Grace

A Short Story by Billie McTernan, inspired by photographs by Amarachi Nnoli

L: Udor masquerade or Mmanwu Udor, is a messenger masquerade appearing mostly during festivities. Amaeku village Adazi-Ani, Anambra state. July 2025. R: Aji Busu masquerade is a messenger masquerade appearing mostly during festivities. Amaeku village Adazi-Ani, Anambra state. July 2025. Photographs by Amarachi Nnoli

She did not notice the masquerades in the initial hurry, but she could feel their energy as she stepped off the bus. She caught a glimpse of raffia as she pulled her suitcase from the back of the bus and knew immediately which masquerades were moving through the park. As a child she was captivated by the masquerades, their moves and mystery. She would trail Grace and Justice through the family compound, pretending to be the masquerades that owned the streets during the holidays. Embodying their spirit in performance Grace would bob and shake, and spin and march. Every time Ada’s family travelled to the village the three of them would pick up right where they left off, parading and chasing each other just like the masquerades that fascinated them. It continued that way for years, the three of them, until it didn’t.

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Billie McTernan’s work as an artist and writer considers ways of spilling over the confines of what is generally considered to be writing. She is interested in the possibilities presented by non-verbal and visual language systems. As such, her work is nestled in the nexus of literary and contemporary art.

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This short story is inspired by Anwuli: An Invitation to Joy, which is part of Tender Visions, our ongoing project supported with funding from the open society foundations. Tender Visions is a cross-disciplinary commissioning program for photographers and writers based on the African continent. Over the next one year, it will feature the work of thirteen photographers and twenty-six writers. This program will provide photographers with the opportunity to develop new, theme-based projects rooted in their local communities, while fostering collaborative engagements with writers who will produce creative and critical texts that contextualize the visual work. Our aim is to create space for deepened engagement with visual storytelling in Africa, and to bring new narratives to local and international audiences in insightful and thought-provoking ways. Read more about Tender Photos.