LIGHTS OF BRAZZAVILLE
PHOTOGRAPHY, DANCE, POETRY:
THE SUCCESS OF A CULTURAL CYCLE TRIBUTE TO DANCE ARTISTS
After a first exhibition at the Diangouaya Art Center from July 2023 to May 2024, the Lumières de Brazzaville exhibition was deployed in new partner cultural venues from June 26 to August 5, 2024.
The results are rich: Two evenings of shows and performances, 5 temporary exhibitions, 10 photo sessions and research sessions, 3 dance-visual arts workshops for young audiences far from the cultural offering, 1 improvisation workshop intended for professional artists .
The various artistic contents brought together an audience of more than 2,500 people over a month and a half, and beyond for the exhibitions which continued after August 7.
Many partners were there, including:
The French Institute of Brazzaville
The ClassPro_Culture Photography Center, the Les Lucioles Cultural Space, ENCRED, the Diangouaya Art Center, the Ateliers SAHM center.
VERY INVESTED CULTURAL PARNERS
SHOWS AND PERFORMANCES
The opening evenings, the shows You will not even see the Earth (trio performance) and My body remembers (solo performance) were performed in front of a large audience. Open stages and collective performances with artists appearing in the photographs were offered. It was very important that dance, visual arts and photography could dialogue in the same space.
MEETING THE ARTISTS
Dedicated to dance artists from Brazzaville, the Lumières de Brazzaville cycle included a time of exchange between Alexia Traore and a group of professional dancers in partnership with Ateliers SAHM, at the invitation of Ms. Bill Kouelany.
This Body, Imagination, Poetry workshop allowed us to explore the link between poetry and movement, in music with Myla Boueya (Bass) and with the participation of Gatien Brunel Bitsangou.
MEETING YOUNG AUDIENCES
The children of ENCRED, ClassPro_Culture and the Les Lucioles Cultural Space were invited to explore dance and visual arts with Alexia Traore, Gatien Brunel Bitsangou and Alexis Aymard Vividila Ngoma. They came in large numbers to create frescoes and installations, familiarizing themselves with contemporary art in a friendly and festive atmosphere.
LIGHTS OF BRAZZAVILLE 2022 / 2024
INITIAL RESEARCH AND OPERATIONS
Art is a light for human life, opening the door to the expression of all feelings, a door to the freedom to be oneself. When I met the artists of the Festival Mabina Danse 2022 I was touched by the commitment and the courage with which each and everyone puts themselves at the service of their art, and puts their art at the service of society, at all times. Dancers, dancers, musicians, visual artists, actors… Through these images I wanted to highlight their immense talent and creativity, which inspired me so much.
The series was produced within the walls of the Diangouaya Art Center, in the Mpissa-Bacongo district, in Brazzaville. This space concentrates exchanges and artistic activities not only during the Mabina Danse festival, which has been taking place for 11 years, but also throughout the year, offering artists and inhabitants an open place for research, residences and rehearsals.
My photographs are both a tribute to the artists, to this place that welcomes them, and to the love of art that inhabits Brazzaville and its inhabitants.
The exhibition is now visible at the Diangouaya Art Center since July 28, 2023; itinerant, it aims to invest in other places, in Congo, in France or elsewhere.
All my gratitude to the artists who shared these moments, and to Chrysogone Diangouaya for his welcome.
Cegras Ndudi / G Miller / Dorcas / Junior / Angelus Wasemo / Nuptia Nzoumba / Goga / Nolida Massamba
