Af-Flux: Biennale transnationale noire | Free Conferences and Performances

The mission of Af-Flux: Biennale transnationale noire is to pay tribute to diverse Black identities and to spotlight issues affecting artists of African descent through their cultures and artistic works. Proud partner of the Biennale’s first edition, entitled Bossalle World, the MMFA will present a series of free conferences and performances by artists including Kama La Mackerel and Zab Maboungou on October 29-30 and November 6-7.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29
2 PM | Performance | Not Just Dance
Zab Maboungou / Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata

This revival of Not Just Dance, created by Maboungou in 2018, explores the body, mind form and dance. Performed by Karla Etienne and Marie-Denise Bettez, with Elli Miller Maboungou on drums, this work highlights the different types of dances emerging from contemporary rhythm cultures.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30
10.30 AM | Conference | Corps et mémoire : la corpopolitique du savoir (Body and Memory: The Body Politics of Knowledge)
Lena Blou, Eddy Firmin and Zab Maboungou

In so-called “traditional” cultures, the dancing, singing or rhythmic body organizes the act of transmission, and the figure of the circle is systematically present. Artist and choreographer Zab Maboungou and Guadeloupe-born choreographer, dancer and educator Lena Blou will discuss these observations in reference to their own respective practice in this conference hosted by Eddy Firmin, curator of the first edition of Af-Flux: Biennale transnationale noire. (In French)

3 PM | Performance
Mover
Zab Maboungou / Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata

Accompanied by Bruno Martinez on the drum, Zab Magoungou will perform the dance Mover, a new choreography that explores movement and the borders within which the artist and choreographer attempts to answer the question: “Can we move about freely?”

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6
1.30 PM | Performance | Le Morne : sekinn ekrir pa efase
Kama La Mackerel

Le Morne is a mountain on the southwestern tip of the island of Mauritius that was a refuge for runaway slaves, called Maroons, in the 19th century. Upon the abolition of slavery in 1835, a delegation of British soldiers was dispatched to inform the Maroons of their emancipation. Believing that the army was actually there to recapture them, many of the former slaves climbed to the summit of the mountain and leapt to their deaths. Kama La Mackerel revives the figure of the slave and the mountain – now a symbol of resistance – in this original performance that honours and gives voice to the dead.

3 PM | Conference | Corps et mémoire : identité, genre et colonisation (Body and Memory: Identity, Gender and Colonization)
Gerty Dambury, Eddy Firmin, Kama La Mackerel and Thérèse St-Gelais

Originally coined by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw to refer to the systemic challenges encountered by Black women on a daily basis, the concept of intersectionality describes the overlapping and intersecting of different forms of oppression. In this conference hosted by Eddy Firmin, curator of the first edition of Af-Flux: Biennale transnationale noire, interdisciplinary artist Kama La Mackerel, Guadeloupe-born French author and theatre director Gerty Dambury, along with Thérèse St-Gelais, professor in the Department of Art History and director of the Institut de recherches et d’études féministes at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), will discuss this concept that helps us better understand the inequalities facing minorities and women in today’s world. (In French)

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7
1.30 PM | Performance | Le Morne : sekinn ekrir pa efase
Kama La Mackerel

(See description above)

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
Entrance at 1379 Sherbrooke Street West
(Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion)
Free entry. Limited seats.

Proof of vaccination with QR code required, along with a government-issued photo ID.

Credits
A presentation of Af-Flux: Biennale transnationale noire, in partnership with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Curatorial team: Eddy Firmin, curator of the first edition of Af-Flux: Biennale transnationale noire. Curator in charge of the presentation at the MMFA: Iris Amizlev, Curator – Community Engagement and Projects, MMFA.