AtWork N’Djamena “I had a dream” experience in Chad is over, it was the second leg of AtWork “I had a dream” 2018 Tour. The 5 days of the workshop and the exhibition at the National Museum of Chad of the created notebooks have concluded, but the process ignited in the young minds of the participants is just starting.
It was December 2017 and we were in the middle of AtWork workshop in Douala when we were approached by Oumaté Abdoulaye Abdul, a cultural manager from N’Djamena, who came all the way from Chad to see what AtWork was all about. He came to us during the break and urged us to bring AtWork to Chad, which he described as culturally hungry and deficient, regardless of numerous young people eager to express themselves creatively. “Stimulating critical thinking in N’Djamena is crucial, we have very little happening here from the cultural point of view, but there is a will and desire to change this”.
It was Oumaté’s personal drive to make a change that allowed AtWork N’Djamena to happen 7 months later. We have got in touch with his cultural organization Djamah Afrik and worked together to bring AtWork to this complex context. 27 young creative talents from different backgrounds, including aspiring film makers, producers, actors, stylists, entrepreneurs, writers, got together under the guidance of Simon Njami to debate, critique and exchange about their dreams. The creative outcome of these reflections was spilled out on a notebook by each participant, producing 27 dream projects, which will be exhibited as part of the final international exhibition of “I had a dream” Tour in 2019. Now it’s up to these young minds to realise their dreams, using the critical thinking tools that AtWork provided them with. As AtWork Rome participant said “Change starts with yourself”.
We are looking forward to seeing the planted seeds grow in Chad. In the meantime AtWork Tour is proceeding to Kampala at the end of August. We keep dreaming and promoting creativity for social change. Stay tuned for our updates!
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.
