The exhibition "Archiving Popular Art in Nairobi's Slums" focuses on the grassroots art practices in the slums of Nairobi, Africa. It explores how diverse forms of popular art emerge from these slums and serve as significant mediums for conveying local voices and constructing social spaces. Through three main sections: "Art Education and Creation in the Slums," "Cultural Ecology of Amateur Artists," and "Pathways of Local Non-Profit Art Practices," this exhibition sheds light on the art practices within the unique socio-cultural context of the slums. It delves into how art, within marginalized communities, can catalyze positive transformations, influencing and altering the future of the entire community.
Topics of roundtable dialogue:
1. Why do marginal groups need art?
2. Why is art education needed?
3. How to build community through collaboration?
2023年9月16日 15:30
Salle d'activités du deuxième étage, Zone d'exposition 3, Maison Bleue - Porte Montmartre, 24 Av. de la Porte de Montmartre, 75018 Paris
Nancy Chelagat Cherwon (Nairobi, Kenya) also known as a Chelwek, is a mixed media creative who oscillates between digital media and graffiti murals that she uses to promote social change within vulnerable communities in Kenya. Her biggest inspiration is the people of the African soil, the vibrance of the African story, the brilliance of the feminine thought and the relevance of African spirituality. Her murals are spread in several countries around the world and continue to showcase the African essence to the world. Chelwek has created eccentric pieces founded on African mysticism and spirituality while espousing liberating feminism in her repertoire. She infuses the vibrance of the African story, the brilliance of the feminine thought and the importance of renewed African spirituality through her art. Chelwek is inspired by life as her art embodies the life-giving essence of every living being in this universe. She translates this essence into art forms that speak to her of the greatness of the universe and the space we hold as creative souls for the ones here and for those to come.
Brian Otieno is a freelance photojournalist and documentary photographer based in Nairobi, Kenya. He was raised in Kibera, where he documents the everyday realities of ordinary life through his photo project called KiberaStories, which he started in 2013. His passion and commitment lie in capturing the stories of the vibrant community of Kibera and attempting to look beyond the chaotic appearance of his hometown and depict a broader spectrum of life from socio-economic, cultural, political and environmental perspectives.
Busayo Olowu is the founding member of Illuminate Theatre Productions. This is a multidisciplinary creative lab where a collection of young Nigerian performance artists collaborate to create different experimental and artistic projects. They work in the field of dance, music, drama and performance art. Founding members of Illuminate Theatre Productions are Ojodun Taiwo Jacob, Olowu Busayo, Uche Enechukwu, as well as a few other young performance artist-based in the marginal communities in mainland Lagos. With great sensitivity and originality, the young artists of Illuminate Theatre Productions have been using public performance as a way of intervening in the public. Particularly with their works in public spaces, they aim to make live performances accessible to everyone.
JU Rui, Psychoanalyst, clinical psychologist, and psychotherapist at the Specialized Psychotherapeutic and Pedagogical Center of Parc Heller (CPPS) in Antony. She is a member of the École Savoir y Faire (ESP) ("School of Knowing How to Do"), a Lacanian psychoanalytic school in China. She was a student of Professor Huo Datong, a Chinese psychoanalyst and founder of the Chengdu Psychoanalytic Center (CPC). She has continued her studies in psychoanalysis, psychology, and psychopathology at French universities since 2011 and obtained her doctorate from the Center for Research in Psychoanalysis, Medicine, and Society (CRPMS) at Université Paris Cité (Paris 7) in 2021. As someone trained in French psychoanalytic culture and committed to disseminating this culture in China, she works as a specialized translator, teacher, and lecturer. Additionally, she oversees quality control for practicing psychotherapists working in China. In France, within a French institution, she provides care to children and adolescents with autism and psychosis, most of whom are of non-European origin. During their treatment, she takes into account their multicultural dimensions while developing creative and artistic approaches to provide care tailored to their specific pathology.
Denis Do was born in 1985 in Paris. Graduating from Gobelins, l'École de l'Image, in 2009, the co-direction of his final project film "The Ribbon" (紅髮帶）in the same year confirmed his desire to make films. He directed "Funan"，his first feature-length film, which was awarded the Crystal for Best Feature Film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in 2018. His work is inspired and influenced by his triple heritage of Chinese, Khmer, and French cultures. Deeply committed to themes of identity and memory, he is also involved in issues of minority representation through animation. His latest film "The Forest of Miss Tang" (陳小姐的森林）is a personal and deep dedication to his teochew roots. Denis is also active in the non-profit sector, serving as the president of the association "Les Jeunes Teochew de France" (法國青年潮州人）which works to preserve and transmit the memory, history, and culture of the Teochew community in France.
Fatima LESANI, Afghan artist and graphic designer, was a refugee for several years in Iran due to the war in her country. She obtained a Bachelor's degree in Applied Sciences of Visual Communication in Iran in 2012. Upon arriving in France in 2016, she continued her artistic activities and organised two exhibitions on the theme of immigration, particularly in collaboration with the City of Paris. Fatima then decided to change her career path to focus on cinema in order to speak about her country and the difficult situation of Afghan women. Being an Afghan woman herself, Fatima is highly motivated to express and share their struggles and sorrows as well as all matters concerning them through art and creation. She obtained her Bachelor's degree in Cinema and Audiovisual Studies at the Université Paris 3 in 2022. Fatima is now a Master's student in cinema at the Université Paris 1.
