“Ignorance or
concealment of major historical events constitutes an obstacle to mutual
understanding, reconciliation and cooperation among peoples.”
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| Artwork by Cuban artist Kcho. |
These words
from the United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO, were prominently displayed
during a seminar, artistic performance and exhibition that the organization hosted on
Sept. 4 in Paris - part of an event
titled “Artists and the Memory of Slavery: Resistance, creative freedom and
legacies”.
To promote dialogue and help “break the historical silence”, UNESCO launched an exhibition
comprising several monumental works by 15 contemporary artists from Benin,
Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, who offered “a fresh perspective on the
tragic history of relations between Africa and the Caribbean”, according to the
agency.
The
exhibition, “Modern Times”, will be open to the public at UNESCO’s Paris
headquarters from Sept 7 to 11, allowing viewers to discover both new and
established artists and how they perceive the memory and legacy of 400 years of
the Atlantic slave trade.
In addition
to the unveiling of the works, UNESCO invited artists, researchers and cultural
experts from different parts of the world to take part in sessions that focused
on the influence that the remembrance of slavery has had on literature, the
visual arts, music and dance.
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| Artwork by Remy Samuz of Benin: "slavery hasn't ended". |
Participants
included Congolese musician Ray Lema, American saxophonist Archie Shepp, and French
actor and director Jacques Martial, who is President of the Memorial ACTe in
Guadeloupe - a new Caribbean centre devoted to the "Expression and Memory of Slavery & the
Slave Trade".
The main
hallway of UNESCO’s Paris headquarters also formed the stage for an original
work of dance and music about tradition and modernity, titled “Ogun Today”. In
this, a five-member band provided “world beats” to accompany a dancer who did
an acrobatic routine, first with machetes in his hands (an enslaved person working in the
fields?) and then with a broom. Meanwhile a drone observed his actions from overhead, dipping and diving to keep the "surveillance" going.
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| Work by Miguelina Rivera, Dominican Republic. |
The Project
has also been collecting and preserving archives and oral traditions,
supporting the publication of history books, and identifying places and sites of remembrance so
that "itineraries for memory” can be developed.
At the Sept.
4 commemoration, however, some observers wondered about the under-representation of women artists
and of participants from the English-speaking Caribbean.
But a UNESCO official said that this was a consequence of having a limited budget. The agency is still facing a funding crisis mainly due to the United States' withholding its dues since 2011, when Palestine beame a member.
But a UNESCO official said that this was a consequence of having a limited budget. The agency is still facing a funding crisis mainly due to the United States' withholding its dues since 2011, when Palestine beame a member.
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| A performance artist at UNESCO's "Artists and the Memory of Slavery" event. (Photos: McKenzie) |
