Elsa M'Bala, Fatou Kandé Senghor, Caroline Gueye, Nathalie Anguezomo Mba Bikoro, Ibrahima Thiam, Viyé Diba, Mansour Ciss Kanakassy, Uriel Orlow, baobab création, C& Center of Unfinished Business

This group exhibition developed in Dakar offers a fresh perspective on the past and creates spaces for alternative forms of knowledge and knowledge transfer. In their installations, photographs and objects, participating artists explore how a decolonial perspective can shape our vision of the future.
Ré-imaginer le passé was first showcased at Musée Theodore Monod in Dakar in 2023. It is part of the TALKING OBJECTS LAB – a series of exhibitions, artist residencies and events held in Senegal, Kenya, Germany and other countries since 2020.
talkingobjectslab.org

Curators: Mahret Ifeoma Kupka, Isabel Raabe, Ibou C. Diop, Malick Ndiaye

6.3., 19:00 – 21:00
Prélude: Ré-imaginer le passé – Talking Objects Film Night
Films, Food and Drinks
Curated by Isabel Raabe
Akosua Adoma Owusu, Kwaku Ananse, 2013, Ghana / Mexico / USA, 26:00 Min. 
Wanuri Kahiu, PUMZI, 2009, Kenya / South Africa, 21:00 Min.
Tabita Rezaire, Deep Down Tidal, 2017, South Africa, 19:00 Min.
Gladys Kalichini, … these practices are done in sharing her stories, 2020, Zambia, 4:24 Min. 
In English
Free admission

24.3., 13:00
Curators tour with Mahret Ifeoma Kupka, Isabel Raabe, Ibou C. Diop, Malick Ndiaye
In German and English
Free admission
Registration

24.3., 14:30 – 16:30
The Concept of the Imaginary
Conversations with the artists and curators of the exhibition Ré-imaginer le passé in four sessions:
Nathalie Anguezomo Mba Bikoro, Uriel Orlow, Isabel Raabe
Mansour Ciss Kanakassy, Malick Ndiaye
Miriam Camara, Caroline Gueye, NuNu, Mahret Ifeoma Kupka
Viyé Diba, Ibrahima Thiam, Malick Ndiaye
In French and English
Free admission

3.4, 19:00
OBEAH: resurrection
Performance by Nathalie Anguezomo Mba Bikoro

The performance OBEAH by artist Nathalie Anguezomo Mba Bikoro to accompany the work of the same name in the exhibition Ré-Imaginer le passé is a ritual of resurrection and healing.
Nathalie Anguezomo Mba Bikoro is an artist, healer and Black feminist with roots in Gabon. The term "Obeah" quoted in the title refers to a healing tradition that has its origins primarily in creolised West African practices. In her work, Bikoro applies this tradition and translates it into a feminist practice to help heal colonial trauma. Mba Bikoro explores creolised identity, heritage, memory and home and examines systems of colonial past and present, traditions and mythologies.
In English
Free admission

26.4., 18:00 – 20:00
Reading Session with C& Center of Unfinished Business, moderated by Celina Baljeet Basra (Author and curator, Berlin)

In this reading session, we will explore texts from the reading room set up by the C& Centre of Unfinished Business in collaboration with the Talking Objects Lab, and the KINDL as part of the exhibition Ré-imaginer le passé. Participants are invited to share a quote or a short paragraph from a selected publication. By reading together, we create an associative narrative that opens up perspectives to deepen ideas and discussions. No prior reading is required. 
In German and English
Free admission
Registration

8.5., 19:00
“Critical thinking is the slow cooking of the soul”
Lectures by Nikita Dhawan (Political scientist, Berlin) and María do Mar Castro Varela (Political scientist, Berlin)
The lectures examine the complex relationship between critical thinking and revolutionary practice. María do Mar Castro Varela and Nikita Dhawan investigate how cultivating critical thinking can help us to envision non-dominant futures and utopias, even amidst dire circumstances.
Following the lectures, curator Isabel Raabe will moderate a discussion with the two thinkers.
In English
Free admission

24.5., 18:00  –      Please note: postponed to 14.6. – 
La Palabre: Ré-imaginer le passé
Talks, Food and Performance
In German and English
At Berlin Global Village, Am Sudhaus 2, 12053 Berlin
Admission: 6 €, Registration: mail@talkingobjectslab.org

25.5., 14:00
Das Imaginäre
Thematic tour with Jeanne Mizero Nzakizabandi (Art educator and curator, Frankfurt / Main)
In German
Free admission
Registration

14.6., 18:00
La Palabre: Ré-imaginer le passé
Building a Decolonial Library 
Food and Discussions, curated by Isabel Raabe & Celina Basra

For this special edition of LA PALABRE at Berlin Global Village, we invite guests from the Berlin communities, researchers, artists and activists to cook together and discuss the issues surrounding the exhibition Ré-imaginer le passé. In a small La Palabre group, we share food and stories, re-imagine the past, and attempt to build a decolonial library.
In German and English
At Berlin Global Village, Am Sudhaus 2, 12053 Berlin
Admission: 6 €, Registration: mail@talkingobjectslab.org

17.7., 19:00
Memory of Understanding 2
Sound Performance by Elsa M’Bala, followed by a conversation moderated by Ibou C. Diop
As part of the ongoing exhibition Ré-imaginer le passé Elsa M'Bala will present a live radio show unfolding in space, using music tapes she found in Dakar, Senegal: an all-encompassing archive of 50.000 music tapes from the African continent spanning over 40 years. The Ass Niang Collection includes a myriad of genres, including rumba, highlife, mbalax and makossa.
Elsa M’Bala is one of the rare female sound artists of African descent. By using technology as an empowering tool and through her own keen observations, she explores further the interconnections between race, gender, technology and spirituality. 
In German and English
Free admission

21.7., 20:00
Screening Theatrum Botanicum with Uriel Orlow, followed by a conversation with Isabel Raabe
At the Spore Haus, Hermannstraße 86, 12051 Berlin
In English
Free admission

24.7., 18:00
Das Imaginäre
Thematic tour with Jeanne Mizero Nzakizabandi (Art educator and curator, Frankfurt / Main)
In German
Free admission
Registration

Installations, textile works, paintings and a wonderful fragrance unfold a sensual wealth of impressions that allow relationships between people, places and continents to be imagined. And it encourages visitors to either scrutinise traditions or continue spinning stories.
[Installationen, Textilarbeiten, Malerei und ein wunderbarer Duft entfalten eine sinnliche Fülle von Eindrücken, die Beziehungen zwischen Menschen, Orten und Kontinenten imaginieren lässt. Und sie ermuntert dazu, entweder Überlieferungen zu überprüfen oder Geschichten weiterzuspinnen.]
Claudia Wahjudi, tip-online.de, 3.4.24

Further Material:
Booklet Ré-imaginer le passé

Funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation), the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media), ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, Pro Helvetia and the Harald-Breuer-Stiftung