We have uploaded the latest AtWork Douala Chapter 09 experience on our AtWork platform.
AtWork Douala Chapter 09, conducted by international curator Simon Njami on December 5-9, 2018, has been implemented in partnership with Galerie MAM and its founder Maréme Malong, and doual’art, the contemporary art center in Douala. It was part of the Off Program of SUD-Salon Urbaine Douala, a triennial event that brings together the artists, thinkers, philosophers, educators from the African continent and beyond.
Simon Njami conducted 22 local young creative talents through the AtWork process, reflecting on the main theme “Who are my people?”. This seemingly simple question was the starting point for an intense collective discussion and a deep individual self-reflection, it pushed each participant to dig deeper and provided them with the tools to be more aware about who they are, what they do and what positive change they might produce in the society around them. At the end of the workshop each participant gave their creative artistic answer to the posed question by personalizing a notebook.
Check out the experience on our website, see the video with the testimonies of the participants on the workshop’s impact, see the notebooks they have created and discover their personal stories in answering the question “Who are my people?”
To us Douala has been yet another proof on how creativity is one of the key drivers of social change. Thank you again for your support and contribution that help us inspire a new generation of creative thinkers.
Stay tuned for AtWork 2018 program announcement, exciting news coming soon!
Claude Bunny Massassa is a contemporary artist from Gabon. She created Bunny Studio in 2016, a start-up dedicated to photography production, which became DWABI Studio in 2021. As an artist, she has represented Gabon in many international exhibitions in Senegal, Uganda, France, the United States, and Italy. In her art, she denounces social stigmas around issues of identity and mental health, and explores themes of traditions and myths.
Executive Director Kimberly Aceves- Iñiguez has been passionately committed for over 20 years to social justice organizing and advocacy efforts that bring voice and power to youth, LGBTQ people, people of color, and working-class communities in the Bay Area. Before coming on as the Executive Director for RYSE, Kimberly served as the Executive Director for Youth Together, the founding organization of the RYSE Center.
Kanwarpal Dhaliwal is one of the co-founders of RYSE and currently acts as the Associate Director. She supports and guides the implementation and integration of healing-centered practices, grounded in racial justice and liberation, and also develops, promotes, and advocates for policies, investments, practices, and research that enliven healing, justice, and liberation. Kanwarpal believes that the purpose of her work and life is to contribute to movements, communities, and legacies of liberation that honor the ancestors who fought for her existence and survival, and to forge a world that is just and gentle for future generations.
Sagal Ali is the founder and executive director of SAF. After a few years in her career in heritage protection in the cultural sector, she decided to develop the initiative to directly support young creatives in Somalia by launching her own foundation. She hopes to bridge the social gaps and inequalities women face in Somalia, both in society and in the arts scene.
Co-founders Catherine Dunga and Marleen Palmaers created Kitambo to bridge the gap between the African diaspora in Colombia and the narratives from the continent. From Kinshasa and Antwerp respectively, they work to connect African artists from the continent and their peers from the Colombian diaspora.
Martha Kazungu is a curator, art Historian and Founder of Njabala Foundation, an organization that curates periodic exhibitions and organizes a public program of activities to create a safe space for female artists to thrive and blossom.
Alicia Hansen is a photographer and teacher from New York. She founded NYC SALT in 2008 and, beyond teaching valuable creative skills to her students, has developed a long-term support system to uplift them through school and into their early artistic careers.
