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The Many Faces of Adriano Visagie


A multi-award-winning actor, master of ceremonies, activist, media personality, banker at First National Bank of Namibia and final-year student in human resources, Adriano Visagie is a firm believer that tough circumstances can bring out the best in you.

Visagie refers to himself as a hybrid creator, and his motto is to be a catalyst for cross collaboration among artists.

He recently partnered with Tafel Lager on the #BeBrave campaign.

Also up his sleeve are new productions. “I’ve two short films in post production that I’ve worked on with with Hendrik Ehlers, directed by Lize Ehlers, with Renier de Bruyn as director of photogaphy. The second film is directed by Mikiros Garoes, who also starred with me in the ‘Kapana movie’ and co-wrote the script of the ‘Kapana movie’,” he says.

Visagie (31) was born and bred in Windhoek.

“For some reason, my motivation has never been fame or the spotlight. It has been all about using my voice, space and talents to be of service. Both my parents inspire me. Their unconditional love and hard work always continue to be an inspiration. My mom is my biggest cheerleader. She’s always in the front row and has been the biggest support even when I felt like giving up,” he says.

Visagie says work has come with many battles and prejudices like finances, getting one’s art recognised and breaking into the industry, but his driving force has been consistency.

Visagie’s passion for the creative arts started at school, where he was an actor and teacher and directed choirs.

“After high school, I was juggling radio and trying to get into the bank. I did contemporary dance at the College of the Arts. I then got a role in Sandy Rudd’s ‘Meme Mia’ while dancing at the College of the Arts. I was selected as the principal dancer for the musical. Thereafter, I got a role in ‘Lammie Beukes’. I did a few more plays after that and realised I loved acting more than I did dance,” says the former Dawid Bezuidenhoudt High School pupil.

Some of the films Visagie acted in are ‘Salute’, ‘Sacred places’ and ‘Kapana’.

He says besides the drama during rehearsals, acting gives him a few minutes in his life where he can take off the masks of perfection and allow people to be vulnerable and reveal the truth.

“Having to dive into the characterisation process is something that’s often unspoken of and that’s such a beautiful and personal process between the director and actors. My role in ‘Kapana’ has stirred a lot of discussions around George’s HIV status and why this is synonymous to queer culture, and the cultural differences of interracial relationships.

“My debut film, ‘Salute’, taught me the beauty of humanity and how we are all still children. I played Kado. This was such a full circle moment for me because as a high school pupil I once had to debate about the use of condoms in prisons and then 10 years later it’s still an ongoing discussion and I got to express it through film,” he says.

He believes actors become the characters that create comfortable and uncomfortable discussions in society and households and that is a form of activism, therefore, in every role he takes on he tries to be as authentic as possible.

He has great passion for drag nights, a platform aimed at nurturing, developing and blessing drag newbies who are eager to own their alter egos, sashay down the runway and lip-sync for their tips, and would often perform as a form of entertainment and expression. At the last drag night, he did Etta James.

“Drag is such a beautiful culture of performance and I believe drag is synonymous to the coloured representation of who we are as a people. The ‘misfits’ of society not by choice but by circumstance. I truly believe every drag performance has been an emotional and true expression of compartmentalised trauma,” he says.

POSITIVE VIBES

Radio lovers know Visagie from his career as a radio deejay for 10 years.

Visagie says his confidence and love for speaking were inspired during his school years, when he was in the debating society.

“I will never forget the first time I walked into that studio and I was amazed at all the buttons and computers. Being in Grade 12, I would rush to Base FM in Katutura and do a drive show and rush back home to do school work,” he recalls.

He is also known for his impersonation of Tina Turner, in a show at the Warehouse Theatre.

“Performing tributes to a woman who is as iconic and has survived the odds of suffering rape and abuse by her husband has allowed us to reflect, in a time of passion killings, what difference we can make. I’m a die-hard Tina Turner fan and her journey and life are a testimony to one of the projects I embarked on to safeguard and create safe spaces for women, men and children from all sexual minorities with ‘Positive Vibes’ and the United Nations Development Fund,” he said.

During his free time Visagie likes spending time with family, working out, meditating or looking at new ways the Adriano Visagie Foundation can make a difference in the community.





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