A few words about your artistic journey

I am an artist trained at the Institute of Fine Arts evolving in Lubumbashi.
I did several graffiti in various cultural places in the city. My latest achievement is an exhibition at the Waza Art Center in January 2020.

How long have you been an artist ?

At the end of my studies, I risked myself in another field but I could not flourish there. I decided to take up the art that I have practiced for 15 years ; I feel right in my element.

Why did you apply for this grant ? How will the grant support you ?

In these times of health crisis, the opportunities for artists are scarce. This grant will be an opportunity for me to continue my passion while raising awareness in the population of my city.

What are your concrete artistic objectives after this residency ?

Raise awareness and dialogue with the population in order to understand their perception of the situation and what the post-covid will be.

What did you achieve throughout this creative residency ? What is the result (created work) ? Who was involved in the creation process ?

Thanks to this grant, I realized the three artworks as schedule in the project timeframe. First, I started by reading the three texts written by three writers and bloggers of Harari DRC. They were the source of my inspiration. Then I recorded these three texts at DJ Spilulu’s studio.

After recording everything, I started working on my creation : the painting of three murals. The first one was made on the wall of the Waza Art Center representing Kisha covid, with a cultural perspective. Then, I painted the one at the Mzee Laurent Désiré Kabila market which was later moved to the exhibition space. Finally, the one of Kisha covid, with a social perspective, was realized on the spot at the" Centre d’Eveil pour la Femme C.E.F". It is a center in which I supervise the children in family rupture situations. All of this was complemented by an exchange with the public.

At the end of this process, I proceeded to edit a video which is the digital final work.

How do you think these activities allow people to reflect on today’s world : regarding the COVID-19 crisis, and/or the shaping of the tomorrow ?

These activities initiated by Africalia set up a real debate. They do allow to compare this situation analyses made by artists and audiences in different cities and countries. This may result, in the future in providing solutions to problems related to Covid 19.

How did you feel during the residency ? And at the end of it ?

I am satisfied because the dreamed product was realized as planned despite the difficulties encountered while writing the texts and the unavailability of collaborators, which sometimes disrupted the chronogram