July 11 › November 15, 2015 the exhibition 01 - 04
IMAGES FOR THE PRESS 05
90 YEARS OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART IN the CONGO by André Magnin 07
INTERVIEWS WITH ARTISTS 09
EXCERPTS FROM THE CATALOG 11 - 14
THE FONDATION CARTIER AND AFRICAN CONTEMPORARY ART 15
THE NOMADIC NIGHTS 16
INTERNET 17
YOUNG PEOPLE 18
INFORMATION 19
MEDIA PARTNERS 20
NEXT EXHIBITIONS 21
press Matthieu Simonnet, assisted by Maïté Perrocheau Tel. +33 (0)1 42 18 56 77 / 65 – [email protected] Information: presse.fondation.cartier.com the exhibition 01
A place of extraordinary cultural vitality, the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be honored in the Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko exhibition presented at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain with André Magnin, Chief Curator.
Modern painting in the Congo In the 1980s in the 1920s Beginning in the 1980s and continuing Taking as its point of departure the birth of through to the present, innovative sculptors modern painting in the Congo in the 1920s, like Bodys Isek Kingelez and Rigobert Nimi this ambitious exhibition will trace almost have created intricate architectural models a century of the country’s artistic production. of utopian cities or robotized factories to While specifically focusing on painting, explore the question of social cohesion. For it will also include music, sculpture, them, art provokes self-renewal that in turn photography, and comics, providing the contributes towards a better collective future. public with the unique opportunity to discover the diverse and vibrant art scene In the 2000s of the region. Reflecting a new generation of artists, the members of the collective Eza Possibles, Precursors created in 2003, have refused the narrow As early as the mid-1920s, when the Congo confines of the Académie des Beaux-Arts was still a Belgian colony, precursors such of Kinshasa. Two of its founding painters, as Albert and Antoinette Lubaki and Pathy Tshindele and Kura Shomali reaffirm Djilatendo painted the first known the vitality of the contemporary scene with Congolese works on paper, anticipating the their unconventional collages and paintings, development of modern and contemporary and critical approach to art. art. Figurative or geometric in style, their works represent village life, the natural The photography world, dreams and legends with great poetry Depicting the energy in the city of Kinshasa and imagination. following the independence of the Congo, JP Mika, Kiese na Kiese, 2014 Following World War II, the French the work of photographers such as Jean painter Pierre Romain-Desfossés moved to Depara and Ambroise Ngaimoko, from Fondation Cartier’s commitment the Congo and founded an art workshop the Studio 3Z, will also be presented in the to contemporary art called the “atelier du Hangar”. In this exhibition. The designated photographer of Upholding the Fondation Cartier’s workshop, active until the death of Romain- the musician Franco, Jean Depara portrayed commitment to African contemporary art, Desfossés in 1954, painters such as Bela, the lively and extravagant night life of Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko Mwenze Kibwanga and Pilipili Mulongoy Kinshasa in the 1950s and 1960s. follows a series of other projects held at learned to freely exercize their imaginations, Recording the world of SAPE (Society of the Fondation Cartier featuring Congolese creating colorful and enchanting works Partiers and Elegant Persons) and body- artists including the solo shows Bodys Isek in their own highly inventive and distinctive builders, Ambroise Ngaimoko photographed Kingelez (1999) and J’aime Chéri Samba styles. the attitudes and ardor of the youth of (2004) and the thematic exhibitions Un art Kinshasa in the 1970s. populaire (2001) and Histoires de voir, Show Popular painters and Tell (2012). Twenty years later, the exhibition Art Partout, The music: Jazz, soul, rap, presented in Kinshasa in 1978, revealed and popular dance music to the public the painters Chéri Samba, Music, omnipresent in city life in the Congo, Chéri Chérin, and Moke and other artists, has actively contributed to this vibrancy. many of whom are still active today. The Congolese music industry blossomed Fascinated by their urban environment during the golden age of rumba beginning and collective memory, they would call in the 1950s. While it has since been highly themselves “popular painters.” They influential in Sub-Saharan Africa, this developed a new approach to figurative urban music is largely unknown outside painting, inspired by daily, political or social the continent. This important facet of events that were easily recognizable by their the country’s creative spirit, including jazz, fellow citizens. Papa Mfumu’eto Ier, known soul, rap, and popular dance music, will for his independent prolific comic book be heard at key moments in the exhibition, production and distribution throughout in conversation with specific artworks. Kinshasa in the 1990s, also explored daily Visitors will be invited to listen to songs by life and common struggles throughout the great Franco and his group OK Jazz, the his work. Today younger artists like JP Mika soulful Mbilia Bel, the sapeur Papa Wemba, and Monsengo Shula, tuned-in to current and the eclectic Trio Madjesi, amongst events on a global scale, carry on the others, carefully selected by Vincent Kenis approach of their elders. of Crammed Discs in collaboration with Césarine Sinatu Bolya. 02
YOUNG AND EMERGING ARTISTS revealing the city’s state of disrepair while candid paintings often incorporate humorous At the beginning of the new millennium at the same time exploring the formal and or satirical texts reinforcing their critical the Académie des Beaux Arts in Kinshasa expressive possibilities of reflections. message. became a place for artistic experimentation, Steve Bandoma considers his work as Monsengo Shula and Cheik Ledy belong leading to the rise of a new generation of a form of recycling, giving (found) materials to the second generation of popular painters. young artists in the Congo. In 2003, Kura new life by incorporating them into his In 1975 Monsengo Shula moved to Kinshasa Shomali, Pathy Tshindele and Mega paintings. His Cassius Clay series examines and learned to paint in the studio of his Mingiedi Tunga created the artists’ collective the impact of the historic Ali-Foreman boxing cousin Moke. He distinguished himself Eza Possibles (“It’s possible” in Lingala), match, which took place in Kinshasa in from his elders with his innovative use of whose projects engage directly with the 1974, on the memory and cultural identity color combinations. Cheik Ledy was an urban environment and with the citizens of the Congolese people. apprentice in the studio of his older brother of Kinshasa. The distinctive works of these Lastly, Sammy Baloji uses photomontage Chéri Samba adopting his precise drawing three artists can be seen here. to relate colonial history to the recent history style in works that associate text and image. Kura Shomali finds his inspiration of the Congo. In the series Congo Far West, Born in 1980, JP Mika is the youngest in gossip from the streets, pictures taken he associates documentary photographs of a of the group of painters presented here. from magazines and works of major African Belgian scientific expedition to the province He studied at the Académie des Beaux-Arts photographers. Incorporating splashes of Katanga (1898-1900) with watercolors in Kinshasa and perfected his painting of paint and ink, his dynamic compositions of the painter Pierre Dardenne (1865-1900), skills in the studio of Chéri Chérin. The reflect both the chaos and vitality of the thus revealing the explorers’ disdain for compositions of his recent works, which city of Kinshasa. the indigenous peoples of the Congo and are painted directly onto printed fabrics, In his first works, Pathy Tshindele depicts suggesting its bearing on the problems of draw their inspiration from African studio loosely drawn figures inspired by the people today’s world. photographic portraiture of the 1960s. he sees on the street, adopting a spontaneity reminiscent of graffiti art. The artist assumes THE POPULAR PAINTERS PORTRAITS OF KINSHASA a different style in the delicately painted In the 1970s, a group of young artists Following the Second World War, the works of the series It’s My Kings, probing the emerged in Kinshasa, defining themselves Belgian government introduced a series of roles of the world’s superpowers in African as “popular painters”. Most of them had administrative, cultural and social reforms politics by dressing their leaders in the same worked as sign painters, and some had that led to the modernization of Leopoldville costumes as the Kings who reigned over the made comics before opening their studios (today’s Kinshasa), by then a flourishing kingdom of Kuba. in Kinshasa, exhibiting their paintings on cosmopolitan city. Photography became The works of Mega Mingiedi Tunga often walls of their buildings to attract passersby. a way of reaffirming one’s social status and take the form of topographical drawings. The first generation of popular painters, the photographic studios, run for the most Les Voyageurs de l’eau is an imaginary depiction which includes Moke, Pierre Bodo, Chéri part by Europeans or Angolans, began of the city of Lubumbashi, denouncing Chérin and Chéri Samba, was revealed to thrive. the exploitation of natural resources in the to the public in the exhibition Art Partout, A native Angolan, Jean Depara moved Province of Katanga by multinational presented at the Académie des Beaux-Arts to Leopoldville in 1951, discovering its lively corporations. de Kinshasa in 1978. Here they encountered nightlife by visiting the most fashionable Other artists presented here share with great success, stealing the spotlight from bars and nightclubs, resounding with the Shomali, Tsindele and Mingiedi Tunga an the artists of the Académie. Instead of rhythms of the rumba and the cha-cha. interest in the urban environment, politics, imitating the European painting styles, In 1956, he opened his own studio, Jean history and collective memory. as do the artists of the academy, the popular Whisky Depara, before deciding to devote In the series entitled Un regard, Kiripi painters draw their inspiration from daily his career to street photography a year Katembo provides a fascinating portrayal life in Kinshasa and explore politics, society later. An observer of the exuberance of of Kinshasa though its numerous puddles, and world events. Their brightly colored, contemporary Leopoldville, he also became the official photographer of the famous Congolese singer Franco and the portraitist of the Bills, gangs of Kinshasa who styled themselves on actors from American Westerns. Also from Angola, the photographer Ambroise Ngaimoko opened his own studio in Kinshasa in 1971, which he named Studio 3Z, and became the portraitist of young athletes and sapeurs (adherents of the Society of Ambiance-Makers and Elegant People, a movement embodying elegance of style and manner), providing the décor and accessories himself. >
Chéri Samba, Oui, il faut réfléchir, 2014 03
Ambroise Ngaimoko, Euphorie de deux jeunes gens qui se retrouvent, 1972
As a reporter for the weekly magazine Zaire, as well as for the newspapers Le Progrès and L’Etoile du Congo, Oscar Memba Freitas made his name as a photographer of sports events and in particular of the famous boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman which took place in Kinshasa in 1974. Hanging alongside the picture of Ali Antoinette Lubaki, Sans titre, c. 1929 and Foreman by Oscar Freitas are several anonymous photographs of the Festival 74, in drawing, architecture, ceramics and in the display cases presented here. The same the promotional musical event organized sculpture. Several talented artists were year, an exhibition of Djilatendo’s works in conjunction with this historical match. trained there including Mode Muntu and was organized at the Galerie du Centaure Jean-Bosco Kamba, who was one of the first in Brussels, where they were presented with THE SCHOOL OF ELISABETHVILLE painters to graduate from the Academy those of the famous Belgian painters René In 1946, the French painter Pierre Romain- in 1958. Some were immediately successful, Magritte and Paul Delvaux. The works of Desfossés founded in Elisabethville the taking part in exhibitions such as Jeunes these two artists were also included in other Academy of Indigenous Art, better known peintres congolais (Young Congolese painters) shows such as the Exposition Coloniale de as the “Atelier du Hangar.” Instead of asking at the Kursaal in Ostend in 1956 or the Vincennes and the Prima mostra internazionale Congolese artists to imitate European Brussels World’s Fair of 1958. d’arte colonial in Rome, which both took place styles of painting, Pierre Romain-Defossés in 1931. encouraged them to freely exercise their THE PRECURSORS OF MODERN PAINTING Following a series of disagreements imaginations and draw inspiration from their In 1926, the Belgian administrator Georges between Gaston-Denys Perier and Georges own traditions and the world around them. Thiry discovered in the village of Bukama, Thiry, Lubaki and Djilatendo were no longer The three artists presented in the next in Katanga a group of painted huts. provided with painting supplies. After a final room emerged as the most distinguished Enchanted by these paintings, he met their exhibition of Lubaki’s work at the Musée representatives of the Atelier du Hangar author, the ivory carver Albert Lubaki and Ethnographique in Geneva in 1941, we lose – Bela, Pilipili Mulogoy, and Mwenze his wife Antoinette. In an effort to preserve their trace. Kibwanga – each of whom developed this ephemeral art form which he so admired, a distinctive technique. Bela applies paint Georges Thiry decided to provide them with with his fingers in a delicate and meticulous paper and watercolors so that they may manner, Pilipili fills his pictorial space reproduce their paintings using materials with a multitude of small circles, and Mwenze that would better resist time. In the province Kibwanga covers the surface of his paintings of Western Kasai, where he was subsequently with cross-hatching in ochre, beige and brown. assigned, Georges Thiry met another hut Following the visit of Prince Charles, the painter, the tailor Djilatendo, and also Regent of Belgium, to Elisabethville in 1947, provided him with painting materials, thus the artists from the Hangar were presented repeating the experience he began with in exhibitions in Brussels, Paris, Rome, Lubaki. Chief curator London and New York. With the support of Gaston-Denys André Magnin After the death of Pierre Romain- Périer, a senior Belgian government official Associate curators Desfossées in 1954, the “Atelier du Hangar” and art lover stationed in Brussels, Georges Leanne Sacramone (visual arts) and Ilana was integrated into the Académie des Beaux Thiry endeavored to promote this painting Shamoon (music and films) assisted Arts of Elisabethville, founded three years which they found remarkably modern by Adriana Patrascu and Marie Perennes earlier by the Belgian painter Laurent in style. They succeeded in organizing Moonens. Pilipili Mulongoy, Mwenze exhibitions of Albert Lubaki’s watercolors Music Kibwanga and Sylvester Kaballa became at the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles Vincent Kenis and Césarine Sinatu Bolya professors at the school. One of the first in 1929, the Musée Ethnographique in Exhibition design interracial schools of the Congo and open Geneva in 1930 and the Charles-Auguste Giovanna Comana and Iva Berthon Gajsak, to all ages, the academy offered classes Girard Gallery in Paris in 1931, documented agence bGc studio MUSIC AND FILMS 04
Designing a musical program for the The photographs of Jean Depara, presented exhibition Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo in the rooms on the lower floor, chronicle Kitoko has been a first for us. For over thirty life in Kinshasa, suggesting even more years our interest in Congolese music has unmistakable connections. One of the driven various projects including producing photographs is apparently that of a moped and distributing records, collaborating with referred to in a song that created quite and promoting amazing talents, exploring a stir, another could well be the tangible fields such as fashion that are inextricably proof of a forgotten Beatlemania, and linked to music, and other activities a third documents the subversive frivolity involving highly influential organizations of women’s organizations whose interaction in cultural and political circles. with the music world were instrumental To illustrate the synergy of spirit and in awakening a sense of national pride energy between the worlds of music and art, and awareness. we were inspired by the work selected Even when popular painting and music for the exhibition by André Magnin. While turn away from one another, they almost some of the connections between songs always have in common a sense of irony, and works of art were conceived of in derision, and a desire to ‘‘recycle’’ the a free and subjective manner, many of them dustbin of history, or more prosaically the came to us in a more evident way through trash that has invaded the capital. In that similarities in titles and themes—SAPE, respect, the works of Bodys Isek Kingelez “Zaïrianization” and authenticity, the issue and Rigobert Nimi, although absent from of exile and family life. the musical program, are very close to La SAPE by JP Mika illustrates a legend the music of Konono N°1 and Staff Benda popularized by Papa Wemba, a major Bilili. While cardboard, felt-tip pens and figure in mainstream Congolese music; scissors sufficed for the former to invent Jean Depara, Untitled, c. 1955–65 Ata Ndele Mokili Ekobaluka (Tôt ou tard their futuristic cathedrals, it was not until le monde changera), the title of a painting computers became widespread that the latter by Monsengo Shula, refers to the lyrics in abandoned linearity to create their own the refrain of an emblematic independence genuine sound constructions. song; the couple in Moke’s Skol Primus evokes advertising jingles that compare Vincent Kenis and Césarine Sinatu Bolya the competition between the two brands of beer to a romantic rivalry.
Program of films
Fredi Casco and Renate Costa Interview with Chéri Samba Kinshasa, 2014 4 min 14
Fredi Casco and Renate Costa Interview with Bodys Isek Kingelez Kinshasa, 2014 4 min 16
Vincent Kenis and Benoît van Maële Interview with Rigobert Nimi Kinshasa, 2015 7 min 04
Mweze Dieudonné Ngangura Kin Kiesse, 1982 Courtesy of Collection Cinémathèque Afrique / Institut français 28 min
Moke, Skol Primus, 1991 IMAGES FOR THE PRESS 05
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1 Chéri Samba, La Vraie Carte du monde, 2011. Acrylic on canvas and glitters, 200 × 300 cm. Collection Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris 5 Chéri Samba, Amour & Pastèque, 1984 © Chéri Samba Oil on canvas, 79 × 89 cm. Private collection © Chéri Samba / Photo © Florian Kleinefenn 2 Mode Muntu, Le Calendrier lunaire Luba, 1979. Gouache on paper, 55 × 43 cm 6 Monsengo Shula, Ata Ndele 13 Collection Meir Levy, Brussels Mokili Ekobaluka (Tôt ou tard le monde © Mode Muntu / Photo © Michael De Plaen changera), 2014. Acrylic on canvas and glitters, 130 × 200 cm 8 Antoinette Lubaki, Untitled, c. 1929 10 Sylvestre Kaballa, Untitled, c. 1950 3 Mode Muntu, Kusaidia (L’Entraide), 1980 Private collection © Monsengo Shula Watercolor on paper, 55 × 73 cm Oil on paper, 38.5 × 52.5 cm. Gouache on paper, 94 × 60 cm Photo © Florian Kleinefenn Collection Pierre Loos, Brussels Collection Pierre Loos, Brussels Collection Michael De Plaen, Brussels © Antoinette Lubaki © Sylvestre Kaballa © Mode Muntu / Photo © Michael De Plaen 7 Albert Lubaki, Untitled, c. 1929 Photo © Michael De Plaen Photo © Michael De Plaen Watercolor on paper, 52 × 65 cm 4 Chéri Samba, Oui, il faut réfléchir, 2014 Private collection and courtesy Galerie 9 Pilipili Mulongoy, Untitled, c. 1950 11 Norbert Ilunga, Untitled, c. 1950 Acrylic on canvas and glitters, 135 × 200 cm Loevenbruck, Paris © Albert Lubaki Oil on paper, 34.5 × 50.5 cm Oil on paper, 35 × 43.5 cm Collection of the artist, Paris Photo © Fabrice Gousset, courtesy Cornette Collection Pierre Loos, Brussels Collection Pierre Loos, Brussels © Chéri Samba / Photo © André Morin de Saint Cyr, Paris © Pilipili Mulongoy / Photo © André Morin © Norbert Ilunga / Photo © André Morin IMAGES AVAILABLE AT PRESSE.FONDATION.CARTIER.COM 06
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12 Jean-Bosco Kamba, Untitled, 1958 26 Oil on Unalit panel, 46 × 76 cm Collection Pierre Loos, Brussels 16 Jean Depara, Untitled (Moziki), c. 1955–65 20 Moke, Kin Oyé, 1983 © Jean-Bosco Kamba Gelatin silver print, 55.5 × 38 cm Oil on canvas, 67 × 87 cm Photo © Michael De Plaen CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection, Geneva Private collection, Paris © Jean Depara / Photo © André Morin © Moke / Photo © André Morin 13 Pilipili Mulongoy, Untitled, 1955 Gouache and oil on paper, 46 × 53 cm 17 Moke, Untitled 21 Steve Bandoma, Je suis jeune, 24 JP Mika, La SAPE, 2014 Musée royal de l’Afrique centrale, (Match Ali-Foreman, Kinshasa), 1974 Cassius Clay series, 2014, Acrylic and oil on printed canvas and Tervuren, H.O.1.744 © Pilipili Mulongoy Oil on canvas, 88 × 166 cm Mixt media on paper, 140 × 100 cm glitters, 160 × 140 cm. Private collection Photo © MRAC Tervuren Private collection Collection of the artist © Steve Bandoma © JP Mika / Photo © André Morin © Moke / Photo © André Morin Photo © Florian Kleinefenn 14 Kiripi Katembo, Tenir, 25 JP Mika, Kiese na Kiese, 2014 Un regard series, 2011 18 Ambroise Ngaimoko, Euphorie de deux 22 Mwenze Kibwanga, Untitled, 1954 Acrylic and oil on printed canvas, Lambda print, 60 × 90 cm jeunes gens qui se retrouvent, 1972 Oil on Unalit panel, 39.5 × 48.5 cm 168.5 × 119 cm Collection of the artist, Paris Gelatin silver print, 27 × 27 cm Collection Pierre Loos, Brussels Pas-Chaudoir collection, Belgium © JP Mika © Kiripi Katembo Collection of the artist, Paris © Mwenze Kibwanga Photo © Antoine de Roux © Ambroise Ngaimoko / Photo © André Morin Photo © Michael De Plaen 15 Kiripi Katembo, Subir, 26 JP Mika, La Nostalgie, 2014 Un regard series, 2011 19 Jean Depara, Untitled, c. 1955–65 23 Lukanga, Untitled, c. 1950 Acrylic and oil on printed canvas Lambda print, 60 × 90 cm Gelatin silver print, 77 × 113 cm Oil on paper, 30 × 41.5 cm and glitters, 169 × 126 cm Collection of the artist, Paris Collection Revue Noire, Paris Collection Pierre Loos, Brussels Collection Ann Korijn, The Hague © Kiripi Katembo © Jean Depara / Photo courtesy Revue Noire © Lukanga / Photo © André Morin © JP Mika / Photo © Florian Kleinefenn 90 YEARS OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART
IN the CONGO by André Magnin Excerpt FROM the catalog 07 french version only
Chéri Samba, La Vraie Carte du monde, 2011
Chance and need brought this exhibition From that popular scene I naturally met popular artists displaying in their seriously to fruition. Chance encounters between Pierre Bodo, Chéri Chérin, Ange Kumbi, amusing way the stamina of their society. […] Congolese and Europeans separated by Chéri Benga, Monsengo Shula, Sim Simaro, I have never parted with the Kinshasa their roots and culture, and a need to follow Maître Syms and Cheik Ledy, each of them artists. I saw some of their most brilliant the thread of a ninety-year-long story drawing in his own way on collective successors growing up, such as young to present what they have produced—a sum memory and local history. Their paintings JP Mika. Naming Chéri Samba and Chéri of masterful work attesting to the artistic attest to this, featuring bar scenes, parties Chérin as his masters, Mika is known for fervor of the Congo, much of it undiscovered at night, musicians playing the rumba, his print fabric backgrounds. His subjects, until now. Having played a role in this story, sapeurs, 1 and quarrels between neighbors. inspiration and colors combine to exude it is my duty to recount how these meetings Raconteurs of the urban scene, these artists amazing brightness, power and beauty. came about and the adventure that led me were known and appreciated by the I have collected, published, and exhibited to a deep exploration of Congolese art. […] Kinshasa intelligentsia. his works in institutions devoted to contemporary art, from the Centre Upon arriving in Kinshasa in 1987 I was struck by the Pompidou, the Guggenheim in Bilbao and I discovered the “maquettique architect” the Fondation Cartier pour l’art Bodys Isek Kingelez and the painter Chéri freedom, variety, humor contemporain to the Grimaldi Forum in Samba, whom Jean-François Bizot had just and beauty of the paintings Monaco, Documenta in Kassel, the Venice written about in the magazine Actuel. There Biennale, the Agnelli Foundation, museums was a thriving artistic scene there that Chéri that were passing before in Houston, Washington, Japan, South Samba had described as “popular,” choosing my eyes. Korea, Australia and Brazil. This this word because the paintings of the local uninterrupted, obsessive quest has led me, artists were meant for everyone. I was struck by the freedom, variety, humor speechless, on the lost trail of Congolese These artists, who had begun as billboard and beauty of the paintings that were passing modern art dating from the late 1920s, which painters, decorators and illustrators, had before my eyes. In Africa, only the Congo had remained in the shadows until now, set up their studio on the busy streets could inspire such exciting sensuality and including the period’s most dazzling pieces of Kinshasa so that their canvases would radicalism. I was at the heart of an art form on display here. be seen by everyone. They had acquired that required no theorizing or explanation, […] some recognition following the exhibition revealing a whole new cultural lifestyle Art partout held in Kinshasa in 1978, where by evoking political and social moments, they stole the show from the Académie whether tiny or overwhelming. Kinshasa, the des Beaux-Arts artists. […] ardent and rebellious capital of a disjointed and violent country, provided a home for 08
Amazed by the modernity of these works, I could not stop searching for them and learning about their history. They had been created at the instigation of a certain Georges Thiry, a Belgian colonial civil servant. A connoisseur of Western modern art and its sources in African “primitives,” Thiry appreciated the artistic quality of the paintings adorning the outside walls of Congolese huts and was worried about their durability. He identified two of their creators: Albert Lubaki in 1926, then Djilatendo in about 1927. […] I have strived to invite people on a journey, to prompt an experience of being faced with something they do not know, to fill them with wonder. Kiripi Katembo, Subir, série Un regard, 2011 The next meeting of European and Congolese perspectives occurred just after with Kiripi Katembo, Librisme Synergie In displaying this large number of works, the war. Pierre Romain-Desfossés, a French with Steve Bandoma, and the collective Eza I have strived to invite people on a journey, naval officer and amateur painter, moved Possibles (“It’s possible” in Lingala). […] to prompt an experience of being faced with to Élisabethville (now Lubumbashi), which something they do not know, to fill them was booming at the time. Convinced that Since 1994, in collaboration with Hervé with wonder and create a bond that fuses there was a fundamentally different aesthetic Chandès and his remarkable, energetic, and after the initial surprise of these works has in Africa, in 1946 he founded a workshop passionate staff, I have had the good fortune passed, or through the shock of that surprise. of indigenous art, the “Hangar,” selecting to put together several exhibitions at the his disciples, as he called them, for their Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, April 2015 talent. He provided them with materials for in particular those devoted to the most painting, gave them free rein, and urged famous Congolese artists such as Chéri them to let their creative genius flow. Samba, 2 Bodys Isek Kingelez, 3 and Moke. 4 Desfossés’s intention went counter to the It is only natural therefore that the Fondation reigning conformism in Europe, which Cartier should now present ninety years of refused to recognize such vibrant art after modern and contemporary art from the the age-old masterpieces of African statuary Congo—a world première. A quote from the praised by the greatest modern artists. […] great Ivorian artist Frédéric Bruly Bouabré Since a Congolese aesthetic had now best sums up the exhibition: sharing “African twice come from foreign patronage, it was traditions and reality, which have remained natural that a homegrown establishment radiantly beautiful and deserve to be would in turn inspire new developments. interpreted and proudly presented with the The emergence of the Académie des Beaux- aim of informing and educating people.” 5 Arts in Kinshasa was just such an occasion. I had three aspirations with Beauté Congo Created in 1943, it did not get off the ground – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko. The first, and gain its independence until 1965. following the example of Gaston-Denys Named by Mobutu and under the direction Périer in 1929, was to share with a Western of Bembika Nkunku, then later the sculptor public the passion that impelled me to search Alfred Liyolo, it trained official artists who all over Congo-Zaire for thirty years. carried out public commissions. Starting My second aspiration was to tell the story in 1996, Daniel Shongo Lohonga Dangi of ninety years of Congolese art which had made the establishment a place for sharing always been described partially, and was and exchanging with other schools, visually familiar, but only fragmentarily so in particular the École Supérieure des Arts until now. While there is no stylistic filiation Décoratifs in Strasbourg and the École between the times of Lubaki, the Hangar, Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Nantes, the popular artists and of those today, creating openness toward alternative forms there does exist between them the same 1 From French acronym SAPE, Société des ambianceurs et des of artistic expression such as performance sense of belonging to a vibrant Congo personnes élégantes (Society of Partiers and Elegant Persons). 2 J’aime Chéri Samba, Fondation Cartier pour l’art and installation. Like any academic shaken by forces ranging from the peaceful contemporain, Paris, 2004. institution, the Kinshasa academy fueled to the volcanic. This exhibition is a tribute 3 Bodys Isek Kingelez (1995), Un monde réel (1999), Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris. fruitful critical reflection. A generation to all those who have recognized the power 4 Un art populaire, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, of socially conscious artists used it as of Congolese modern art and helped it Paris, 2001. 5 Handwritten letter from Frédéric Bruly Bouabré addressed a laboratory for experimentation. Groups to develop up to this point. […] to André Magnin, dated November 1, 1988, titled were formed, such as the collective Yebela “Sujet : l’art dit Srêlê en Bété.” INTERVIEW WITH CHÉRI SAMBA 09
André Magnin Most of the paintings from that period were makeshift. Were art supplies so hard to find in Kinshasa? Chéri Samba Well, you could find art supplies in Kinshasa, which were imported, but you couldn’t afford them given the price we asked for our paintings. Until 1978 I painted on flour sacks with industrial paint; and my paintings couldn’t be any bigger than 80 × 60 cm. When I saw the cracks in the paintings, I decided it was better to use canvas bought on the market, which I prepared myself, and oil paint for artists. It was only in 1988 that I used acrylic paint for the first time on professional canvas. When I could afford better supplies, I preferred to work in large sizes up to two meters. But even at that size paintings look like postage stamps in museums. I know there are tiny little paintings that are masterpieces, but large paintings—up to four meters!—work better for my style and the subjects I like to paint. Paintings you can see from far away. I really like working in that format. The paintings are more impressive. When I start a painting, I define the subject, the idea, the message and even the title. I have a clear image in my head; I see the colors as well… I do a precise, detailed pencil drawing of the subject directly on the canvas Chéri Samba, Amour & Pastèque, 1984 without any prior sketching. I allow myself up to three versions of the same painting, A. M. In Africa, art either corns out of the My paintings, like those though slightly different. That way, I academies and is paid little attention of my colleagues, address increase the possibility for my work to be abroad, or else it is made by “self-taught” seen everywhere by everyone. I use lots of artists and is qualified as “naïve” and issues such as education, bright, flashy colors to make my paintings “popular.” What do the terms “naïve” morals, politics and vivid. That’s also why I added glitter in the and “popular” mean to you? late l980s; I felt it made them even stronger. C. S. I’m one of the defenders of this everyday life. I favour The same goes for my clothes, which are “popular” painting. I already told you, if a direct style to convey more and more colorful and glittery. […] I am not mistaken, that I was the one who “invented” this expression in 1975 and the messages that speak A. M. Your strategy of self-glorification has first to use it. So I am in a good position to to everyone. worked well so far! But that doesn’t explain laugh about it and to answer for it. Now I am how painter Samba became nationally- getting a bit fed up with the term “popular” those of my colleagues, address issues such renowned Chéri Samba? because I can see that you as Westerners as education, morals, politics and everyday C. S. You’d have to have known Kinshasa don’t have the same understanding of words life. I favour a direct style to convey messages at the time. The streets were lit up all night and things. When I set up my own studio, that speak to everyone, both initiated and long, there were musicians in all the bars, I heard people saying I was making naïve the uninitiated. And the term “popular” and everyone was sitting on crates of Skol paintings. I looked up in the dictionary seemed the most appropriate one to me. […] and Primus. 1 It was a time of real musical and saw that this word didn’t fit me. I wasn’t and artistic excitement. It was during this very interested in the word “naïve” and I Interviews realized in Paris and Kinshasa, in 2002 and 2003 (first published in the catalog of the euphoric time that BadiBanga ne Mwine and preferred the word “popular,” which worked exhibition J’aime Chéri Samba, Fondation Cartier Jean-Pierre Jacquemin organized the Art and was taken up by everyone. It means pour l’art contemporain, Paris, 2004). partout exhibition at the Fine Arts Academy. 2 that people understood our paintings The exhibition presented modern Congolese directly and could identify with them. artists including people from the Academy Our message spoke to them. That’s what and self-taught artists like Pierre Bodo, Chéri we were aiming for. Chérin, Chéri Samba, the Mbuecky twins, I’m the one who came up with the name Moke, Sim Simaro, Maître Syms, and « popular painting », because it comes Vuza-Ntoko. I have named most of them, from the people, is about the people, and but I cannot remember everyone now. is intended for the people. It is immediately There was a crowd in our room. People understood by everyone, and people can said it was the first exhibition that was way identify with it, contrary to academic too crowded–a big popular hit. Then the painting which people don’t understand. various cultural centers in Kinshasa, as well I’m not challenging the kind of painting as connoisseurs and foreigners in volunteer that needs to be explained to be understood, 1 Local brands of biers. overseas service, started following our work. but it isn’t my way. My paintings, like 2 Art partout, Fine Arts Academy, Kinshasa, 1978. Interview with Bodys Isek Kingelez 10
André Magnin Bodys Isek Kingelez, were A Frenchman came to photograph me at contribute anything. As for me, I maintain you predisposed to become an artist? my house because he thought this decoration that my art contributes to science and a Bodys Isek Kingelez In 1978, I took the was simply spectacular. This is when better life. I don’t want to think about life’s definitive decision to quit teaching for good I realized that art was inside me. I didn’t hardships and sufferings. The words and without quite knowing that I’d become an know how exactly I was going to develop my commentaries that I write express the vision artist. This decision was born of my personal work as a sculptor. I had great capabilities that inhabited me even before I started will to contribute to the future of Africa. and could do anything: boats, planes, cars, the piece. First comes the name (the title) A de-colonized Africa. I focussed all my whatever. But I finally decided to devote of the piece; secondly I wait for the vision energy and effort so that Africa would myself to the realm of real estate. to come, then I make it real. I never make be heard from now on, so that I could make preliminary drawings. The vision gives my contribution to Africa’s future. The vision gives me all me all I need, even the shape and the colors. Deep down I knew I had to find the best I write just like I invent my sculptures. way to reach my goals. I drew up a list I need, even the shape This is why I have to invest the words; they of ideas in my little room. Then a muddled and the colors. correspond to my vision and to the pieces confusion set in me and lasted for more than that I create, independent of history, memory a month. It was at this time that I became A. M. How has the city of Kinshasa been and academic rules. I am a designer, an obsessed with the idea of getting my hands influencing your work? What kind of relations architect, a sculptor, engineer, artist. on some scissors, a Gilette razor, and some do you make between your architectural glue and paper. It felt like fate when I finally knowledge and your inspiration? A. M. Today, you are one of the most known did procure this particular material, and B. I. K. It was while living in Kinshasa Congolese artist. How did you do to be things became clearer then. I put together that I had this inspiration and that I took known all over the world? a little house without quite understanding this direction for good. I had the will and B. I. K. One day André Magnin came the meaning of it all. And this was what the freedom to do it. I wanted my art to find me in Kinshasa: “are you Bodys?”, stopped the fatal hemorrhaging. By chance, to serve the community and the population. it was as if the sky had opened up. Things the caretaker of the American Cultural To create a model and modern home, took off from here. My parents knew Center saw what I had made and that’s when keeping in mind a different way of living. I would one day be a globe-trotter; my things exploded. They exhausted me with I had never seen any other city. For me, prediction had already warned them of this questions I couldn’t answer. Now we’re Kinshasa was The City; I had never seen inevitability. I was to show my sculptures getting to the thick of the story. any other, not even in photos. I had never in a large exhibition in Paris: Magiciens “Work, work, work,” these words traveled before. I neither read nor looked de la Terre. 1 It was my first show and the resonated like an echo in my head. This at magazines. I therefore couldn’t compare first time I was leaving my country. It was was when I did my first sculpture. I holed or see whether Kin was big or small, the beginning of a great adventure. I worked up in my room. After working non-stop beautiful or unattractive, chaotic or calm, especially for the exhibit and made a number for a month, I finally stepped out into etc. I couldn’t make these comparisons. of pieces: the Mitterrannéenne française (1989), the light, exhausted by my labors. It was In any case, I don’t like comparing. the Mausolée Kingelez (1989), the Croix du extraordinary, as if I had returned from To this day, I’ve created 3,014 works, both Ciel (1989)… It was here that I met artists some far distant land. […] small and large. I’ve also created entire cities from around the world and many Africans From 1978 to 1984 I worked exclusively as from my imagination; this is an irrefutable whom I meet up with when I go to Europe a restorer and was “banned” from practicing contribution to life and science. My œuvre for exhibits, and also André Magnin with sculpture. I preferred to leave the museum includes four cities. My third Projet pour whom I’ve maintained fraternal ties. He’s and so spent a year unemployed. During this le Kinshasa du troisième millénaire (1997) is a like a brother in a distant land. time I made hundreds of paper stars and revolution. It’s a free, peaceful city. I like I believe that since this time, African a wide variety of shapes that decorated peace and liberty. It’s a city where art has given the best of itself. There’s a new my house from floor to ceiling. I was trying delinquents, police and prisons do not exist. momentum towards contemporary art. Most to discover my own particular style. Many people think that art doesn’t often art critics and western or even African curators neither see nor understand Africa from Africa’s perspective. They work with their ears. They need to go to Kinshasa. I draw my ideas from Africa.
Interviews realized in Paris and Kinshasa, in 2000 (first published in the catalog of the exhibition Bodys Isek Kinkelez, La Médiatine, Bruxelles, 2003).
1 Exhibition presented at the Centre Pompidou and at the Grande Halle de la Villette (Paris) in 1989. Bodys Isek Kingelez, Ville fantôme, 1996 Kongo ya Sika: The Birth of a Nation by Elikia M’Bokolo Excerpt FROM the catalog french version only 11
Monsengo Shula, Ata Ndele Mokili Ekobaluka (Tôt ou tard le monde changera), 2014
The other Congo, beyond the colonial the maternal grandmother who was raising come to a stop one day. For more than ten propaganda? Yes, of course it existed! me. I chose the cinema, which was a twenty years we had been listening to Adou Elenga For a black teenager from Léopoldville, to thirty-minute walk from the house. It was sing “Ata ndele, Ata ndele, Ata ndele there were no social networks, there was showing a curious science-fiction film that mokili ekobaluka...” (“Sooner or later, nothing outside of school or the omnipresent was very different from the endless westerns, Sooner or later, Sooner or later the world church—which was preferably Catholic war movies and vulgar comedies that were will change entirely...”). before the virtues of secular education were usually provided by the official distribution For that fourteen-year-old boy, in fact, discovered—and the few good institutions networks. The movie theater was adjacent the world had just collapsed like a house of it offered. Books? Nothing but anthologies to a bar known for its ndumba (or “free” girls, cards: the colonial world, which had become and a few specific, carefully chosen works— as they were called). Both places belonged to so drunk on its own propaganda that it had preferably by Belgian writers who were, the same Congolese owner. The name of the grown deaf and blind to anything else. for the most part, obscure or unknown. movie? The Day the Earth Stood Still. Yes, yes, All it took was one single night for “the world What in the world was there to do? How did it’s true! I left the theater at about 8:00 pm. to fall apart:” in the fabulous narrative one spend one’s Saturdays and Sundays? From the municipality of Barumbu, I headed by Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, 2 it is At church? So be it. Practicing our back to the municipality of Saint-Jean via the old African world that is crumbling! For traditional songs and dances? What for, the big avenue, Kalembelembe. When I got us, it was the colonial world that was falling since we were told they were nothing more to the intersection with Prince Baudouin apart. It only took one night. Gone was the than expressions of brute savagery! Avenue, another show awaited me. There sand castle of colonial propaganda. Another Oh, the boredom, the ennui... The ennui, was an immense crowd, with people moving world was opening up, filled with a wealth which Georges Balandier, in his Sociologie in all directions, yelling, singing, shouting... of resources and possibilities. A world that des Brazzaville noires, 1 believed to be There were men and women, young people, had to be built, yesterday, of course. But the exclusive domain of the whites, while old people and children all mixed together. above all, and more than ever, today. […] the black neighborhoods reverberated with Everything was ablaze. The Prince Baudouin From those dreams and convictions the sound of their tom-toms. No, the blacks Stadium was ablaze! The Catholic bookstore to the realities of today, it is not such a very too have their ennui. The laborers who are was ablaze! The girls’ school was ablaze! The long road. The Congo is not a country to be worn to the bone. The mothers struggling home of the nuns was ablaze—the home that built: it is a country that has never stopped under the weight of their numerous broods. our elders were always talking about with building itself. In the half-century that has The “free women” with no daytime great hilarity, in incomprehensible terms... elapsed since that famous day of June 30, customers. Children, as well. The only other Via a little crack in the tightly controlled 1960, there are many signs and indicators thing was soccer matches or, indeed, selection of films usually available to black of that ongoing process of self-construction. movie theaters. So one Sunday, in January audiences, a supposedly inconsequential 1959, when I had just turned fourteen... movie had been able to slip through! Kinshasa, April 2015 “You’ll have to choose. You can’t go to That Sunday was January 4, 1959. That the stadium and the movies this Sunday. night the earth really had stopped turning 1 Georges Balandier, Sociologie des Brazzavilles noires (Paris: Armand Colin, 1955). You have to choose one or the other, either for the colonizers. We ourselves, we the 2 Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (Présence Africaine, the stadium or the movies,” said Mama Ana, Congolese, knew of course that it would Paris, 1966). Demystifying Tradition Excerpt FROM the catalog by In Koli Jean Bofane french version only 12
The Congo, in the mid 1920s, was living Sese Seko and Mobutism in 1965, Zaire it is up to artists to make their own— under colonial rule, while its people, without began to dream of a glorious future in which subjective—proposals for organizing and too much undue unrest, toiled for the greater authenticity (African) would become the designing their city. In this sense, the bridge glory of Belgium. The latter had recently supreme value. This is evident in the works Katisa (“to go cross” in Lingala) could received this territory from the hands by Mode Muntu: his colorful, luminous be seen as a community service, as well as, of King Leopold II, a territory that was scenes are allegories of a world in which the perhaps, a utopia. more than eighty times the size of his own future promises to be brighter for everyone. Mega Mingiedi Tunga’s personal works kingdom ensconced up there on the North The Zairians still believed it was possible. are variations on the city in terms of design: Sea. Kasai-Occidental Province and The colors are dazzling, the scenery and since maps are things that are not easy its capital, Luluabourg (now Kananga), characters extremely stylized. They are like to interpret, the artist seeks to visualize our are located in the central part of the Congo. embryos in gestation, the future is all theirs. desires through them. The 21st century has Historically, the native peoples of the two […] already begun and, amidst the confusion, Kasai regions, the Kuba and Luba, had we are in need of new interpretive built up powerful empires and every one Let’s not forget frameworks, of new ways of thinking. of their members still takes great pride in that Kinshasa is a place The beings in Kura Shomali’s works seem this glorious past. The Baluba, in particular, to have lost all of their credibility. The artist are known to hold fast to their traditions: where one goes after has exploded them in order to expose them. the rules of traditional marriage are to be one’s dreams, and that Soldiers, politicians, academicians, guards: followed to the letter; the food that is eaten none of them has anything more to say. must adhere exclusively to the recipe decreed movies do not only Their speeches seem to be coming to an end. by the elders; the Tshiluba language must happen up on the screen. Pathy Tshindele thumbs his nose at form, as never be forgotten, even amongst those who well as at what people will say. The figures have been living in the diaspora for decades. Depara was there to of his omniscient sovereigns are controlled, In other words, the words of the ancestors capture real life. while the silhouettes of his hysterical citizens are sacred in the Kasai. are erupting all over the place. Even though That did not prevent Djilatendo from If there is a cultural hub in Kinshasa that the artist has outfitted them with multiple practicing a very contemporary art, cannot be ignored, it is the collective Eza eyes and connected them to all kinds of painting with watercolor on paper, while Possibles. Founded in 2007, it includes artists devices, they still seem to be overwhelmed remaining faithful to his sensory and such as Eddy Ekete, Freddy Mutombo, by a sense of fear. […] intellectual environment. This was, indeed, Freddy Tsimba, Kiki Zangunda, Pathy If there was one key observer of everyday the source of his inspiration. Born in Tshindele, Vitshois Mwilambwe Astro, Kura life in Kinshasa in the 1950s and 1960s, Luluabourg around 1895, Djilatendo takes Shomali, Francis Mampuya, Julie Djikey, it would certainly be Jean Depara. the patterns from Kasai carpets and, in Androa Mindre Kolo, Christian Botale, His photographs successfully capture opposition to the opacity of raffia, portrays Cedrick Nzolo, Mega Mingiedi Tunga, the atmosphere of the city’s nightlife, with them in transparent colors. His touch is more and collectives such as SADI, K50, Yebela, its snappy dressers, its poseurs, its belles suggestive than affirmative. His bestiary Kongo Nauts. An emblematic work was draped over cars that do not belong to them, contains leopards drawn with large, swift created in 2007 in Kinshasa: a bridge. its host of musicians, each as talented as the strokes, ducklings in a single file that It connected two areas of the municipality next, vying to outdo each other every night. portend the young prostitutes—also called of Lingwala that were separated by a gutter. He was also able to immortalize some of the “ducklings”—moving along the narrow paths The message is clear: the collective’s task big names, such as the musician Luambo between rough-hewn mines. [...] is to rethink the city. The goal is not to make Makiadi, alias “Franco de Mi Amor,” alias Prior to independence, Congolese up for the government’s failings, but instead “Gourba” who founded the famous OK Jazz painting was almost entirely dominated by to come up with new or alternative ways band. Depara understood early on that there figurative art. With the arrival of Mobutu of seeing the city. The basic premise is that would never be anyone else like him. Nor did he forget the gangs. For example, the “Bills” figured prominently in his work, the young men who personified the heroes of the American West: Buffalo Bill, Pecos Bill, Billy the Kid. Let’s not forget that Kinshasa is a place where one goes after one’s dreams, and that movies do not only happen up on the screen. Depara was there to capture real life.
Brussels, May 2015
Jean Depara, Sans titre, c. 1955-65 Popular Music and Time in the Congo by Bob W. White Excerpt FROM the catalog ersion only 13 french v
Congolese popular dance music is not simply the only reason that music continues to be Tango ya Bawendo (1940–55) a form of entertainment; it is a source of such an important part of everyday lives. Stories about the history of popular music inspiration and an object of national pride. In order to understand the beauty and the in Kinshasa often begin with the first People in the Democratic Republic of the power of Congolese popular music, 5 we need generation of musicians generally referred Congo are proud of their music, and for to understand a few things about where to as Tango ya Bawendo (“the time of the perfectly good reasons given the impact it the music came from and how it has changed Wendos”). Antoine Wendo Kolosoy (1925– has had beyond Congolese borders. Indeed, over time. […] 2008), the figurehead of this generation for Johannes Fabian, Congolese popular of pioneers was an active performer until music is the most important gift that the Love Songs Are Never the end of his life, having experienced Congo has offered to the people of Africa. 1 Just About Love a Buena Vistaesque late-career comeback And yet this uniquely African style of music Today, when you ask Congolese people why with several late-life albums and a relatively is filled with paradoxes, not the least of their music is important, they invariably active touring schedule. […] which is that despite its widespread success say because of what it teaches them about in much of Sub-Saharan Africa, Congolese life and love. At one level, the lyrics of The Era of Big Rumba (1955–70) popular music is virtually unknown in Congolese rumba seem to be completely The second generation of Congolese the West. obsessed with matters of the heart: love, popular music is generally associated with African music generally conjures up desire, longing, marriage, betrayal, and the songs of Franco (his full name Luambo images of talking drums and raffia skirts, regret. Indeed, if there were only two words Makiadi, 1938–89), “le Seigneur” Tabu Ley but this is not the way that Congolese in Congolese popular music, it would have Rochereau (1940–2013), and the pioneering music looks or sounds. To the uninitiated, to be bolingo (“love”) and motema (“heart”), figure of Joseph Kabasele “Grand Kallé” Congolese popular music sounds vaguely with libala (“marriage”) coming in a tie for (1930–83). In fact Kabasele might be seen like afro-Cuban music, but the prominence third. Congolese popular music is hopelessly as a transitional figure since he was both of the guitar sets it apart from its cousins in romantic. Men sing songs of longing employed in the studio houses (Opika) the Americas; the complex layering sound for feminine affection, of admiration for and later broke off to form his own group: of Congolese guitar styles gives the music feminine grace. They lament the women African Jazz. Kabasele is probably the most a uniquely modern sound that is electric but that make them go crazy (nakomi zoba), revered artist in the history of Congolese also rooted. Most songs begin with a slow, that leave them ill (na beli), that bring them popular music, in part because he demanded lyrical introduction that alternates between to tears (na leli). […] a certain degree of professionalism from crooning melodies and solo guitar riffs. the musicians in his group, but also because This introduction is generally followed by a Generations Come and Go he had a beautiful voice and the sound series of choruses with a more upbeat tempo For all that Congolese popular music tells us he created with African Jazz was modern, and a mostly male chorus singing harmony about romantic relationships, it tells us even clean, and cosmopolitan. Kabasele in parallel thirds or fifths. Finally, the song more about relations between generations. and his musicians were asked to play goes from words to motion, as the music In fact, the question of musical generations at the roundtable discussions surrounding spills over into a fast-paced extended dance continues to be one of the most lively—and independence in Brussels and without sequence that has come to be one of the sometimes contentious—topics of discussion a doubt his most well-known song is trademarks of the genre. The rhythm during about popular music in Kinshasa. Most “Independence Cha Cha,” a song which this part of the song (cavacha) is said musicians in Kinshasa trace their inspiration was heard across sub-Saharan Africa. to have been inspired by the driving sound through a series of influences or musical African Jazz became a model for of locomotive engines and it is this rhythm “schools,” but they are also members autonomous professional band structures that serves as a sonic backdrop for some of generations, and this sense of belonging and the particular African Jazz sound of the most spectacular choreographed to a particular generation is expressed (often referred to as “fiesta”) is still a source dancing in popular music anywhere in the as being a part of history. Some musicians of inspiration for musicians today. […] world. 2 Visually speaking, Congolese music and groups outlive the demographic range is not only flashy, but it is also boldly and of their generation and others fade out way Montreal, April 2015 unapologetically modern. Musicians dress before the next generation makes claims in western style clothes (preferably designer to the podium. Certain musicians (like fashions), they star in increasingly expensive Papa Wemba and Koffi Olomidé) are able music video productions and seek visible to reinvent themselves and maintain their signs of material wealth in pursuit of what popularity in more than one generation. Georges Balandier referred to as “la passion Others (such as Sam Mangwana, King moderniste.” 3 In fact, for many years people Kester Emeneya, and Godé Lofombo) in the Congo referred to this music as played an important role as innovators at the “la musique moderne.” intersection of two generations and they may There are three basic genres of local be well-remembered (even revered) but it music in the Congo—traditional, religious, is difficult to say with any certainty to which and “modern.” La musique moderne generation they belong. […] 1 Johannes Fabian, Moments of Freedom: Anthropology (or rumba) is the music that dominates local and Popular Culture, Charlottesville: University of television and radio, but religious music Virginia Press, 1998. 2 See Bob W. White, Rumba Rules: The Politics of Dance Music has become increasingly important over in Mobutu’s Zaire, Durham: Duke University Press, 2008. the last twenty years, in part because it has 3 Georges Balandier, Sociologie des Brazzavilles noires, Paris: Armand Colin, 1955. integrated stylistic aspects from popular 4 Religious music has also become increasingly important music, including the use of choreographed because of historical and economic factors, many people 4 turning to religion during times of crisis. See Katrien Pype, dance sequences. Dancing is clearly an “Dancing for God or the Devil: Pentecostal Discourse on important part of popular music, but it is Popular Dance in Kinshasa”, in Journal of Religion in Africa, vol. 36/3–4, 2006, pp. 296–318. not the primary reason that people in 5 See Bob W. White, “Notes sur l’esthétique de la rumba Kinshasa listen to the music. It is also not congolaise”, in Circuits, vol. 21/2, 2011, pp. 101–10. THE CATALOG 14
Beauté Congo — 1926-2015 — Congo Kitoko Further enhancing the exhibition is the eponymously titled catalog, a reference work on artistic creation in the Congo. Including over 360 black-and-white and color reproductions, it explores the wealth of Congolese production from the late 1920s to the modern day. Scholarly texts, in addition to interviews with artists and a detailed chronology provide a deeper understanding of the artistic and historical contexts in which the works on display were created.
With texts by Thomas Bayet, In Koli Jean Bofane, Michael De Plaen, Frédéric Lomami Haffner, Nancy Rose Hunt, Jean-Christophe Lanquetin, Elikia M’Bokolo, André Magnin, Dominique Malaquais, Pedro Monaville, Bob W. White
Publisher: Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris French version only / Hardback, 22 cm × 29 cm, 380 pages, 360 black-and-white and color reproductions Price: €47 / ISBN: 978-2-86925-118-2
dJIlATenDo Né vers 1895 à Luluabourg (auj. Kananga), province du Kasaï-Occidental Décédé au début des années 1950
Djilatendo, Sans titre, 1931, aquarelle sur papier, 32 x 50 cm
42 Beauté Congo Djilatendo 43
JeaN DePaRa Papa Mfumu’eto I er Né en 1928 à Kibokolo, Angola Né en 1963 à Matadi, province du Bas-Congo Décédé en 1997 à Kinshasa Vit à Kinshasa
Papa Mfumu’eto Ier, Mama Lengela Libala, nº 1, 1991, Papa Mfumu’eto Ier, Basi ya Mutu Pasi, nº 1, 1991, impression sur papier, 21 x 14,5 cm impression sur papier, 21 x 14,5 cm
Jean Depara, Sans titre (Autoportrait), 1975, tirage gélatino-argentique, 28 x 28 cm Jean Depara, Sans titre (Franco à la guitare), 1956, tirage gélatino-argentique, 28 x 28 cm Papa Mfumu’eto Ier, dessin original pour Muan’a Mbanda, Super nº 4, 1990, encre sur papier calque, 20 x 14 cm
Papa Mfumu’eto Ier, Mwasi ya Tata, nº 2, 1992, impression sur papier, 21 x 14,5 cm Papa Mfumu’eto Ier, Likambo ya Ngaba, 1991, impression sur papier, 21 x 14,5 cm
292 Congo Kitoko Jean Depara 293 270 Beauté Congo Papa Mfumu’eto I er 271 the Fondation Cartier and African Contemporary Art 15
African Contemporary Art Since we first opened our doors in Jouy-en-Josas in 1984, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain has worked to promote African artists and photographers, helping them gain recognition on the international stage. Malian photographers Seydou Keita and Malick Sidibé (who exhibited here outside Africa for the first time), Congolese sculptor Bodys Isek Kingelez, painter Chéri Samba from Kinshasa and Nigerian photographer J. D. ’Okhai Ojeikere are among the diverse artists who have been honored in landmark solo exhibitions at Fondation Cartier. Numerous works by African artists have featured in group 1994 1995 1995 exhibitions, including drawings by Ivorian Frédéric Bruly Bouabré in Azur (1993) and Comme un oiseau (1996), paintings by Mode Muntu in By Night (1996), paintings by Moke in Un art populaire (2001), and an outstanding selection of voodoo sculptures from Benin in the exhibition Vodun: African Voodoo (2011). The sheer volume of works by these extraordinary artists which are held in the Fondation Cartier’s collection attests to our dedication to African Contemporary Art.
2001 2000 2004
2012 2011
Beauté Congo Chéri Samba’s residence in the studios of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Jouy-en-Josas in 1990 was a turning point in his career as an artist, ushering his work onto the international stage. More than a decade later, in 2004, the Fondation Cartier hosted Samba’s first retrospective exhibition, an opportunity for the public to discover his infamous “griffe sambaïenne” style. In 1995, the new Fondation Cartier building, designed by Jean Nouvel, was the venue for a landmark solo exhibition by Bodys Isek Kingelez, which presented to the public his “extreme models,” “extra-models” or “super-models” as the artist dubbed them. Four years later, his utopian work of fantasy, Projet pour le Kinshasa du troisième millénaire was presented as part of the exhibition Un monde réel. The piece was acquired for the Fondation Cartier’s collection and has since been loaned to numerous institutions around the world. In 2012, a stunning selection of little-known works dating from 1920 to 1940, by artists as diverse as Djilatendo, Albert Lubaki, Mwenze Kibwanga and Lukanga, was presented in the exhibition Histoires de voir, Show and Tell. Chéri Samba in his studio at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Jouy-en Josas, 1990 THE NOMADIC NIGHTS 16
For the Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko exhibition, the Nomadic Nights invite artists and personalities from the Congolese cultural scene to spend an afternoon or evening in the exhibition spaces and garden of the Fondation Cartier. A fashion show, concerts, performances or streaming radio... So many projects and voices which explore the living art of the Congo.
PROGRAM Thursday, October 8 at 9 pm Ray Lema – Solo piano Saturday, July 18 at 3 pm [Concert] Césarine Sinatu Bolya and the Mémoires Vives Congo Afrique association Monday, October 12 at 8 pm The Pagne in all its glory Pierre Kwenders Followed by a concert with Baniel (vocals), Le Dernier Empereur Bantou Muki (trumpet) and Papa Noël (guitar) [Concert] [Fashion show + concert in the garden] Saturday, October 24 at 8:30 pm Sunday, July 19 at 4 pm Faustin Linyekula and Studios Kabako Kasaï Allstars present: Fanfares Funérailles by Papy [Concert in the garden] Ebotani [Musical and ambulatory performance] Monday, July 20 at 9 pm Faustin Linyekula – Le Cargo Monday, October 26 at 8 pm [Performance in the garden] Musical carte blanche for interpretations of the piece Coup Fatal by Serge Kakudji, Thursday, September 17 to Saturday Rodriguez Vangama, Fabrizio Cassol September 19, from 5 pm to 10 pm and Alain Platel Pan African Space Station [Concerts] Chimurenga, the Pan-African magazine dedicated to culture, art and politics, Monday, November 9 at 8 pm installs its alternative Internet radio station Literature, poetry and Congolese writings “Pan African Space Station” in the galleries [Performances, lectures, discussions of the Fondation Cartier. During three with authors in attendance] days of exceptional live entertainment, personalities from all walks of life will Thursday, November 12 at 9 pm seize air time for an exciting variety show Carte blanche to artist Richard Mosse marked with concerts and performances, [Video installation, concert] all with the intent of sharing the richness of Congolese culture with listeners and attendees.
From Saturday, July 11 to Sunday, August 2nd, from 11 am to 8 pm* Éliane Radigue and Laetitia Sonami, Traversée du Labyrinthe Sonore [Installation in the garden]
In 1970, Eliane Radigue designed her first “Labyrinthe weeks, beginning July 11, 2015, Éliane Radigue Opening in presence of the artists Sonore” [Sound Labyrinth] for the French Pavilion will recreate this installation—which she considers on Saturday july 11 at 5 pm at the Osaka World’s Fair. Too technically complex to be one of the most important of her works at the time, it wasn’t actually produced until 1998, from the 1960s—in the garden of the Fondation during the artist’s residency with the students and Cartier and has invited Laetitia Sonami to create musicians of Mills College in California. For three the “heart.”
INFORMATION Admission €10.50 Reservation The Nomadic Nights and Nights of Uncertainty Reduced rate €7 Tel. +33 (0)1 42 18 56 72 every day except Monday, program is available on: fondation.cartier.com (Students, spectators under 25 or over 65, 11 am to 8 pm unemployment and welfare beneficiaries, *Access with the exhibition ticket Maison des Artistes, partner organizations, Ministry of Culture, Amis des Musées) internet 17
PAPA MFUMU’ETO IER ON FONDATION.CARTIER.COM
Extending the exhibition online, His Majesty Emperor Papa Mfumu’eto Ier opens one of the many secret doors to his empire. He welcomes the visitor into his immense and bizarre visual library to discover the “truly exceptional and disorienting” pieces—according to his own words— on the lives of the Congolese living in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Europe and around the world. This Bantu artist-philosopher, painter- cartoonist like no other, and informal poet-journalist recounts original stories in the form of comics, published one strip every day from July to November 2015.
FOLLOW EXCLUSIVELY ON FONDATION.CARTIER.COM
Exclusive content, filmed interviews, and unpublished documents are regularly posted on fondation.cartier.com as an extension of the visit to the exhibitions.
The exhibition on line Dedicated Website for THE e-shop Find a guided tour of the exhibition the Fondation Cartier’s Garden The e-shop allows for the purchase of presenting each space and its theme on A new dedicated website (jardin. Fondation Cartier’s publications online— fondation.cartier.com. Many documents fondationcartier.com) is a treasure trove exhibition catalogs, coloring books, from the exhibition’s catalog are available of information on the garden at Fondation essays, and limited editions by the artists to prepare for or contribute to your visit: Cartier. Online visitors can access of the Fondation Cartier. lengthy interviews with artists such as documentation, scientific data, The Fondation Cartier “Laissez-passer” Chéri Samba or JP Mika, chronological photographs and audiovisual content that pass can also be ordered via the e-shop. and geographical references, etc. have been collected over more than three › eshop.fondationcartier.com years, and explore the fauna and flora of this thriving and atypical case study in urban FILMS biodiversity. A platform for environmental SOCIAL NETWORKS Over forty films are screened throughout issues, the site features videos of the Nights With new posts every day, the Facebook the exhibition. With the help of many of Uncertainty series, including events page reveals new takes on the Fondation interviews, the Fondation Cartier gives such as Bat Night and Night of Honey, and Cartier’s activities, as well as exclusive the floor first and foremost to the artists, allows users to (re)visit our exhibitions on offers. On Twitter and Instagram, daily scientific contributors and lenders/ the natural world. posts offer a unique opportunity to follow collectors. Thematic tours lead by the the activities of the Fondation Cartier. exhibition’s curators will also be available Keep up on all the latest news of online to illustrate and explain the journey Fondation Cartier on of the exhibition. Similarly, all Nomadic Nights and the three days of Radio N’Tone live (in collaboration with PASS) will be available on fondation.cartier.com. YOUNG PEOPLE 18
COLORING BOOKS
Coloriages avec Chéri Samba The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain asked world- famous Congolese painter Chéri Samba to create a coloring book. This is a unique chance for children to discover the “griffe sambaïenne” (Samba style) and make his work their own. The book features bright colors, texts, and glitter. With nine issues, this unique collection of coloring books invites children to discover the world of artists who have exhibited at the Fondation Cartier.
Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris French version / Softbound, 24 pages, 24 × 34 cm Price: €9 / ISBN: 978-2-86925-110-6
activities for children For the Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko exhibition, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain carries on its program of workshops and guided tours specially geared towards young visitors. The Fondation Cartier will offer creative workshops inspired by the installation pieces and family-oriented visits through December.
SATURDAYS AT 11 am WEDNESDAYS and saturdays AT 3 pm SATURDAYS at 3 PM Family visits Children’s workshops Garden tours Through these family visits, children and After an introduction to the exhibition The Fondation Cartier offers children parents alike can participate in an by an art educator, children participate guided tours of the garden led by a young entertaining discovery of the Beauté Congo in an original and lively workshop led by biodiversity researcher. Children will enjoy – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko exhibition an artistic coordinator. These are special strolling through this timeless garden in with an art educator. After having explored moments with the exhibition’s works the heart of Paris to discover the abundant the exhibition in detail, families can enjoy that give children an opportunity to learn wildlife that inhabits the space around a self-led visit at their own pace. about and try their hand at various artistic the Jean Nouvel building. techniques.
INFORMATION FIXED RATE: €10 RESERVATION Full program and calendar at Reservation required, open one month prior Tel. +33 (0)1 42 18 56 67 fondation.cartier.com/children to the workshop date From Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm or at [email protected] INFORMAtion 19
The Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko exhibition is presented from July 11 to November 15, 2015 at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain. The exhibition is open everyday except Monday, from 11 am to 8 pm. Open Tuesday evenings until 10 pm. Everyday at 6 pm, a free guided tour of the exhibition is included with the exhibition ticket.
AccESS VISITS THE “LAISSEZ-PASSER” PASS
261, boulevard Raspail 75014 Paris SELF-LED GROUP TOURS ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION €30 Metro Raspail or Denfert-Rochereau Wednesday to Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm, DUO €50 (lines 4 and 6) and Tuesday until 8 pm (min. 10 people) RER Denfert-Rochereau (line B) ADULTS €9 per person (you and the person of your choice) Buses 38, 68, 88, 91 SCHOOL GROUPS AND SENIORS REDUCED PRICE €25 Vélib’ and disabled parking at €4 per person 2, rue Victor Schoelcher (Students, “carte Senior,” “carte famille (free admission for group leaders) nombreuse,” unemployed, “Maison des Artistes”) THE EXHIBITION GUIDED TOURS Guided tour with an art educator from Under 25 €18 ADMISSION €10.50 Wednesday to Friday from 11 am to 6 pm CE (Staff Committee) Please consult us REDUCED PRICE €7 and Tuesday until 8 pm (min. 10 people) ADULTS €12 per person Students, under 25, “carte Senior” INFORMATION AND SUBSCRIPTION SCHOOL GROUPS AND SENIORS holders, unemployed, beneficiaries of From Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm €5 per person minimum social benefits, “Maison des Tel. +33 (0)1 42 18 56 67 (free admission for group leaders) Artistes,” partner institutions, Ministre [email protected] de la Culture, “Amis des Musées” or online at eshop.fondationcartier.com FREE ADMISSION ARCHITECTURAL VISITS Children under 13, visitors under 18 One Saturday per month, at 11 am The Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko exhibition, presented from July 11 to November on Wednesdays, “Laissez-passer” pass and 5 pm (10 to 20 people at maximum) Duration of the visit: 1 hour 15, 2015, is organized with support from the holders, ICOM members, press card, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, under invalidity card. ADULTS €12 the aegis of the Fondation de France, and with SCHOOL GROUPS AND SENIORS €10 the sponsorship of Cartier.
COMBINED TICKET Guided tour with art educator + Architectural Visit ADULTS €20 SCHOOL GROUPS AND SENIORS €14
INFORMATION AND RESERVATION From Monday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm Tel. +33 (0)1 42 18 56 67 [email protected] MEDIA PARTNERS 20
As a platform for multifaceted expression, the Télérama is thrilled to support the Fondation The world radio station RFI and the trilingual diversity of cultures and points of view, TV5MONDE, Cartier pour l’art contemporain, a Mecca for news channel FRANCE 24 are happy to be partners the leading French-language global culture channel, contemporary creativity, for its Beauté Congo of the Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko partners with the Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko exhibition. The visual exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art Kitoko exhibition, most notably for the creation arts are at the center of Télérama, as its mission contemporain. of a minisite which will allow users to discover is to make every culture that composes culture Media outlets from the France Médias Monde close to a century of artistic creation. accessible to the widest possible audience. group have always been dedicated to supporting Find out more: tv5monde.org In addition to the topics dealt with in the magazine, and promoting classical and contemporary each week Télérama devotes a chronicle and three African art. pages to current events in “Arts and Forms,” RFI and FRANCE 24 will share a view of nearly thereby enriching its approach to design, fashion 100 years of artistic creation in the Democratic and architecture. Republic of Congo with their listeners, viewers Find out more: telerama.fr and sortir.telerama.fr and online users on the air. Their journalists and unique network of correspondents from “France Médias Monde” offer This year, Le Parisien is a proud partner of the accessible news on the world, cultural diversity Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko exhibition, and points of view, broadcast around the world a bold initiative which retraces nearly a century from Paris in fourteen languages through their of Congolese artistic production. Through painting, newspapers, reports, magazines and debates. music and sculpture, this exhibition is an invitation Find out more: france24.com and rfi.fr to discover Congolese culture. Le Parisien has always accompanied great cultural events in Paris and Île-de-France, from music, exhibitions, film Acknowledgements and theater, to literature. The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui en France in numbers: would like to thank Émotions Culinaires, a partner in 2014, distribution of Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui this year which has contributed all of its expertise en France had reached over 400,000 issues, at the complete disposal of its events, soirées As of January 6, 2015, Le Monde extends beyond representing 2,451,000 readers each morning. and parties. Founded in 2010, Émotions Culinaires its borders with the creation of Le Monde Afrique, In terms of presence online, Le Parisien is number is already a world leader in event planning, a website dedicated to becoming the leading 1 for mobile and social media, and ranks fifth a signature of the most beautiful Parisian social francophone and Pan-African media outlet. for news sites. events. Simplicity, professionalism and above It will ensure that the richness and diversity of the Find out more: leparisien.fr all the love a job well done are the core values 54 countries of the African continent are reflected of Émotions Culinaires. through its political, economic, societal and Find out more: emotionsculinaires.com cultural insights, all with the values of accuracy and impartiality of Le Monde. — Thus Le Monde Afrique is thrilled to partner with La Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain would like to thank Chef Malonga Dieuveil, whose for the Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko Radio Nova is delighted to be associated with contribution to afro-fusion cuisine has added exhibition, in an attempt to share its keen interest the Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko to its constantly growing respectability and helped for African culture with its audience, in this case exhibition presented at the Fondation Cartier to usher it into the ranks of high gastronomy. with a focus on the Democratic Republic of Congo. pour l’art contemporain. Radio Nova broadcasts Find out more: lemonde.fr/afrique its programs in 27 cities across France and garners 660,000 listeners, continually on the rise for the past 5 years. Over the past 35 years, many sounds have emerged on Nova: international music which became world music, rap, reggae, acid jazz, as well as French and international electronic music. With an ever current lineup, a constantly reinvented form, hosts who are all journalists and an ever changing sound, Radio Nova is a world leader in radio. Find out more: novaplanet.com the fondation cartier pour l’art contemporain 21 NEXT EXHIBITIONs fernell franco Daido Moriyama December 2015 › March 2016 December 2015 › March 2016 The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain presents the first The work of Daido Moriyama, a legendary figure in Japanese international retrospective dedicated to Fernell Franco, a major yet photography, is to be the subject of a solo exhibition at the Fondation little-known figure of Columbian photography, who passed away in Cartier pour l’art contemporain from December 2015 to March 2016. 2006. Born in 1942, he began his career in Cali as a photojournalist Moriyama (born 1938 in Ikeda) invented a new visual language and quickly became specialized in the fields of advertising and in his work from the mid-1960s onwards. Frenetic and tormented, fashion photography. At the same time, starting in the 1970s it depicted a reality that was grainy, blurry and out-of-focus. he completed a number of photo series, most notably on prostitutes In 2004, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain organized (Prostituas, 1970–72), abandoned homes in ruin (Demoliciones, a landmark solo exhibition of Moriyama’s black and white work. 1980–90) and pool halls (Billares, 1985), painting the portrait His lesser-known color photography will feature in this latest of a nocturnal and working-class Cali resident. His melancholic exhibition. Depicting underground neighborhoods in the Japanese twilight photographs are inspired by Italian neorealism and film capital—a favorite location for the photographer—these exclusively noir, as well as Cali’s art scene, home to many talented artists. color images reference the motifs that are omnipresent in the artist’s A pioneering experimental artist, Fernell Franco often manipulated work, as well as his penchant for textures and shaky compositions. his prints, going beyond the limits of documentary photography Curator: Alexis Fabry to create metaphoric, almost pictorial works. His sensitive and singular work places him, without doubt, among the great authors of the universal history of photography. Curator: Maria Wills Londoño and Alexis Fabry
THE COLLECTION
The works of the Fondation Cartier’s collection are lent for tours, in Australia, at the Queensland Art Gallery, an installation thematic exhibitions and retrospectives. The memories and stories by David Lynch and many drawings from the Binder Works series associated with this unique collection thus expand and multiply were displayed during a personal exhibition by the artist; for over the years. the Expo 2015, the Triennale de Milano will exhibit Woman This year, many pieces from the collection will be exhibited in with Shopping by Ron Mueck, recently entered in the Fondation France and throughout the world. From Seoul to Copenhagen, Milan Cartier’s collection; Le Tryptique de Noirmoutier, a monumental to Brisbane, the collection travels to the most prestigious institutions. video installation by Agnès Varda, will be exhibited in Barcelona, Among all the events that have allowed the collection’s pieces at the CaixaForum, in January 2016. to be exhibited, an extensive retrospective of Alessandro Mendini › Find out more on the history of the collection at 30ans. organized in Wroclaw, Poland was a key opportunity to exhibit fondationcartier.com some of the most emblematic works by the Italian designer (such as the Poltrona di Proust, the Petite Cathédrale, the Cavaliere); Sammy Baloji ⁄ Steve Bandoma Bela ⁄ Pierre Bodo ⁄ Buya Chéri Chérin ⁄ Jean Depara Djilatendo ⁄ Grégory Norbert Ilunga ⁄ Sylvestre Kaballa Kabeya ⁄ Raphaël Kalela Jean-Bosco Kamba ⁄ Kiripi Katembo Kayembe ⁄ Mwenze Kibwanga Oscar Kilima ⁄ Bodys Isek Kingelez Cheik Ledy ⁄ Albert Lubaki Antoinette Lubaki ⁄ Lukanga Paul Mampinda ⁄ Oscar Memba Freitas Papa Mfumu’eto Ier ⁄ Jp Mika Mega Mingiedi Tunga Moke ⁄ Pilipili Mulongoy Mode Muntu ⁄ Mwema ⁄ N’kulu Ambroise Ngaimoko – Studio 3Z Ngoma ⁄ Rigobert Nimi Chéri Samba ⁄ Kura Shomali Monsengo Shula Pathy Tshindele ⁄ Yumba
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