Naffisatou Koulibaly (she/her) is a poet and multimedia artist from Providence, RI. Naffisatou began writing professionally a decade ago at AS220 Youth where she was introduced to Slam poetry. Naffisatou competed on the Providence Poetry Slam’s youth Slam team in 2018 at international poetry festival, Brave New Voices. She currently serves as co-director for ProvSlam; writing grants, managing programming, and teaching poetry workshops. Naffisatou received a BA in English Literature from Salve Regina University in 2021. Naffisatou is also a resident at the Dirt Palace in Olneyville. From September 2023-June 2024, she was a part of the Emerging Artist Fellowship (now the Creative Leadership Program) at AS220 with a focus in teaching and education.

Naffisatou’s work unearths the complex tapestry of girlhood in the 21st century. While girlhood is often portrayed as a time of innocence and simplicity, her own journey through girlhood has been marked by a stark and sometimes surreal sense of otherness. In her work, Naffisatou seeks to unmask the myth of innocence that shrouds girlhood. It’s not about preserving fragility; it’s about embracing the strength that emerges from navigating a world that is as horrible as it is beautiful. A central theme to Naffisatou’s work is examining the profound and turbulent emotions that accompany girlhood. She invites her audience to recognize that being a girl is akin to being an outsider–an alien in a world that struggles to comprehend the intensity of our experiences; to be both extraordinary and out-of-place.