of the Liberian civil conflict. Since 2001, his investigative documentaries have focused on 21st-century geopolitics and have received international recognition.

    Today, Coen explores stories that illuminate historical wounds and the restoration of what has been lost. He is founder of Áhkku Vision in Finland, co-founder and co-director of Transformer Films in New York, and has worked as a communications consultant and media adviser for UNICEF and other UN agencies. He also serves on the board of The Institute for the Healing of Memories.

  • Raita Merivirta has two PhD degrees (English literature, La Trobe University, and History, University of Turku) and currently works as a research fellow at the department of European and World history, University of Turku. Merivirta is also an adjunct professor in colonial history at the University of Turku, an adjunct professor of English philology, especially postcolonial literature and cultural studies at Tampere University, and an adjunct professor of colonial and postcolonial literature and film at Åbo Akademi University.

  • Sasha Huber (b. 1975) is a Helsinki-based visual artist-researcher of Swiss-Haitian heritage. Her practice explores memory, care and belonging in relation to colonial legacies, working across performance, video, photography, archival research and collaboration.

    Huber is known for her contribution to the Demounting Louis Agassiz campaign, which challenges the glaciologist’s racist legacy. She holds an MA from Aalto University and is pursuing a practice-based PhD at Zurich University of the Arts. Together with artist Petri Saarikko, she co-founded the long-term project Remedies Universe.

    Huber is also friend and advisor of Southnord, and her work The Sea of the Lost was presented in The Threshold Is a Prism exhibition during Southnord Artfest 2023.

  • Lovisa Tegelela Nampala specializes in Aawambo culture, heritage and the histories of liberation struggles and migrant labor. Her research focuses on the impact that the education and health systems of Finnish missionaries had on the Aawambo community in the 20th century. She also explores the Emil Liljeblad collection on the community.