PARIS
NOVEMBER, 13 2024
6PM - 9PM
The Cité internationale des arts invites Fondation H, a Malagasy contemporary art foundation located within the Cité’s premises, to curate this Open Studios evening. The public is invited to enter eight artists’ studios and discover artistic practices that respond to the themes developed in the exhibition Tàn xó [Memory in Prose] by Sènami Donoumassou, currently presented at Fondation H and a former resident at the Cité internationale des arts.
Tàn xó is a reflection on contemporary identity dynamics, where memory, history, and otherness intersect, taking Maya Angelou’s poem ‘On the Pulse of Morning’ as its starting point. Recited at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993, Maya Angelou’s poem is a call for unity, rebirth, and hope. This poem evokes the history of the United States, the struggles of African Americans, and the promise of building a just and inclusive world.
In resonance with the exhibition, the research of Jordan Beal (Deliciosa), Loise Braganza (The Body Does Not Exist: Techniques in Abandonment and Reclamation), Kenny Cairo (Urgence), Aurélie-Victoire Célanie(Créoliture fantasmée), Shivanjani Lal (I felt whole histories), Naomi Lulendo (Apparition(s)), Masami (Human battery charger), et de Wendy Therméa (Poussières de Vie : Mémoire Végétale et Murmures Urbains) explores themes of identity, individual and collective memory. By questioning shared historical representations and narratives, they respond to the voices of Maya Angelou and Sènami Donoumassou.
About the Cité internationale des arts
Ever since the Cité internationale des arts was founded in 1965, artists have been coming from allover the world to take part in our artist-in-residence programmes. The Cité encourages cross-cultural dialogue and provides a place where artists can meet with their public and other professionals. Every month, in partnership with 135 French and international organisations, the Cité’s two complementary sites welcome more than 300 artists from a wide range of disciplines for residencies lasting up to 1 year.