Our itinerant educational format AtWork continues its journey. We are happy to announce the second leg of our AtWork Tour 2018 “I had a dream”. The 5-day intensive workshop conducted by our advisor Simon Njami will take place in Ndjamena, Chad, on July 2-6th and will be implemented in partnership with the National Museum of Chad and the local cultural organization Djamah Afrik.
Through an open call selection, the 25 local young creative talents were awarded Moleskine Foundation scholarships that will cover their workshop participation fees. The selected students of cinema, audio and visual production and aspiring artists will participate in the workshop hosted by the National Museum of Chad. In a context where the cultural initiatives are underfunded and almost non-existent, we are happy to provide these young minds with an unconventional educational platform, where they can meet, exchange and become part of the AtWork international creative network. Together with our local partners, we are working on making this format replicable and sustainable.
Following the footsteps of the first leg of the Tour that took place in Rome, the participants will exercise their critical thinking skills while discussing their “useful” dreams and then will creatively interpret them on the pages of a notebook.
The created artworks will be exhibited at the National Museum of Chad on July 8th-21st in a show co-curated by the participants.
Simon Njami comments on the topic: “It is a school of freedom and social engagement, for, no changes can be achieved by one person alone. If Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi or Martin Luther King, to name a few dreamers, succeeded in their endeavours, it was mainly because they were able to convince outside of their ego. It is time to tell those kids who represent our future that there is no such a thing as fatalism. We were born what we were born, but we always become what we did. In few words, ‘I Had a Dream” is a call for action, here and now.”
The final international exhibition in 2019 will feature 100 participants, 100 dreams, 100 projects. In the meantime follow us on social media and spread the word. Let’s inspire a new generation of creative thinkers together!
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.
