Practices of de-canonization of the art system to build common spaces of unlearning and sharing
In season two of the Creativity Pioneers podcast, our CEO Adama Sanneh talks with Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung.
Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung is an independent curator, author, and founder and artistic director of Savvy Contemporary in Berlin.
When talking about his role as a curator, Bonaventure brings up the idea of a conductor, someone who creates while instructing others to create together, and emphasizes the idea of putting community forward when building a project.
According to him, the collectivity of voices and experiences is what build spaces of thought and reflection, where everyone can commune and acknowledge each other. And it is occupying those spaces, giving access to those who have not been able to claim it as their own, that Bonaventure gives priority to.
“In this year and a half of the pandemic, being in a very dire time, it has been about thinking of those things that we do not see, thinking of the several realities out there, thinking about the things that politicians might not be able to afford to think of, while scientists are actually thinking of just taking off a virus. We must think of all the things, thinking about ways of caring, but also taking the time to create.”
Listen to the full Creativity Pioneers episode here and hear more from unique creative minds all over the world.
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.
