The posts of this page are created in the context of the Berlin University of the Arts artistic research project Maison Gbégbé; Exchanges and Entanglements. The project will start on the 8th of December 2021 and is funded by the UdK Kommission für Künstlerische und Wissenschaftliche Vorhaben (KKWV) and the Visual Arts Project Fund of the Goethe-Institute.
Benin City Film Festival, Benin City, Nigeria, Dec 15, 2023
Inside Nollywood International Film Festival, Abuja, Nigeria, February 16, 2024
Ananse International Film Festival in Ghana, December 29, 2023
Tokyo International Short Film Festival, Tokyo, Oct.23–Nov.1, 2023.
iREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival, Lagos, Nigeria, March 21st – 24th March, 2024
Beach House African Short Film Festival, Lagos, Nigeria, 30th March, 2024
Working closely together with the organization of tradition keepers L’union des Cultes Tradionelles du Togo, and talking to scientists and contemporary artists in Togo and Benin, the idea for Maison Gbegbe was born. This cultural center should become a space for preservation and exchange about traditional Ewe culture in the province Aného, Togo, and a platform for deepening research and conversations about restitution.
To give the project of Maison Gbegbe a broader reference frame, a council of pre-configuration was created in 2021, bringing together a group of people from different geographical, sociological, and cultural backgrounds, reflecting the complex discourses around Maison Gbegbe and the entangled (pre)colonial histories that exist in the area of Aného in Togo. This pre-configuration council’s mission is to provide guidance for the architectural project and for the programming and governance of this future center.
For this, we organized mobilization workshops in the area, and several discussion and divination rounds. The content of the mission was enriched by an open call for contributions to German and Togolese experts, academics, artists, activists, tradition keepers, etc. to join the conversation.
Gbégbé Days pre-configuration activities
To give the project of ‘Maison Gbegbe’ a broader reference frame, a council of pre-configuration was created in 2021, bringing together a group of people from different geographical, sociological, and cultural backgrounds, reflecting the complex discourses around Maison Gbegbe and the entangled (pre)colonial histories that exist in the area of Aného in Togo. Rossila Goussanou, Nadja Ofuatey Alazard, and Anani Dodji Sanouvi met for the first time with Sename Koffi Aboudjinou, Mathilde ter Heijne, and students from the Berlin University of the Arts on the 10th of December 2021.
Painting action on May 7, 2022 with inhabitants of Agouegan, in the framework of a workshop by Musquiqui Chihying & Gregor Kasper
This stop-motion video documents the process of painting Maison Gbégbé with students from the University of Lome and the Berlin University of the Arts on May 5, 2022, in the framework of a workshop by Musquiqui Chihying and Gregor Kasper.
Tomtakou Tchassima works as a German language teacher in Vogan, Togo. Maison Gbégbé is a collaborative project with participants from Togo and Germany, therefore Tom thinks the question of migration is a central one. The German and European passport holders in the group know now that it is easy to come to Togo and but all know also that is not reciprocate. He would like to develop a traveling format of workshops for schools in Togo on the subject of African migration to Germany and repatriation. The conversation took place on the Mai 7, in the framework of the Gbégbé Days on the marketplace in Agouegan, and was moderated by Nadja Ofouatey-Alazard. The new concrete market stalls were build by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
The Restitution DAO project by Augusto Gerardi Rousset was part of the Prefiguration Activities for the Center of Traditional Cultural Heritage, Maison Gbégbé - Togo. Organised by l’Africaine d’architecture, l’Union des Cultes Traditionnels du Togo (UCTT), and art&dialogue e.V. Berlin.
