“Why Africa?” When I discovered the question, I felt tempted to parody this American actor in this ad for some coffee and to answer: what else?
Destabilizing, ironic, direct. These are the first lines of our advisor Simon Njami’s answer to the question that wants to provoke and shake the pre-established ideas on the entire continent. A question that is also a name of our editorial column on Doppiozero and that could not but prod the critical thinking of an intellectual that has always accompanied, sustained and stimulated lettera27’s course.
Simon Njami welcomes the challenge and presents us with an article-long answer, which unfolds in a very personal journey, not stopping at just one question mark: it installs the doubt, opens new questions and expands perspectives. We follow Njami in a dance that offers a glance at his personal story and invites us to join in a wider reflection on the transitory and mirror-like nature of the subjective and collective identity. We retrace this path between the shadows of the African identity of one of the main contemporary curators. We invite you to re-read, together, one of the most intense and poetic contributions to our column “Why Africa?”: The mother of all dances.
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.
