Meet Sahira

Sahira is the drag djinn of Nogojiwanong/Peterborough; unapologetically shape-shifting through every system designed to shrink Black, queer, and neurodivergent identities.

Born in Zanzibar and raised in Toronto, Sahira fuses movement, radical honesty, afro-fashion, and political heat into a drag practice that is equal parts ritual, rebellion, and joy as protest. A runner-up in the 2019 Future Fierce Pageant hosted by Tynomi Banks, Sahira was more recently hand-picked by Lemon out of over 40 applicants to compete in Toronto’s inaugural Legacy Pride Pageant in June 2025.

As an artist living with ADHD, Sahira builds work through a cyclical, intuitive process - shifting between music, sewing, painting, and performance as energy allows. What may look like bouncing between mediums is, for them, a self-regulated rhythm of expression. They return to each craft in cycles, layering skill over time and letting each form feed the next. Their practice honors neurodivergent flow: improvisational, dopamine-led, and rooted in autonomy. Onstage, performance becomes a kind of non-verbal clarity - not an escape from self, but a space where presence doesn’t require translation.

Sahira showcased the first rendition of their communally collaborative multi-disciplinary afro-drag project entitled A Dandy Lion’s Guide on How to Bloom from Rotted Roots during the 2025 Peterborough ArtsWeek.

Artistic Statement

Assalamu alaikum.

I am a drag djinn, a performance artist who draws on the figure of the djinn from Islamic mythology as a framework for my work. Djinn are beings of smokeless fire and shape-shifting by nature, and I approach drag as a practice rooted in transformation, movement, and honesty. My work is grounded in refusing rigid boundaries, both in form and in identity.

My relationship to the djinn is also familial and inherited, shaped by stories from my childhood in Zanzibar where djinn were understood not as fantasy, but as active presences tied to land, protection, and consequence. This understanding informs how I think about ancestry, place, and responsibility within my work.

My practice spans performance, music, sewing, visual art, and fashion. Rather than working in a linear way, I move between mediums as part of an intuitive and cyclical creative process. Living with ADHD has shaped how I create. What might appear as shifting between disciplines is, for me, a structured and self-regulated rhythm that allows ideas to develop through improvisation, repetition, and adaptation.

My recent multidisciplinary project, A Dandy Lion’s Guide on How to Bloom from Rotted Roots, reflects this approach. The work explores transformation through themes of belonging, resilience, and community, using the dandelion as a symbol of survival and decolonization. Developed during the summer 2025 Black August Arts Residency, the project combines live performance, original poetry, music, and film. I presented the first full iteration of the work at the 2025 Peterborough ArtsWeek.

Looking ahead, I aim to continue developing interdisciplinary projects that draw from eastern African mythology and collaborative creation. I am interested in building immersive experiences that challenge traditional boundaries between audience and performer, personal history and political context, and structure and improvisation. My practice seeks to create spaces where transformation feels visible and possible, and where people can recognize their ability to question, adapt, and reshape the systems around them.

Upcoming Events

Feb 14th // 11:30 AM
Broken Hearts Club Drag Brunch
// The Vine

Feb 14th // 9:00 PM
The Love Ball 2026
// The Gordon Best Theatre

Feb 21st // 8:00 PM
Drag Showdown
// The Honky Tonk Angel

  • Person wearing a colorful patterned outfit with floral embellishments, a matching headwrap, and feathered red cuffs, standing against a light background.
  • A person dressed in futuristic, space-themed costume with armor and mesh, adjusting long black hair in a vibrant purple-lit club or stage setting.
  • A woman in a headwrap and black top stands at a microphone on stage, smiling. The image features colorful text that says, 'The Love Ball Shukran,' and a thank you message at the bottom, with the credit to Andy Carroll.
  • A woman in colorful, traditional African attire performing on stage with a DJ setup behind her and a digital backdrop featuring a large spider graphic and text.
  • A person with dark skin and makeup, wearing large pentagram earrings and a pink outfit, holds a large striped fabric or hat overhead while standing behind sheer white curtains.
  • A woman on stage holding a striped scarf above her head with both hands. She is wearing a black head covering, a pink and black outfit, and striped sleeves. The background features a shadowy projection of the word 'SAHIRA' in stylized font, with the logo 'JC Photography' in the lower right corner.
  • A woman dressed in a colorful, eclectic outfit with animal print accessories, wearing a large wrapped headscarf, bold makeup, and jewelry, striking a pose against a black background with gold decorative elements and a cross symbol.
  • Person with bold makeup and jewelry, wearing vibrant, artistic clothing with floral and butterfly prints, posing among colorful flowers and greenery in an indoor setting.
  • Person with bold makeup and a netted head accessory, wearing a sleeveless vest and patterned clothing, standing beside a floral arrangement
  • A painting of a woman's face with bold makeup, large hoop earrings, and a yellow collar, overlaid with an abstract gold web pattern, set against a green background.
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 FAQs

  • I’ve been playing with gender and dressing eclectically for most of my life - but the first time I was paid to do it was when a friend asked me to perform a 'Lip Sync for Your Life'-style number at Market Hall for one of TQC's annual drag shows. I had no idea what I was stepping into. But the moment I hit that stage, something ancient and electric unlocked inside me.

    It wasn’t just about the performance - it was about embodying a version of myself that felt more alive, more free. That night didn’t just spark a passion. It set me on a lifelong path of shape-shifting, storytelling, and community building through drag.

  • In the world of drag, a drag child is someone you mentor - someone you guide as they come into their own artistry. It’s a chosen family dynamic rooted in care, legacy, and collective evolution. You help shape their drag, and in return, they shape you right back.

    Officially, I only have two drag children:

    • Betty Baker, the Nogojiwanong/Peterborough Public Library story time legend herself,

    • & Magnolia Knox, who I birthed in my living room.

    Each of them brings their own distinct magic to the stage. Watching them grow as performers, creators, and people is a joy beyond words. We’re not just performing together - we’re weaving a legacy.

  • ‘Sahira’ means “the enchantress” in Arabic - which felt like the perfect invocation: a name with poetic power. I chose it because it conjured mystery, femininity, and magic. What I didn’t know at the time is that Sahira also means “the wakeful one” - the one who cannot sleep. The one who stays alert. The one who stays woke.