A few words about your artistic journey

I am a self-taught photographer. In my Africulturban association, I learned the basics of cinema there as part of a project called Hip Hop Academy for two years. But after I had an attraction for photography, so I participated in many workshops and masterclasses to improve myself.

How long have you been an artist ?

I have been doing photography for 8 years now.

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

For the past 6 months, I have been looking for funds for the release of my "EMERGENCY EXIT" photo book. So when they sent me the call for applications, then I thought that it could be an opportunity for me to release this project in digital version.

What are your concrete artistic objectives after this residency ?

After this residency, I will have my site well organized and I will have incorporated a photo gallery. This will allow you to visit the exhibitions of my upcoming projects without leaving your home.

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

During the residency, I was able to create my website, finalize the texts (dialogues), have them corrected by different people and communicate about my work.
The result is a book/photo that talks about sexual violence and resilience. The book will be downloadable from my website.
Many people were involved in the creative process. For the photos, there were the art director Willy Kemtane, Mamadou Ly for the lighting, Fatima Ndiour for the stage management and Malick Faye for the make-up. Then for the lyrics, there were Keyti (rapper artist, Journal Rappé), Bigué Bop (Journalist at Le Quotidien) and Oumar Sall for proofreading. Also, there was Fatou Kandé Senghor who made the preface.
Then, Fatou Mbacké for the website development and Sall Ngaary who did the graphic design. Finally, Ibrahim Ndiour did the teaser for the communication and Samira did the voice.

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 ?

I think that activities such as these are currently of great help to artists. I think that even though one day, the crisis will end, and we will be able to do everything again as we used to, we should consider adding those new activities to the old ones.

How did you feel during the residency ? And afterwards ?

I struggled to focus on my work. Since it has been two years that I have been working on it, I cannot believe I finally did it. I managed to make it the way I have imagined it. I had timing problems : there is a lot of peoplbloce involved, so it was not easy to get everyone involved, especially since it was all done remotely. Proofreading step took more time that I had expected. But we ended up getting everything done in time. I am satisfied with the result.