Snapshots #2:
And then I will be quiet, so I can hear your blowin’
"And then I will be quiet, so I can hear you blowin’," critically reflects on the idea of the solo (show) and breathing for the second iteration of SNAPSHOTS.
*Solo: done by one person alone; unaccompanied.
*Solo: a piece or passage of vocal or instrumental music for one performer.
Inspired from the knowledge transmitted by the seed of the Safou, a very important pear/plum in many african cultures, the non exhibition, brought forth by Auded Christel Mgba and Soñ Gweha, attempts to serve as a space for breathing.
Even in a choir, a solo has its sense only in a group of people who are either silent or humming. Although most able bodies can claim to come to the world with a heart and a pair of lungs, we want to acknowledge that breathing, or blowing, as Soñ likes to say, is a collective practice. Through this project our offering is to think of the impossibility to gather and come together without our reliance on collective breathing. Regardless of any geography we are located in, we share the same air and so as in the line of Chinua’s Achebe thoughts, our lives become contingent to each other.
This artistic/spatial proposition aims to create a space of solace, joy and continuous organizing. It is an attempt to facilitate space of gratitude for all the people who fought and resisted before us to keep breathing. It is a space to remember those who left too soon, a space to share our breath with those in our lineages, our communities of affinities, our ancestral and QTBIPOC teachers and caregivers who have tried and spread their powers through time (in the past, the present, and for the future) bearing with a lot of difficulties and grace, the violence of this world.
Through a program of offerings, taking place each weekend for the duration of the show, Aude and Soñ conduct the solo as collaboration, as a breathing together, a sharing of air. Conversing, singing, dancing, eating together are practices rooted in attentive listening to each other .
💥Date: August 12, 2023 - September 10, 2023💥
💥Open days: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays💥
💥Location: Westerdoksdijk 597, Amsterdam💥
Every weekend the show/space is activated, on 19 August (14h-17h) a listening session with Roots to Fruits (Mirelle van Tulder) takes place. On 26 August (from 19.30h) there will be a Sonic Lecture, consisting of a listening session with Simnikiwe Buhlungu. On 2 September there will be a Workshop with James Parnel (14h-17h) and a Dj session and performance with Kongi (from 19.30).
Program:
Listening Session with Roots to Fruits (Mirelle van Tulder)
In response to the invitation, Roots to Fruits is sharing a selection of vinyls from her personal archive. Through a sonic journey, with guided notes, Mirelle van Tulder will take the us on a continental drift of resistance poetry, chants and folksongs, bringing different rhythms and vibrations, offering an alternative route through the world of sound. You are invited to bring your own vinyl.
Mirelle van Tulder is the founder of Roots to Fruits. She is an artist, designer, and research associate at the Research Center for Material Culture (NMVW). In her research methodologies she uses precisely chosen archives, as a prompt to point to the historical record of the many colonized areas in the Global South.
💥Date: August 19, 2023💥
💥Time: 14:00-17:00💥
💥Location: Westerdoksdijk 597, Amsterdam💥
💥RSVP here💥
What we did before we heard the keys: listening session and sharing of the sound piece 'No Day Off No Day Off (AKA The Official Scoh’ For The Filim Which Is Yet To Exist)' (2020) - Simnikiwe Buhlungu
This workshop aims to be a retelling of amusing and heartwarming stories from -- but not limited to -- childhood (as a loose framework). By listening through the work, No Day Off No Day Off (AKA The Official Scoh’ For The Filim Which Is Yet To Exist) which chronicles the hours spent home alone at the expense of having forgotten to "take the chicken out of the freezer!", at the behest of a working parent/guardian pulling a weekend shift.
Simnikiwe Buhlungu (1995) is an artist from Johannesburg, South Africa. Interested in knowledge production[s] — how it is produced, by whom and how it is disseminated — Buhlungu locates socio-historical and everyday phenomena by navigating these questions and their inexhaustible potential answers.
💥Date: August 26, 2023💥
💥Time: 19:30💥
💥Location: Westerdoksdijk 597, Amsterdam💥
💥RSVP Here💥
Workshop with James Parnell
Deciding to build a community with others is an active choice. That doesn't mean it’s always easy. In this workshop, we will practice what happens when we are finally in a conflict and/or confrontation with others. What emerges when we embrace respectful confrontation? What are your own limits within a confrontation? And how can we find joy in an argument?
James Parnell is a Hague-based curator, facilitator, dancer, and zinester who focuses on community building, collective learning, and the conflicts that arise in these practices. He often works in cultures and artistic communities on the margins, such as queer communities, Black communities, and independent publishers.
💥Date: September 02, 2023💥
💥Time: 14:00-17:00💥
💥Location: Westerdoksdijk 597, Amsterdam💥
💥RSVP Here💥
Celles Qui Manquent with Kongi
“Celles qui manquent” is a performance that pays tribute to three women who formed armies against the colonizers and who, due to their gender, have often been marginalized in narratives related to decolonization. In the performance, Kongi embodies them and invites the public to a collective homage.
Seh-Dong-Beh (19th century), whose name means "God Speaks the Truth." Hailing from Benin, led an entirely female army called the "Minos," meaning "our mothers." In 1851, and recruited 6000 women into this army to combat the Frenchcolonizers.
Yaa Asantewaa (1840-1921), from Ghana. Battling against British colonizers, led an army and was captured and forcibly exiled to Seychelles,where she passed away. Her dream of seeing her nation liberated from colonization came true on March 6, 1957.
Kaipkire (18th century), a warrior leader of the Hereropeople from southwestern Africa led her people in the fight against British slave traders and later fought against German colonization of Namibia until 1919.
Biography:
Born in 1990 in Kinshasa, in the Beaumarchais neighbourhood, Milka Mbunga Kongi is a visual artist, performer, and activist based in Brussels. She has gained recognition as an artist in the nightlife scene and the realm of socially engaged performance.
💥Date: September 02, 2023💥
💥Time: 19:30💥
💥Location: Westerdoksdijk 597, Amsterdam💥
💥RSVP Here💥