Reality is Fiction
Simon Njami is a writer, editor and curator. He has also worked closely with the Moleskine Foundation as co-creator and advisor of the AtWork educational format.
As the world entered confinement in the beginning of 2020, Simon Njami ponders on the ways human connection and energy has rapidly shifted. He brings up as well the meaning words carry, and how they can lose impact in the particular context of a pandemic that seems to raise a unique sense of equality around the world.
In this discussion, Njami redefines words that seem to be misused in the context of the pandemic, examining how the mask, that many see as a restriction, can be seen as a communication tool. In this episode, “Reality is Fiction” Simon Njami explains how creativity is in our everyday life, and how fiction is more alike to reality than we think. It is everywhere, and once you realize that you are the master of your own fiction, you can re-write it.
“We have many faces. And what I like about the idea of the mask, it’s that it makes us realize that we are always wearing one. The mask brings a confusion, we are supposed to go out there, wearing the mask and knowing what’s under it. But the person we are addressing might not know what is under, and we select the mask we want to wear according to the person we want to deal with.”
Listen to the bonus episode of Creativity Pioneers now and tune in for more conversation about art, entrepreneurship, literature, philosophy, politics, and social activism.
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.
